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17 Ideas For Decorating Small Apartments and Tiny Spaces

A beautiful ornate luxury decoration of a compact apartment studio. Image via www.drawn2style.com

A lot of people that live in small apartments or tiny houses have the same problem and that is often how to maximize the use of the space to create a fantastic living space.

Tiny house with kitchenette view from second level mezzanine bedroom. Image via www.smallhousebliss.com

It’s not unusual for people to think ‘hey, it’s a small space, it should be easy to decorate’, but the reality is that a small apartment with limited space can provide a real decorating challenge.

Nevertheless, with some careful thinking, and a little bit of research, and casting your eye over how other people have adapted to the challenge can shed some much needed innovative concepts and ideas that should allow the imagination to begin to flow.

Stunning use of space with bedroom separation from kitchenette and living space. Image via www.deco-moderne-fr.com

Check out how other people are decorating their tiny spaces or compact apartments. You’ll find that this will give you many inspirational ideas on how to truly make the best use of the space, without feeling hemmed in, or overcrowded with stuff.

Compact modern apartment with effective use of space to create set areas of kitchenette, dining & living spaces. Image via www.furniturelives.com

Sure, there may be compromises in various areas when floor space is at an absolute premium. You may even need to downsize your stuff or put some of it in storage if your accommodation is temporary.

Check out some tiny houses and note how people have adapted their possession and lifestyle to fit. It’s amazing sometimes just what you can get by without, or alternatively what you little you actually need.

Kitchenette and living area and the view down the hallway to the master bedroom in a luxury tiny house.

When creating that fantastic living space for your apartment, your ultimate design will need to make efficient use of every last inch of space. There will be techniques and ideas on how to make use of hidden spaces.

However, the real issue is if you’re just renting the space and you have no actual design input into changing or adapting anything, then you’ll have to make do the best you can with the limitations of the space.

On the other hand, if you’re designing and creating a living space yourself from scratch, then you’ll be able to make full use of a lot of innovative and creative ideas that others have come up with to make the most of a small living space.

Small apartment with combined living-bedroom areas and shelf room divider. Image via www.homester.com.ua

Use hideaway or fold away techniques or furniture that compacts down when not in use.

Sometimes even selecting furniture that can ‘multi-task’, for example, a dining table that doubles as a kitchen workbench, or as a study desk and then folds down when not required.

Subfloor storage is another innovative idea, that enables you to store items (when not in use) under a sliding floor or lift-up trap-door floor.

Tiny apartment floor space showing bed end and combined living space. Image via www.roomsty.com

The photos in this featured gallery should inspire you with introductory ideas. Don’t limit your ideas, because it’s the creativity of the mind to adapt to the spaces we live in that will help you to comes up a style, layout, and functionality that will be uniquely yours.

Who knows? it may even surprise you how simple and easy you find it to live in a small apartment space or tiny house.

Cute well lit apartment space with living, kitchenette, and separate bedroom area. Image via www.room-ideas.com

One great resource that will provide plenty of ideas is how people make use of extremely small spaces in ‘tiny houses’. These situations often have more than one person living in a space of 200-400 sq feet, which presents a lot of challenges to getting the very best functional and comfortable design.

You’ll pick up many great ideas from researching example galleries of tiny house plans and designs.

Bedroom and Living space with curtain divider. Image via www.moidom-interior.blogspot.com

Small apartment with kitchenette, dining and living space and bike storage. Image via www.liveinternet.ru

Storing a bike in a small space, when you don’t have a garage or storage cupboard in a basement can offer a challenge.

The example above shows how adding a large scale hook to the ceiling can provide a convenient (and funky) means of storing a bike, where it’s not taking up valuable space, and is still readily accessible for when it’s needed

Tiny apartment space with mirror wall to make space seem bigger. Image via www.jpsinteractive.org

Another great idea we love that we’ve seen before is when there are stairs to an upper level, and some clever person has taken each stair tread and turned them into storage drawers that pull out.

Another great innovative idea of maximizing usage of space that would otherwise have been unused.

Compact two level apartment with maximum use of limited space. The spiral staircase takes up very little space and enables a mezzanine space to be used as a bedroom. Image via www.inthralld.com

Modern two level apartment with great use of limited space. Image via www.indulgy.com.

