Top tips for styling small homes
Small homes can be tricky to style and there is a fine balance of ensuring your space feels calm and welcoming whilst also being clutter free and functional. We have a few simple tricks when it comes to styling and selecting furniture pieces for your space that will ensure any small room feels a lot larger than it is. Small homes and apartments are popular in the modern day as we sacrifice on land size to ensure we are close to a great lifestyle and amenities in a suitable area. But with a few simple tips that we are sharing with you today you can make your small home feel as if it is spacious and styled to perfection.
1. Keep Surfaces Clear
Clutter is one of the main culprits that results in a space feel smaller than it is. When there are too many items in a room and there is nowhere for the eyes to rest, the space can feel smaller than it actually is. Before you start the process of styling, we suggest decluttering your space to ensure you are left with the essentials and items of importance to you. You can simply donate items or throw away pieces that are no longer serving you to make way for a clean, minimal and calming feel within your home.
2. Use Trays To Collate
A decorating tip we use time and time again when styling small spaces is to use decorative trays to collate items. Not only do they look beautiful, but they allow you to contain clutter and styling pieces to one area and they also help to ground a surface. We love using trays on coffee tables, on top of bathroom vanities, on kitchen island benches or buffets. Trays come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colours and materials however we love using a rattan tray for a coastal look or a marble tray for a contemporary design style.
3. Avoid Using Dark Colours
When decorating a small space our biggest tip is to avoid using dark colours and ensure most larger items in the space are light and bright. Pieces such as a sofa, a rug, the bed and any other large furniture items should be light to mid toned to avoid the space feeling too ‘heavy’. To ensure the space feels balanced and does not feel washed out we suggest using dark accents in items such as the frame of an artwork, the leg of a chair, a cushion or any other small styling accents to add depth.
4. Use Closed-In Storage
When selecting furniture pieces for your space we recommend choosing items that have closed in storage and avoid open shelves. Exposed shelving in bookshelves, tv units and buffets can create a cluttered look and should be avoided in small spaces. Instead, choose pieces that have drawers and cupboards so your items can easily be stored away neatly, resulting in a seamless look. If you have existing shelves in your space, we recommend adding baskets or boxes to store items to create a more clean and minimal look on the shelves.
5. Don’t Choose Small Furniture
A common mistake people make when decorating a small space is choosing tiny furniture that has smaller proportions than standard. This makes sense initially as we think that choosing small furniture allows the space to feel bigger, however this is incorrect. When walking into a space, if every furniture item is small and petite our brains pick up on this and notice that the space must be ‘small’. To combat this, we recommend choosing standard sizes for larger pieces such as sofas, beds etc but opting for smaller side tables or a narrow armchair to create balance within the space.