5 Mistakes To Avoid When Decorating a Small Living Space
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They say that less is more. But one area in which you may not expect that idiom to hold true is the world of property. After all, we’re always conditioned to buy the largest space we have available. We’re told that small spaces can easily become cluttered. That space is worth paying for. And that when you share a small home with too many belongings, the space can become oppressive and cluttered. And that can have a surprisingly profound impact on your mental health. Yet, there are many of us for whom a smaller home is the only option.
You may be an empty nester who’s downsizing because their old home has become too large and unwieldy after their grown-up kids have left home. On the other hand, you may be a young person at the start of their career who wants to live independently yet has a limited budget. You may be someone who years to be in the heart of a city, but have to deal with the fact that space in major towns comes at a premium.
Whatever your budget or circumstances, you may have some misgivings about your ability to make a small space your own. You may see only limitations in the space between your walls. But when you steer clear of these common mistakes that many make when decorating a small space, you’ll come to realise that even the smallest spaces are brimming with potential…
Don’t Assume One Size Fits All
There are many different kinds of small spaces, from trendy studios in refurbished warehouses to suburban bungalows. And whether you’re decorating your own little flat or an investment bungalow for sale overseas, you need to approach your space with a keen understanding of context.
Of course, you need to make the space your own, but you’ll also need to work within the parameters of the layout, usable space, age and inherent character of the property. There’s a lot of advice on decorating small spaces out there. Take a look at this post pn how to decorate a small downstairs bathroom. But almost all of it is written with urban apartments in mind. But if you’re living in a bungalow, a lot of that advice may not be appropriate for your living space or account for the inherent advantages and challenges of living in this kind of space.
Minimalism With Personality
When it comes to decorating your small space, you’ll see an overwhelming body of advice telling you that minimalism is the way to go. And, depending on your personal preferences, you may either embrace or rail against that advice.
But if you baulk at the idea of minimalism, it may be because you harbour certain preconceptions about it. Make no mistake, minimalism doesn’t mean ripping up your carpets, giving away 75% of your belongings and sharing your home with nothing more than a bowl of pebbles and a Japanese peace lily.
Yes, a minimalist home is one that abhors clutter and embraces neutral colours, natural materials and empty space. But that doesn’t mean the space needs to be devoid of personality or fun. Instead, it’s all about having fewer, and more carefully chosen items of decor, positioning a handful of carefully chosen statement pieces carefully and considerately for optimal effect.
Make sure you understand what minimalism is (and isn’t) before dismissing it outright.
Blocking Out Natural Light
Curtains and drapes can be a beautiful way to unify a room’s decor, not to mention giving you privacy and darkness when you need them. But when you’re living in a small space, don’t underestimate the transformative power of natural light. Natural light makes your home look cleaner, tidier, lighter and more spacious. Natural light is invariably more flattering than the yellow and amber hues of artificial light. What’s more, it helps you to relax at home, or work more productively if your home has become your workplace in 2020.
If you’re downsizing from a larger home, you may be loath to switch out your beloved old drapes for blinds. However, the latter may be a much better fit for a smaller living space.
Chaotic Combinations
Downsizers and those moving into their first apartments are both guilty of this, for different reasons. When downsizing, for instance, we may bring our “greatest hits” of furniture and decor to join us in our diminutive new living space. But when they share a smaller space, these items of furniture can create a discordant and chaotic combination of colours, shapes and textures. Likewise, those moving into their first home may have a mish-mash of items purchased during university years and things donated by friends and family that are difficult to tie into a unified aesthetic.
While the decor for a small space doesn’t necessarily demand uniformity, you may find that it’s much more visually pleasing to try and unify the disparate aspects of your decor. Using throws, coverings or paint to unify mismatched furniture is a good example of this. Likewise, the right piece of statement art or rug (items for which there’s always enough room) can really tie your space’s aesthetic together.
Some assume that a small space is better served by smaller (yet more numerous) pieces of furniture. But the truth is that you’re better off investing in fewer, weightier pieces. Don’t worry, you needn’t spend a fortune on these. From car boot sales to Gumtree to IKEA, there’s a plethora of cheap furniture available out there!
Becoming Too Risk-Averse
Finally… when you’re living in a small space, you need to make every decorating choice count. But don’t let this maxim send you into a spiral of analysis paralysis. You shouldn’t be afraid to experiment in a smaller living space and embrace an element of risk. Keeping things too visually quiet can result in a feeling of impermanence that prevents the space from feeling like your own.
Don’t be afraid to take small, calculated risks in your decor and, depending on how you feel about them, expand upon the precedent they set, growing gradually more audacious.
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