12 Decorating Tips for Small Homes

Decorating and furnishing a small house can be a challenge, but it’s also an opportunity to stretch your imagination and learn to appreciate even the smallest nook. To get those creative juices flowing, here are 12 tips for making your small house beautiful.

1. Light colors.

When you have a small house, it’s best to avoid dark colors, which will make the house seem even smaller. Instead, choose lighter shades to open up the spaces and keep them bright and airy.

2.Mount everything to the wall.

With floor space at a premium, you should utilize wall space as much as possible. You can add shelves, bookcases, lamps—you name it!

3. Rounded furniture.

In arranging the furniture in your small home, you’ll find you need to think outside the box a little. Furniture with rounded edges, or pieces that can fit snugly into corners, etc., will help you furnish rooms in unconventional ways and maximize space in the process.

4. Pocket doors.

Doors take up a lot of floor space when they swing out, and this can complicate your furniture plan, limiting your options. With pocket doors, which simply slide horizontally in and out of walls, you can enter and exit rooms without worrying about hitting furniture with the door.

5. Floor-to-ceiling shelves.

We can’t stress enough the importance and versatility of wall space. Many homeowners stop decorating at a certain point on the wall, usually at eye level or at the limit of their ladder. As the owner of a small home, you can’t afford to leave so much valuable space bare. So go all out with those bookshelves or paintings or anything else you can think of!

6. Pedestal tables.

Unless you buy tiny pieces, tables are going to occupy floor space. However, you can open the room up by placing tables with thin bases.

7. Curtain dividers.

We’ve said before that an open floor plan is ideal for small homes, but sometimes that plan may be a bit too open and you still need to separate spaces somehow. With dividing curtains, you can have the best of both worlds.

8. Murphy bed.

Undoubtedly the largest piece of furniture in a bedroom is the bed itself. Even a twin-size bed hogs the floor. If you want a multipurpose bedroom, especially a guest room, where you can use the space as an office or rec room, consider installing a Murphy bed. It will require some planning and construction, but the result can be quite creative, functional, and beautiful.

Found objects, like this antique cabinet, bring a stylized and personal touch to the powder room of a traditional Craftsman Bungalow.

9. Use the space beneath the stairs.

If there is enough space, many people decorate the wall below the stairs, adding pictures or shelves or perhaps a storage area. But you can go even further and turn that space into an office nook, complete with shelf-desk.

10. Window treatments.

While you want to use a lot of wall space, windows are still important, so don’t neglect them. They provide much-needed light to expand the perspective of the interior. If you don’t need a particular wall for storage, consider enlarging its window(s), even to the ceiling, and hanging thin, light-colored curtains. For a small window, adding a window seat with storage underneath would not be amiss.

11. Vintage furniture.

Vintage pieces are often smaller than their modern counterparts, so don’t hesitate to browse through some antique shops.

12. Combine thrift-store with high-end décor.

Small house owners may gravitate towards cheaper decorating options based on their budget, but you don’t have to furnish your home out of a thrift shop. A few well-chosen high-end pieces and some quality upgrades to low-end ones can blend quite well together without emptying your wallet.

References:

http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/ideas/small-space-design-0712#slide-1

http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/ideas/best-furniture-for-small-spaces?

http://www.hgtv.com/decorating-basics/10-smart-design-ideas-for-small-spaces/pictures/index.html

http://www.sunset.com/home/decorating/creative-use-of-space/view-all