When the allure of city living has captured you with its bistros, shopping and chic urban lifestyle, decorating a smaller living space is a reality of sharing limited real estate within your community. You relish having less space to maintain, but how do you create a home that meets every functional need without forgoing appeal?

Here’s some professional tips for decorating small spaces:

Choose your most appealing colour and stick to it

* Designate single focal points
* Have every item serve multiple purposes
* Learn about negative space
* Address your lighting
* Discover innovative accessory choices
Alllude to Spaciousness

When a small room has multiple colours, your eye has many places to park. In a large space this is not a problem, but it makes small spaces appear crowded. Choose a single colour that you would love to live surrounded by and stick to it. You can create rich interest by using a monochromatic colour pallet, a variety of shades and textures all within a single colour choice.

Focal Point Magic

Reducing the number of focal points has astonishing power to make a small space breathe with new room. Try seating the television above the fireplace. Move a pair of twin beds to the same wall. Place a defining accessory in the kitchen eating area. Change the bathroom vanity to a smart looking stand-alone cabinet with an artistic sink.

Every Item is Multipurpose

Choose room accessories that organize or hide clutter. Double up your eating table as a kitchen island by using short bar stools for chairs. Sofas can conceal beds and ottomans can be extra seating or storage containers. Custom furniture built to size really pays off. For example, request a desk with overhead cabinets for storage space or a television. Have doors installed to simplify the room’s appearance and hide work surfaces and contents.

Illusions & Effects

Plan some “negative space” in your decorating. Negative space is the visually empty area on walls or around furniture. Purchase furniture without skirts to expose space under the pieces. Opt for a pair of arm chairs instead of a sofa so there is a natural break in the middle. Don’t feel tempted to hang something on every empty area of wall. Clean up over accessorized areas leaving only one item of interest.

In small rooms, select shiny finished accessories over matte since your eye stops at the surface of matte finished items. Ceramic, glass, mirror and polished silver surfaces keep your gaze moving through or past the item.

Get some light up into the ceiling corners. Often a surprising transformation, suggesting spaciousness, takes place in a room when dark, shadowy pockets or patterns cast onto walls by lighting are eliminated.

Turn your pad into a destination. City living has its glamour and so can the small space you call home.

Louanne Litke is a Vancouver-based decorator, has been featured on HGTV’s Love It Or Loose It and is one of several decorators allied to Arlene’s Interiors. To book an appointment visit anyone of our stores or go to our Contact a Decorator page.

source : www.arlenes.com