The Wonders of Interior Decorating in Your Home - Small to Large

Living in city dwellings can be rather costly. If your income can't afford a luxurious condo or large house, here are some good interior decorating tips which I've learnt that can help make your small apartment appear more spacious and livable.

Where is it written that one has to live according to the paycheck they receive? Our residential dwellings don't have to reflect our personal monetary income. Not all of us can afford huge mansions or luxurious estates to live in. Reality check: most of us can hardly get by nowadays with the cost of living on the uprise. We dream to be liberated from restrictions of being hemmed into establishments where our poor or meager financial situation can only permit or limit us to live in.

When living in a small city apartment, every nook and cranny counts for space, and how we can manage to still breathe peacefully without having claustrophobic attacks when at home. I use to live in such a dwelling, but I learnt tricks to reveal an illusionary enlarged apartment and to make it look peaceful by creating a warm touch or atmosphere to it.

I'd like to share some of these tricks involving the art of interior decorating.

Walls, paint and colors

When residing in a small establishment, walls are everything. It's been proven that light colors brighten up space and actually fool the brain into believing that there's more space. Whilst on the other hand, darkish colors tend to create a suffocating and gloomy atmosphere.

First, plan out your colors well. A variety of light colors in at least two rooms can make all the difference in how you will tend to perceive your home environment. Make certain that the colors will also match the furniture you intend to get. The wall colors and furniture must harmoniously blend together, giving it a spacious organized appearance.

If you're not into the color scene, then leaving the walls white will serve just as well. But this can look rather "too plain" after a while. For example, I spruced up my living room by adding stucco on two walls perpendicular to each other, and leaving the other two walls a light tannish-beige. The white stucco created a wonderful contrast and livened up the place, whilst simultaneously rendering a cozy ambience. The ceiling matched the white stucco, making the room looking much bigger.

Adding to the touch, I then included light-tinted one-foot square mirrors, creating two columns on two adjoining walls opposite the walls with the stucco. The result was amazing. An apparent larger room sprung forth.

If you're into the wallpaper scene, this can be a bit tricky. You don't want your home looking like a "fun-house" at the carnival. Very light floral prints would do fine. Definitely, leave the stripes out unless you want to feel you're in a prison behind bars.

Type of furniture and arrangement

Remember that the whole theme behind making your small hovel appear bigger, rests in the concept of light colors which can contrast or blend together. Personally, I've discovered that IKEA furniture is great for this. Their wood textures are reasonably light-colored and give a room a "radiant feel" to it. The whole principle behind the furniture is to think of size, shape and color. Obviously, you wouldn't want furniture that's too dark and big. Choosing the right size of furniture with some to snug in corners, and other pieces away from the walls, helps the mind to believe that there's space everywhere, even in back of the furniture.

For example, a diagonal placement of a piece of furniture (like a tall lean bookcase) can give off the effect that the room is not only large in width but also in height. Complimenting your sofa with a small glass coffee table and a colored glass vase holding flowers, will give the area a "grounded feel" to it. Remember, light colors and contrasts are crucial in maintaining a balanced look.

The windows

We all need curtains for privacy. Well, for those of us that have a streak of exhibitionism, we can do away with the curtains altogether. I've seen people using plants on their windowsills instead. Vertical colored venetian blinds can adorn a room quite nicely, no matter the length. Or if you prefer to have light textured curtains, leave them open by day. Personally, I prefer to keep my curtains completely closed at the top, whilst drawing the mid-part of the curtain to the side of the wall with medium-sized ribbons holding them and strung to fancy wall hooks, one on each side of the window leaving a pyramid-like view to the outside.

The floors

Another thing, is to do away with wall-to-wall carpeting. If the wooden floors (if as such) are not shining brilliance, then a small hand-crafted rug right in the middle of the room would give a more grounded feel while leaving the viewer to think there's a vast amount of space all around.

If your floor tiles are dark or look like you're a pawn on a chess board, it doesn't cost much to get soft pliable tiles that you can either paste or stick by peeling the back cellophane paper off.

Conclusion

The trick to making a small place looking bigger all lies in the regard and perception. Remember the teepee that looks small on the outside, but incredibly large on the inside. Yes, it is an illusion, but - for the mind - a healthy one.