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10 Tips for Decorating a Small Apartment

Updated: Nov 7, 2019


A tiny apartment doesn’t mean you have to think only about how it functions rather than design and decor.

Finding the right balance might be a bit of a challenge, but you can make your tiny space comfortable and contemporary. What you need to avoid is a cluttered, messy space.

Here are some tips to help you make your tiny apartment, comfy, functional and modern:

Stylish Modern Apartment

1. Define Separate Areas

You might think open concept living is the best option when decorating a tiny apartment. But this can look overwhelming and end up making the place look messy. Delineate each separate area and give each a specific purpose. Round off the entrance by placing shoe and coat racks by the door and a buffet between kitchen and dining for extra storage. Use indoor plants to mark off one area from another.

2. Buy Dual-Purpose Items of Furniture

Every centimetre counts when you’re furnishing a small area. Buy furniture that can double up for another purpose. Consider a folding bed that can be used as a sofa, a hollow footrest that can be used to store things, or an extendable dining table.

3. Revisit Unused Spaces

Take a fresh look around your tiny apartment and find dead spaces, places that aren’t being used such as empty corners, blank walls, or transform a big windowsill into a workspace. Buy some baskets to put on top of the fridge for serving plates.

4. Store Vertically

Narrow, tall spaces are usually passed by in favour of horizontal spaces but that’s a mistake; these are great when you need to get the most storage out of the smallest areas e.g. position two identical bookshelves on each side of a door and a big entertainment system that reaches from floor to ceiling is a great room divider.

Creating storage space

5. Organisation is Key

Storage in small spaces is essential but you need to be organised so you don’t end up with a small, very messy apartment. Shoe hangers behind the doors can hold items ranging from cleaning products to fruit and vegetables. Get into the habit of putting things away where they belong after you use them will help keep your home looking neat.

6. Lighten the Colour Palette

It’s common knowledge now that light shades make a space look bigger and the opposite for darker shades. Focus on two light shades for most of the apartment, then you can add one darker accent colour to keep things interesting.

7. Curves Create Flow

Curvy furniture will keep the room from looking dull so use a round dining table or sofa. Choose an oval or round bathroom mirror and some table lamps with rounder shapes. Transform a curvy window into a comfy reading space and accentuate exposed beams.

Small round corner table

8. Layer For More Depth

Add some throw rugs to take the attention away from less than new carpets and layer your bedding with different coloured blankets and pillows to create contrasts. If your sofa is a neutral shade, try some throw cushions in bold colours and designs.

9. Incorporate Floating Designs

Floating elements in your design will allow the eye to travel all the way through the space, opening it up while still being functional. Floating shelves or a floating basin in the bathroom will have the same effect. Furniture with legs seems to use up less space.

10. Regularly Unclutter

When you live in a tiny apartment it’s really important to declutter on a regular basis and then twice a year or thereabouts try to sort through your possessions and recycle or take to a charity shop anything (as long as it isn't a collectable or antique) that you haven’t used in a year or so.

If you need design help for a project, or if you’re building or renovating and want to make the most of your space, contact us at Bella Living to discuss your needs and ideas.

Author’s Bio

Alex Morrison

Alex Morrison has been a SEO Expert for over 10 years. In this time he has worked with a range of businesses giving him an in depth understanding of many different industries including home improvement, business support and health care. He has used his knowledge and experience to work for clients as diverse as Fox Transportable, Cosh Living and Listed & Sold to help them reach their business goals.

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