Make the most of your space: Six tips for decorating a small apartment
For those who live in a small apartment, you can ring in all your necessary belongings to feel as if you live in a shoe box. When you stumble across boxes stacked here and there, you may feel that you never get your space organized and decorated. Here are six tips to help you use every inch of your limited space to its best advantage.
Decorate the kitchen with functional items
There are some kitchen items, gift or family heirlooms, which you may want to decorate the kitchen. These do not belong to stuffed in the oven or pressed into a cabinet while the walls remain bare. Install hooks and with full respect for the terms of your rental agreement and proudly show your kitchen utensils.
Use the space under your bed
In a small apartment, the bed probably takes a lot of floor space. Get some rolling trays or racks for under the bed and use it for everything from extra canned goods to low season clothes. If you really want to look great, you can build a pallet for your mattress with drawers and shelves built in directly. Not only does it look fantastic, it gives you more storage.
Take advantage of your doors
There is a wide range of organizational tools that not only add storage to your doors but serve as screens. You can hang a cheap organizer on the back of the door to hide shoes, cleaning supplies and other clumsy things.
Use versatile furniture
Instead of stuffing a small nightstand in the corner next to your bed, why not send it away and use a nice tray that can be pushed under the bed and out of the way when not in use? Instead of having a big hubby taking up floor space, look for a nice storage box and place a long pillow on top of it. When it's time for a new sofa, look for one with built-in storage. Not only will this give you more space, it will give you more options for moving your furniture to practical arrangements.
Reduce your climate control
If your building lacks sufficient air conditioning or heating for your apartment, it is not just a waste of electricity to buy a unit designed for a house, it is a waste of space. There are several compact air conditioners and heaters specially designed for small spaces. Janice Gallagher, an Edmonton air conditioning installation specialist from Cydcom Services Ltd, the tenants advise to look for these units with limited area, as they are usually more than capable of heating or cooling an entire apartment.
Don't forget the ceiling
A hanging clothes rack can not only add some extra space for clothes, it can give visual interest to an otherwise boring bedroom. Ladders and old railings make excellent roof-hanging stands, as do wrought-iron gates. If you do not have laundry facilities in place, it can be used as a drying rack for some hand-washed items.
Decorating and organizing a small apartment can be a challenge. By following these tips you can use up every inch of your space without living in a hill of mess.
