5 Interior Design Tips for Decorating Small Spaces

Small spaces force you to be choosy about every design element you incorporate into your décor. If you fail to be selective, you’ll end up with a space that looks cluttered and has too much stuff crammed into it.

However, that doesn’t mean you have to give up all your belongings. There are creative ways to fit all your necessities into a small space. Consider the following 5 interior design tips for decorating small spaces:

1. Take Advantage of Storage Furniture

Some furniture pieces incorporate space-saving drawers that make them multi-functional. When you live in a small space, these pieces can help you organize items you wouldn’t have room to keep otherwise.

If your kitchen lacks sufficient drawer space, you can choose a dining table that includes a built-in drawer or two. Use the drawers in your table for storing things like table linens or silverware. This is a convenient place to put such items – plus, it will free up your kitchen drawer space for other gadgets that would ideally be easily accessible when you’re cooking.

In the main living area, you can choose hollow end tables that have storage compartments inside. These are the ideal spot for storing belongings such as photo albums or your out-of-season holiday decorations.

2. Use Under-the-Bed Organizers

If you get creative, you can store all kinds of things under your bed.  The most sophisticated way to do this is with a storage bed that includes drawers. But if you already have a bed, and it doesn’t have drawers under it, there are numerous other under-bed storage solutions you can employ.

If the space below your bed is visible, it’s ideal to choose pretty storage boxes that match the rest of the furnishings in your bedroom – perhaps coordinating baskets, or boxes with appealing printed designs. If the space below your bed is concealed beneath a bed skirt or otherwise hidden from view, there’s less pressure to choose the most beautiful storage solution. In that case, you could opt for economical clear plastic tubs that make it easy to see what’s inside each container.

To ensure you make the best possible use of the storage space available under your bed, you’ll ideally want to choose a high bed base rather than a low one. This will allow you to fit larger containers under the bed. It will also give you greater flexibility in choosing the containers you want to use.

3. Don’t Waste Your Wall Space

There are countless ways you can harness your wall space to maximise each room’s utility.

In the main living area, get rid of your media console. Instead, mount the TV on a wall. This will free up floor space you can put to better use.

In the bedroom, use lighting and shelving options that don’t crowd your walkways. Floor lamps are wonderful in larger bedrooms, but they aren’t ideal for use in smaller environments. If your bedroom is small, avoid squandering your floor space by cluttering it with lamps. Instead, hang wall sconces on either side of your bed. Floating shelves on the walls can house books and decorative objects.

4. Maximise the Space in Your Wardrobe

Small homes often come with correspondingly small wardrobes; but there are some tricks you can use to make the most of your wardrobe space, even if it isn’t exactly spacious.

First, invest in shelf dividers. These will allow you to stack your clothing close together, yet it will all still be easily accessible. Without these, you’re destined to have to waste time re-stacking each pile every time you need to pull something out from the bottom of the stack.

Add hooks inside your wardrobe doors for hanging up things like hats, laptop bags, belts and scarves. Small hooks can accommodate lightweight items. Larger screw-in hooks can hold heavier items.

Squeeze more pairs of shoes into your wardrobe by placing a shoe rack at the bottom. An extendable shoe rack is ideal for this, because you can adjust its width precisely to the width of your wardrobe.

5. Purge Unused Objects

Anything you don’t have definite plans for using should be purged. There is no sense in storing clothes you aren’t going to wear, DVDs you aren’t going to watch, books you aren’t going to read or kitchen gadgets you never cook with.

Also consider purging things like decorative figurines unless you really love them, or they are contributing something extra special to your décor. These types of items must be dusted, cleaned and cared for. Give thought to whether the time and space they consume could be better used.

These 5 tips can help you take best advantage of the space you have – even if your home is tiny. Following these suggestions can help you ensure you’re successful in fitting everything you truly need into your space.