Interior Design

02/15/2016 16:12

There comes a time when living with friends or strangers becomes a little too much to bear and you make the decision to live alone. Unfortunately single bedroom homes can be expensive and the chances are you aren’t going to get as much for your money as you would have hoped. Throw in the fact that property prices are rising and we are being forced to live in smaller properties than ever before.

But it isn’t all doom and gloom, living by yourself can be a great experience and providing you know how to decorate your home, you can actually do a lot with a limited amount of space. The key thing is to strike the right balance between functionality and design, no one wants to live in a solely functional environment that has no warmth or homely touches, yet we also need functionality too. Therefore it is integral (especially with smaller spaces) that you fill them with items that fit your needs as well as show your personality.
So in order to get the most out of your money, here is our brief guide to decorating small homes.

Be Vertical
Floor space might be at a premium but you will have height on your side in most cases. It is usually a good decision to use storage units that are tall and narrow and this will not only give you more floor space but also create an impression of size. Try putting bookshelves either side of a doorway or in unused spaces to help keep your home clutter free.

Pick The Right Colour Palette
You might really want to create a moody love den but if you have a small apartment the best colour palette tends to be a lighter and brighter one. This will make the space feel more airy and open, whilst darker tones do have a tendency to make small rooms look even smaller.

Use Smart Furniture
There has always been multi-function furniture knocking around but now we are seeing a rise in even smarter products that help us maximise our space. Often small apartments have open livingroom/dining room areas and a dining table can take up a lot of space unless you invest in a smart extendable table. This allows you to adjust the table size to how many people require it and lets you minimise it when you don’t need it fully open.

Use Odd And Unused Space
It can be difficult to get the most out of odd space, especially as people tend to leave furniture where it has been originally placed when they move into a furnished home. But the chances are that the majority of us are not using space as effectively as possible, how many of us have unused walls or odd corners in rooms that are empty? Simple storage units can fill these areas and it immediately helps de-clutter an area. Drawing a scale plan of your room can help open your eyes to wasted space and how you can utilise it.

I’m not sure about you but when I think of interior design I picture lush, designer apartments that only celebrities can afford. But designing your home doesn’t have to break the bank, it can in fact be yours and for a lot less than you might imagine! All it requires is some ingenuity and a bit of elbow grease to help make the home of your dreams.
Of course the first steps can be the toughest and so we’re leaving you with a few cheap and easy ideas that will get you on your way to creating a home even an interior designer would be proud of.A Fresh Lick of Paint
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again – a fresh coat of paint can really do wonders for a home! If you do it well and choose the right colour scheme then it can really freshen up a room. There are plenty of styles you can create with pain too, like creating a statement wall that is different to the others or even doing two block colours, one that ends at furniture level and one that goes above it.

Paint Furniture Too
Walls aren’t the only things that can benefit from a paint job. If your furniture is looking a little worse for wear then you might want to consider painting them. Try using pastel tones to make them eye-catching and welcoming.Recycle and Adopt
Plenty of people have spare material and furniture lying around, why not try creating something out of this instead of storing it away? You can also find a lot of people willing to give away their furniture for free on websites too.Use The Internet
If you don’t want to spend a lot of money but want new furniture then there are plenty of places you can do some hunting in to get what you want. The Internet is home to plenty of sites that let you trade items or even have people giving away stuff for free providing you are willing to go and pick it up. Remember one man’s junk is another man’s treasure!

Simple Changes
Have you ever considered that by simply changing small details you can actually significantly change the appearance of your home? The perfect example of this is by replacing the generic door and cupboard handles with flasher one to create a more attractive look. Not only is this a simple trick but it is also pretty cheap too! The same goes for the taps in your kitchen and bathroom too.

Refresh Furniture
We have mentioned repainting furniture but sometimes it isn’t the frame that is actually the problem but the upholstery. We’ve all seen people throw out some pretty nasty looking sofas at some point, but if it is just the material that requires a bit of an update then consider reupholstering instead of buying an entirely new sofa set. You can learn more at grand home design.