Apartment Interior Design

Small Apartment Decor Ideas

* Furniture plays a pivotal role in every home Decor. The choice of home furnishings can either create or occupy space.
* Do not go for bulky sofa sets, because they are difficult to move, occupy a whole lot of space and make the room look cramped. Small pieces of furniture such as an ottoman, an armless, open chair, low table will open up the space. A frugal option is sofa-cum-bed, which can be unfolded to serve as a bed during the night.
* The arrangement of furniture is another thing to consider. Make sure that you place the largest piece of furniture, probably the couch, against the longest wall of the room. Keep the furniture away from the walkways, so that people do not stumble upon it while coming or going out of the room.
* Lighting is another important factor in determining the look of the room. For a small apartment, the rooms should be illuminated in such a way that space is opened up. Ceiling lights are a strict no-no in this case, because they tend to cut off the height of the room. Soft lighting is preferable. Go for recessed lighting. Install more lamps in your home. Eliminate shadows at the corners of the rooms by placing soft incandescent lights at strategic locations.
* Apart from artificial lighting, natural light also plays a pivotal role in creating the illusion of space. Open the windows of your room during daytime, so that your rooms are illuminated with sun's rays.
* Soft, monochromatic color schemes create the illusion of more space. Hence, choose colors that are light, such as white, cream and off white. You may also opt for cool colors. Select soft tones of blues and greens for the walls.
* Match the walls with a monochromatic color scheme for the fabrics of the furniture and drapery. You may choose light and airy fabrics for the throw pillows and curtains. Cotton is the best bet. Laced curtains are good, because they provide good ventilation as well as allow the light to pass through, during the day.
* Mirrors can open up a considerable amount of space, because they reflect light. Use large decorative mirrors for the purpose.
* Use minimal number of accessories for your rooms, because they create clutter. Stick to small sized throw pillows, wall hangings and framed photographs or artwork.

Apartment Bathroom Design

Apartment Kitchen Design

Decorating Small Apartment Kitchens

Wall Decor

Even if you cannot paint your apartment walls, you do not have to live surrounded in all white. Cover your walls in fabric that you can easily peel off without causing damage when you move out. Wipe the walls thoroughly to remove dirt, dust or grease. Cut the fabric to size, spray starch onto the wall and apply fabric over the starch. When you are ready to move out, peel the fabric away and wash the starch off, using a sponge dipped in water and dish washing liquid.

If you live in a small apartment, chances are that your kitchen does not have lots of blank wall space. Decorate the walls and maximize space by dangling your spatulas and slotted spoons above the stove or sink from hooks or small utensil racks. Use wire plate hangers to group your favorite plates above a doorway, or small nails to hang trivets on the end of a cabinet. Hang a small shelf to display knickknacks, canisters or your kitschy coffee mugs.


Cabinets

Make small, temporary changes to cabinets so they match your decorating style. In a small apartment kitchen, appliances and cabinets probably dominate the space. If the cabinet color does not suit your taste, find a roll of contact paper that does and cover the cupboards and doors with adhesive shelf paper. Contact paper comes in patterns resembling various shades of wood grain, as well as modern designs such as stainless steel. Another option is to cover the cabinets with white or neutral-colored contact paper and paint over the paper in your chosen color, giving the appearance of fashionable, painted cabinetry without permanently altering the cupboards.

Another way to update and decorate your kitchen is by changing out the cabinet hardware with knobs or pulls that are more decorative and fit your decorating taste. Remove the existing hardware from cabinets and drawers and keep it in a safe place. Purchase and install new cabinet hardware using a screwdriver or drill.

Apartment Bedroom Design

Simple Solution For A Feng Shui Bedroom

Your bedroom is your ultimate inner sanctum where you are at your most vulnerable while you sleep and recharge your chi. From a yin/yang perspective, this is a more yin, quiet and peaceful environment; you need to feel protected and do not want distracting and powerful chi to disturb you. At the same time, there needs to be a good circulation of chi and plenty of fresh air available to recharge you.

Here are 16 Feng Shui bedroom tips. Make this all-important room a sanctuary:

* Ideally, the bedroom should be as far away as possible from the front door, mirroring the practice of our prehistoric ancestors who did not sleep in the mouth of their cave.

* On entering your bedroom, note where the windows are located. Chi tends to travel between the door and any windows, so avoid positioning your bed in line with this ‘draught’ of chi.

* Position your bed so that you can see the door from where you sleep. This gives you a deep sense of inner security.

* If it is feasible, position your bed as far away from the door as possible.

* Avoid sleeping with your head close to a window as your chi will dissipate through the window and make you feel more tired on awakening.

* If you have a bathroom, toilet or shower leading off your bedroom, make sure that the toilet door is always shut while you are asleep.

* To help you protect your own chi while you are asleep, to internalize it and recharge it, make sure you have a strong, stable headboard. Chi energy enters and exits the body through the feet, hands and the top of the skull, Having a solid ‘mountain’ behind you while you sleep is far more beneficial than a cold, blank wall or worse, the cutting chi of an ornate brass bedstead.

* If you sleep with another person, note the position of your bed relative to the wall that it is up against. Is it equidistant--in the middle of the wall? This is vital in a relationship as it gives both individuals who share the bed equality in the relationship. A shared bed crammed into the corner of a room, is giving more freedom of chi to the individual on the open side whereas the partner will literally and symbolically feel up against a wall.

* Make sure all bedside tables have rounded edges and not square to prevent cutting chi being focused towards the occupants. If two sleep in the bed, ensure matching beside tables on either side for added stability and protection in the relationship.