apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time


Tricks for Decorating Small Spaces
Domino

7-3-08 small apt.jpgIf you live in an apartment in any of the metropolitan areas covered on Apartment Therapy, chances are you're dealing with a minimal amount of space. So what to do? Learn how to maximize every inch you have by utilizing these clever space enhancing tricks.

 
 

We like this article because it's not about following any "rules" for decorating a small space. Instead they offer little ideas to try with an array of styles, running the gamut from minimalist simple to "maximalist" color on top of color. It's helpful and, if nothing else, the pictures are awful purty.

Image: Paul Costello for Domino Magazine

Related Posts:
Roundup: Small Space Solutions on AT
Roundup: More Small Space Solutions on AT, Part I
Roundup: More Small Space Solutions on AT, Part II

Tags

Blogging Media, small space solutions, decorating tips

Share

Comments (14)

that pic from domino is my living room inpsiration!

posted by SydneyBristow on July 3rd 2008 at 12:22pm
view SydneyBristow's profile

LInk is not working!

posted by olga on July 3rd 2008 at 12:30pm
view olga's profile

grrr bad link!

posted by little flower on July 3rd 2008 at 12:32pm
view little flower's profile

the link to Domino is missing the http:// in front of it :)

posted by melanie on July 3rd 2008 at 12:39pm
view melanie's profile

Link fixed.

posted by leslie on July 3rd 2008 at 12:47pm
view leslie's profile

anyone know what that wall color is?

What does anyone think of Behr Grape Green, for a living room accent wall? Sorry no picture attached.

posted by lolopuffs on July 4th 2008 at 3:41am
view lolopuffs's profile

There are some good tips in there.

Many are set up for owners, not renters. And sometimes I have to laugh at their idea of "small":
http://www.dominomag.com/galleries/2007/05/smallspaces?slide=29

posted by TRUE BLUE on July 4th 2008 at 7:25pm
view TRUE BLUE's profile

Love all the ideas in those pics but like you, TRUE BLUE, I find some decorating magazines' opinions of what a small space is a bit unrealistic! That patio is probably the same size as my entire apartment.

I have been toying with the idea of getting rid of my sofa and putting a full sized bed in the middle of my room as shown in the domino slide show, but since I don't have much space to work with I am a little afraid to take the plunge. Other than buying a sofa bed does anyone have any ideas? Any one used this technique before? Should I give it a go or am I doomed to wake up with numb limbs from sleeping in a single bed for the rest of my time here??

Maybe I should put some photos up of my room and see if Apartment Therapy will start a thread for me....

posted by OliviaTokyo on July 4th 2008 at 8:38pm
view OliviaTokyo's profile

@OliviaTokyo, It's a tough call. The bed takes up a lot of space, and when you're sleeping, you don't always need a huge bed. You aren't conscious. You aren't aware of the size of the bed or the size of the room.

If you are having real physical symptoms from your bed, you might want to check with a doctor. And check into a different mattress. I know that much of the time, if I lie on my right side, that side will go numb. Not so with the left side. So it wouldn't matter how big the bed was, I think it has to do with pressure on certain nerves???

If you use your home for just you, as in: You don't entertain a lot, rarely have people over, go for it. Put in a giant bed. It's YOUR space. YOU get to decide how to divide it or arrange it.

It doesn't MATTER how other people have their homes arranged. For instance, people with giant TVs have their sofa facing a wall with the giant TV. If you didn't have a giant TV would you have your sofa facing a blank wall? Maybe, maybe not.

I got rid of my dining table and chairs. I realized I didn't use it as a dining table. I never had people over to dine. And the table had become the landing strip that was never sorted, piled with mail (junk). Or piled with laundry before laundry day. There was no reason to have a table.

There are in between things you could think about too. Such as the wall beds. This place has many different styles to look at:
http://www.flyingbeds.com/

There's one there that has a queen size bed on one side, and a bookcase/desk/table on the other side, and it opens and twirls to allow you to select which side you want out. Here's the direct link to that one:
http://www.flyingbeds.com/14.SmartBeds/Twirly/TwirlyBed.htm

It's kind of expensive. And I'm sure it must be attached to the wall rather securely. Ha!

And be careful of which model you choose, as it appears that with this particular model, you also get a portal into an alternate dimension:
http://www.flyingbeds.com/05.MurphyBed/murphy.htm

posted by TRUE BLUE on July 6th 2008 at 9:08am
view TRUE BLUE's profile

Anyone have any clue where the coffee table "cube" in slide 28 is from?
http://www.dominomag.com/galleries/2007/05/smallspaces?slide=28

posted by Danger Dorge on July 7th 2008 at 6:11am
view Danger Dorge's profile

Olivia, a few ideas. We made our own murphy bed, it was a simple pulley system (though we were helped by being able to drill into a stone wall - I'd seek advice about a partition wall). Remeber all those high school physics classes? It was a fraction of the cost of the ones you buy. I also like the idea of getting a couple of matching height antique architects' plans chests - and putting a mattress on top of them. Hard to get get matching height, but you could always put a smaller one on top of boards. Beautiful and fantastic for storage. You've presumably thought of and rejected getting a good quality sofa bed that makes up into a double bed - maybe because it' s such a hassle to make it up every night. You could get a king size duvet to use instead of a bottom sheet, and a second duvet to put over you. Both go into a wicker chest (together with your pillows) during the day - this should be something that doubles as a coffe table. An easy way to make up a bed. There's the Ikea high sleeper, where your desk and shelves go underneath, but hard to pull off without seeming to be an overgrown teenager. You could always go for a slightly morroccan-themed decor, and have a low bed piled with cushions, and a few low tables, kilims and low lighting dotted around. Good luck!

posted by lazymountaingirl on July 7th 2008 at 11:43am
view lazymountaingirl's profile

Danger Dorge: That is an older picture from 2006. Quick search turned up this table:
http://www.westelm.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?partNumber=WE-PRODf283&cmsrc=rel&storeId=17001&langId=-1&catalogId=17002&viewSetCode=E

From this AT article:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/look/look-west-elms-silver-033851

There are also these ones, which I don't like as much:
http://www.grabcart.com/product/homegarden/furniture/1541056/Avenue-Six-401010-Slick-Cube-Occasional-Table-White

That was the best price I could find. Here's the worst price:
http://berktree.com/AvenueSixSlickWhiteCubeOccassionalTable-FreeShipping.aspx

This price is pretty good and it's a known company:
http://www.homedecorators.com/detail.php?parentid=60952&aid=froogle&CAWELAID=201574187

posted by TRUE BLUE on July 8th 2008 at 9:34am
view TRUE BLUE's profile

Thank you True Blue!! I love AT...

posted by Danger Dorge on July 9th 2008 at 5:04am
view Danger Dorge's profile

A Murphy Bed is the perfect solution to cramped living spaces.

I highly recommend this company, Old Creek Wall Bed Factory.

posted by pswill1596 on February 16th 2009 at 7:30pm
view pswill1596's profile