Five Hacks for Decorating Small Spaces

Being good at decorating small spaces is a great skill to have. From tiny homes to downsizing, if you’re moving into a smaller home or a studio apartment, there are ways to show your unique style and personality and still keep your home feeling uncluttered. Don’t let a lack of floor space stop your creative juices flowing. 

Source: Saving Floor Space – from Architectural Digest 

There are ways to create functional and beautiful looking spaces all in one. Here are 5 hacks for small spaces. 

Hanging Storage

In smaller living spaces floor space is a premium, which means becoming creative with your wall space. Decorating small spaces can mean spending more money on fewer but grander items like pendant lighting or a small chandelier.

Soucre: BHG.com

Floating shelves are functional and decorative. What if you could mix the two? Floating shelves that are also drawers? Great idea for bed side tables in small bedrooms.

Source: Pinterest

and creating a photo wall gallery for your wall is practically art. 

Turning hanging racks for keys, mail, jackets and shoes into a mini mud-room station can become a feature when done right. 

Source: Create your own DIY rack – PotteryBarn

Metal or cork display boards work nicely above desk spaces and in kitchens to keep important items on display. Consider hanging options as a display for pots and pans, wall units for fruits and vegetables or spices in the kitchen or pantry.

Source: Apartment Therapy

Hanging storage in the bedroom can be as simple as hanging a shoe rack over the closet door to organize shoes and accessories. You can do something similar in the bathroom if space is too tight for a wall unit.

Small dressers, shelf and hanging rod – Pinterest

Under Your Bed

The space under your mattress and bed frame is some valuable real estate in a small space. Elevating your bed to place storage bins or boxes underneath is always an option, but there are other options as well.

Under bed baskets – Apartment Therapy

Buying a bed with built in storage, and getting rid of plastic totes, is one way to get your storage. 

Source: Pinterest

If space is at a real premium, consider getting a slightly smaller bed to fit the space. Fold-out beds, Murphy beds, or loft beds are also great ways to get back some of your precious floor space.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Mirrors are one of the best ways to decorate small spaces. A mirror positioned behind light sources can amplify the reach of light into to rooms.

Source: TheEveryGirl

Try placing a mirror next to or opposite a window. This reflects more natural light along with bringing your outdoor view inside.

Source: Lonny Magazine

The bigger the mirror, the better. The more that can be reflected in the mirror, the bigger your space will look. The trick is not to reflect anything that you don’t want guests to see.

Use Neutral Colors

Dark colors may feel comfier and cozier, but they can make spaces feel much smaller. Try sticking to more neutral shades as a base, including white, beige, gray, light wood tones, and even pale blues and pinks.

Source: HomeBunch

You can still have your pops of color by adding brighter hues to your accessories and accent decorations around the space.

Source: TheGoldenGirlBlog

Clear the Surfaces

To make decorating small spaces easier, remove clutter and think about using glass, shiny or see through items like clear furniture or tabletops. 

You many not love these acrylic surfaces around the home but they add to add the illusion of more space and work well when decorating small spaces.

Source: Pinterest

You could use glass instead. Like mirrors, glass is great for keeping light moving throughout your rooms, and makes rooms feel lighter and bigger. This works well for internal doors and kitchen cabinets.

Source: Glass kitchen cabinet doors – Pinterest

With all pieces fighting to be the focus, in small rooms glass won’t steal the limelight from your statement pieces. You can see your great rug on the floor or wall art easily either through glass doors or through glass tables.  

Source: Pinterest

Even the smallest rooms have so many opportunities to live comfortably, functionally and creatively. After all, it’s your canvas to design.