Apartment Living: How To Decorate With Space Limitations
Posted on June 5, 2008
Filed Under Apartment Living | 9 Comments
Whether you are living in a studio apartment with one room and a bathroom or a larger apartment with three or four separate rooms, decorating challenges can and will occur. There is no reason to be discouraged because, as you will read below, there are several decorating tips that you can use, without spending a fortune, to make any size living space both functional and stunning.
The most important obstacle to overcome is the color that you select for the walls and/or ceiling. When selecting a color choose one that is warm and inviting, as well as, one that promote a stress-free environment. In some instances, the living room, kitchen, and dining room all over-lap. If this is the case, then you will need to make sure that the colors you select for each room corresponds with one another and that the décor’ blends easily with each room. One suggestion is to choose a color that you can get varying shades of so that it separates each room while maintaining the unified color scheme. Dark colors tend to absorb light and visually make the walls seem as though they are closing in on you so take this into account when selecting a color. Keep in mind that the smaller the space the lighter the color of the walls and ceilings should be. Use bold and bright colors when selecting accents to give the room that burst of color that you are looking for. If you must use a dark color in a small space then the most workable solution is to paint the largest wall in the room a dark color while leaving the other walls a lighter more reflective color. This will create a nice contrast to the room without drawing attention to the small space.
Now that you have selected the color scheme for your room(s) you will want to think about lighting. Lighting can make or break a room! A typical apartment will have flat overhead lights which make a small apartment seem smaller. If you are not at liberty to remove and replace the overhead lights then consider strategically placing lamps throughout the room to “stretch” the corner of each room and leave the overhead lights off. Using lamps and/or other light sources give you the freedom to control the room’s atmosphere, conceal cluttered areas due to limited space, and add a separated glow around the room.
It is imperative that the furniture you select be both versatile and functional. For example, if you are living in a one bedroom apartment a futon couch can serve both as a couch and a bed. Position your couch facing the entrance to the living room to give your guest a sense of being welcomed. Another example of a functional piece is using a coffee table with built-in drawers that can hide throws, magazines, or just about anything that might otherwise create clutter in the room. Keep in mind, when purchasing furniture, the size of your apartment as well as the functionality of each piece.
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Help answer the question about apartment living furniture
What are some good recommendations on where to buy cheap college apartment furniture?I'm moving to another city to attend grad school and I'm extremely broke. At some point while living up there I'd like to furnish my apartment with more than four lawn chairs and a mattress. I don't care if it matches or not, I'd just like some good recommendations on incredibly cheap furniture.
If they offer to move it to your house too, even better, but right now I'll take any suggestions you all can offer. Thanks!
About Author
Angela Back writes articles for UMoveFree.com on various subjects including living in an apartment. UMoveFree.com is a Dallas apartment locating service.
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9 Responses to “Apartment Living: How To Decorate With Space Limitations”
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There are some great water based gloss paints to do the paint job, but stripping may be a problem unless you can open some windows to get ventilation. If you can get a waterbased stripper, that would be best. Hand sanding after removing the old paint would work. You will need some sort of scraper to remove the stripper and paint.
what color are your walls? That's going to make a big difference in how large your room will appear.
if u'r looking for artwork.. like prints… try http://www.art.com
for decor… try http://www.overstock.com OR
http://www.target.com
if u'r looking for ideas try http://www.hgtv.com OR http://www.diynetwork.com
Depending on the color I absolutely love the color brown. I have brown carpet and I plan on buying some couches with different browns and dark colors in them. Then I plan on painting the walls a coordinating color to match. I think that browns are warm and inviting. So just go with the brown and mix it up with the different types of brown and kaki.
You are going to have to set it by the dumpster anyways but you can call your city department of public works and ask the refuse department to pick it up. I think they may have to have a special truck or something to come and get it.
First of all make sure you are able to paint your walls any color you want. I'd hate for you to paint and then get in trouble and be evicted for something so easily fixed or not done in the first place.
Even with just white walls, you can create a spanish flair with all the accessories, pictures and decorating.
First off, where are your heat and a/c ducts, (vents)?
We bought a sectional and relized after the fact, that the sofa was now going to be over the vents.
Second, sectionals are difficult to rearrange if you want to change the decor around.
I love ours, but we should have stuck with the traditional sofa and love seat.
Now when we put the tree up for Christmas, I am very limited to where I can put it.
Light color will show dirt and if you should have children, you will thank me later.
Darker is better to hide dirt and ooopppssses.
You don't have to go real dark, stay on the tan side or mixed colors.
Ooooo… Ikea has fun things and they're priced reasonably. My entire place is furnished from there. I love it!