4 decorating tips for small spaces

Living in a small home or apartment doesn't mean you have to skimp on decorating, especially if you follow these four helpful tips.

While many people might find small spaces hard to decorate or organize, in reality, a small space is a great opportunity to display your personality.

Clutter never looks good, but it's particularly important to get rid of if you live in a small space.

• If you lack built-in storage in your home, adding some with affordable storage options like baskets on bookshelves can help to contain and conceal smaller items.
• Another storage solution would be keeping items stored in slim boxes under the bed or couch.

Most likely, in a small space, you won't have room to fit every piece of furniture you might want.

When selecting pieces, choose furniture that can be used for multiple purposes.

• Set up a table in your living space to use at meal time that can also be used as a desk when you need to work.
• Buy an ottoman to rest your feet on that has storage space inside for things like linens.

If you live in a place where you will use one room for multiple purposes, like a studio apartment, consider using colour to delineate which spaces will be used for which activity.

• For example, paint one wall in your dining area a certain colour, then paint the wall in the living space a few feet away a different, but coordinating colour.
• By painting the walls, you can demarcate space in a way that is natural and still aesthetically pleasing.

You might not have a lot floor space in your small home. This means you should take advantage of the wall space and any height you do have.

• Add lots of wall shelves to create more storage space, or consider lofting your bed to have room to place furniture underneath.
• Placing design elements, like paintings and mirrors, high on the walls can give spaces the illusion that they are taller or bigger than they actually are.