Furnishing a small (or very small!) home doesn't mean sacrificing elegant interior design or embracing a minimalist lifestyle. Of course, decluttering is always a good idea in these cases: a few beautiful, well-chosen objects enhance small spaces better than a jungle of ornaments.
But don't worry: with the four ideas we offer in this guide, you'll be able to make the most of your small home and organize it without sacrificing style or your favorite accessories!
Source: Pinterest
First of all, what is meant by "small home"? Typically, a studio or one-bedroom apartment under 40 square meters falls squarely within this definition, but an apartment between 40 and 60 square meters can also be considered this type of home.
In situations like these, furnishing the rooms can seem like an impossible challenge. But don't worry: we've put together a series of tricks for you to make spaces seem larger and optimize them intelligently!
Let's discover together how to furnish a small home with four unbeatable allies: heights, walls, multipurpose furniture, and the right colors.
1. How to furnish a small home with multifunctional furniture: versatility and style
Source: Pinterest
First golden rule for furnishing a small home: optimize space. The second is self-evident: use furniture that serves at least two purposes! If you need to free up space in your small apartment, you have a series of solutions available that will allow you to add functionality to your home without sacrificing style.
Here are some ideas for furnishing a small home with versatile and multifunctional furniture!
- Console table, desk, and dining table? Choose extendable ones so you can adjust their size according to your needs.
Source: Pinterest
- Beds and sofas? For furnishing small spaces, those with drawers are excellent, allowing you to cleverly store blankets and sheets.
- Poufs? They're perfect for adding color and organization to a small apartment's decor: choose models with a lid and internal storage for additional storage space!
- And what about clothes? There are many solutions available for furnishing a small bedroom: in this case, eliminate the closet in favor of open furniture, like a clothes rack. Drawers, baskets, and shelves will do the rest. To separate the space from the rest of the room (and protect your clothes from dust), a nice curtain will suffice.
Source: Pinterest
- Finally, doors: if possible, always choose pocket doors! A practical solution that will add a more modern touch to your small apartment.
In short, space-saving furniture is an indispensable aid for furnishing small homes: you just need to know how to choose them and exploit their full potential!
2. Furnish a very small home by making the most of the walls!
Source: Pinterest
Another trick for furnishing a small home while optimizing space is to avoid reducing the floor area too much. Overcrowding a small apartment with furniture will make the space feel claustrophobic and (obviously) impractical!
But here's the solution: exploit vertical space! Decorating a bare wall allows you to add style and organization to your home, and this is true even (or especially) if you're furnishing a small apartment!
Here are some ideas for making the most of space in a small home by using the walls!
- Do you have very little space in the entryway? Avoid freestanding coat racks, opting for attractive wall hooks, and replace the traditional console table with a wall-mounted one.
- Dreaming of a wall unit, but the living room is really small (or doesn't even have one)? Forget the idea of a large bookcase: instead, fill the wall with thin shelves and hang the TV directly on the wall. You'll gain precious space, but above all, the room will look more airy and less oppressive.
Source: Pinterest
- A small home generally means a very small bathroom! There are several tricks you can use to furnish a small bathroom, but as a general rule, we recommend avoiding bulky furniture in favor of shelves. If you're worried about making the room look messy, you can get boxes and baskets to hide items you don't want on display, like toilet paper and cleaning products.
- Don't have enough floor space for bedside tables in the bedroom? Choose floating bedside tables to avoid blocking the area around the bed, or hang a shelf on the wall behind the bed!
- In the kitchen, have fun creating an open pantry organized with containers, herbs, and canned goods: it will add a decorative touch to the room.
In short: to furnish a very small home, make the most of the walls with shelves. Sure, this will take up some space for paintings and frames, but you can still decorate the room by alternating everyday objects with beautiful ornaments and green plants!
3. Furnishing a small home with height in mind: maximize every inch!
Do you ever think about how much space we waste when we don't take advantage of the height of our homes? Unless you live in an attic, you probably have high ceilings that you don't know how to make the most of (you certainly can't have shelves all the way to the ceiling!).
Thinking about height can help you furnish a small home in many ways. Choosing slender, upward-facing furniture, or painting a wall with vertical stripes, will help you visually transform the space, camouflaging a modest floor space.
But "thinking vertically" also means exploiting height to create unexpected spaces. Let's look at a couple of solutions that will help you furnish a small apartment!
How to make the most of space in small homes with mezzanines
Source: Pinterest
How do you furnish a small home with height in mind? If your ceilings are higher than 4.5 meters, good news: you can completely transform your home's space by building a mezzanine!
A mezzanine has always been one of the most popular ideas for furnishing small homes. It's easy to see why: not only does it add movement and interest to the space, but it also allows you to practically add another room to the house.
In the bedroom, for example, it can allow you to create a small study or walk-in closet. By creating a mezzanine in the living area, you could create a delightful new living room, or even a small library. If you have a small loft or duplex apartment, you can also furnish the space under the stairs and use it in a variety of ways.
And what if your home isn't tall enough? Don't worry, we've got you covered...
The creative idea: how to furnish small homes using platforms!
Source: Pinterest
No one ever thinks of platforms when it comes to furnishing small spaces! Yet they truly are the smartest solution for saving space.
Raising the dining room by a few inches certainly won't make the space feel cramped, but it will allow you to create convenient drawers for storing all the items you don't use every day (sheets, tablecloths, "good" dishes, etc.). Not only that, it will give your home a much more original look.
But be careful: moving the dining table or living room to a higher position will put it in the spotlight. So be sure to furnish these spaces with the utmost care.
4. How to furnish a small home and make it feel bigger!
Source: Pinterest
Often, when it comes to organizing a small apartment, you also have to make stylistic choices. So far, we've seen a series of tips for furnishing small homes, but that's not enough: the risk is that the rooms will appear gloomy and unwelcoming. But there's a solution for that too!
How to make a home feel bigger by using lighting? With the right color choices, it's easier than you think. Here are a few tricks to make a small home seem larger!
- Brighten up your small home by using white, light colors, and warm white lights: you'll see the difference! Your home will instantly look different.
- Leave the brighter shades for accessories and ornaments, while beautiful plants will add a lovely touch of greenery.
- Don't want to give up on color? Use wallpaper, but limit it to one wall, still choosing bright shades.
Source: Pinterest
But color isn't your only ally in making your apartment seem larger. You can also play with materials and some very useful accessories!
- To furnish a small home without weighing it down, go for anything light and transparent! If you really need a coffee table in the living room, for example, choose one with a glass top. The same goes for curtains: tulle or lightweight linen are better than heavy materials like velvet and taffeta.
Finally, remember that decorating with mirrors is the best way to visually enlarge a space! Not only that, but mirrors are also an excellent solution for decorating your home on a budget and achieving great results with a modest outlay. When you can't decide between a painting and a mirror, always choose the latter!
In short: now you know everything about how to decorate a small home without sacrificing your style and your favorite accessories. See, it wasn't that difficult after all?