Modern two level apartment with great use of limited space. Image via www.rumahidealis.com

Small apartment living, kitchenette, and dining area. Image via www.frevinco.com

Who said you can’t be eclectic with your decor in a small apartment studio with lots of decorative items. In this example decorative wall art is critical for this apartment dweller to feel at home, so don’t feel you have to live a spartan existence, just because you’re living in a tiny or small space. Image via bulleblog.hautetfort.com

At the end of the day, it’s your home, and you can decorate any way you see fit.

Beautiful modern apartment studio room. Image via www.apoetadaalma.blogspot.com

Sunflower House Renovation Project, Mexico

Edificio Córdoba-Reurbano, Sunflower House Renovation Project, Mexico
Colonia Roma Norte, Ciudad de México.

The building is located in the Colonia Roma, a historic neighbourhood in the central sector of Mexico City.

La Roma developed in the 19th century as one of the first extensions of the city centre, with an orthogonal grid of large houses inhabited by the upper classes of the city. With the emergence of suburban life in the 50s, la Roma decreased its population throughout the second half of the 20th century, getting to its worst with earthquake of 1985.

Due to the location of la Roma in what once was Lake Texcoco, the subsoil is highly muddy, so seismic waves are amplified; thus, during the strong earthquake of 85, la Roma was one of the more affected areas of the city: many buildings collapsed, and many of those which resisted were abandoned by its inhabitants because of their structural damage or because of the fear that the buildings would not resist another earthquake.

The neighbourhood became deeply deteriorated, with high levels of insecurity and abandoned buildings, until its recent re-emergence as one of the most active areas of the city, filled with art galleries, small restaurants, cafés and young people occupying again its streets and public areas.

The project builds on the initiative of the Urban Recycling start-up; the initiative is challenging: build housing on a listed building of historical value, without any parking area –in a city where the car is the king-, and incorporating commercial area in the main floor, in a culture where such condition is typically associated to the reality of the lower social classes, and not understood as an indispensable element for building urban quality.

ReUrbano identifies an old house of historical value that was abandoned after the death of its eighty year old occupant and engages us to transform it into a housing building.

The project will have 9 apartments of various sizes and configurations, as well as commercial area in the upfront façade. The project forces us to confront the value of architectural form within the urban grid, as well as that of heritage and ways to intervene it. We seek for a discrete project, and we are overseeing to respect the spatial structure (and the essence) of the existing house.

The project maintains almost the overall existing building, beyond the dictum set by the local preservation instances, which establish that only the façade needs to be preserved. We believe in the value of the structure that builds up the façade, as well as in the interest of its current spatiality, and are confident on its possibilities despite the occupancy increase.

The existing building occupies the majority of the plot, although there is a ruin of a service area, independent of the actual house, at the rear of the plot. The project is based on a detailed analysis of each of the existing elements, looking forward to generate a different reality – more consistent with the new economic and social reality-, but in harmony with the original building: past and present coexisting, respecting and creating a new reality built up of two architectural typologies which respond to two different historic moments.

The project is structured through an outdoor sidelong corridor; the existing courtyard that provides entrance to the original house is replicated at the rear back, and therefore the two main cores to access the units are now related to each of those patios.

The addition to be built on the back of the house – replacing the old service area-, draws this second patio and has the form and materiality of the existing house, although it uses current technologies: the addition is clearly identifiable by a professional, but provides a continuous reading to a distracted eye.

The project also grows in height, both within the existing building and by the addition of two new floors to the old house. Digging 1.5m below street level, and building a series of intermediate levels inside the house, the

CADAVAL & SOLÀ-MORALES

www.ca-so.com

Interior of the existing house transforms from its original single level to up to 3 levels at some points. To highlight horizontality, the façade of the first floor to be built on top of the existing building is fully glazed, in order to lighten up the weight of the new addition, as well as to differentiate the original building of the new intervention.

The very top floor of the addition, is constructed with air and architecture: a succession of terraces and built volumes modifies the perception of the overall building’ height and slims the project, to appear as a chain of small towers and not as a continuous solid.

Materiality is key to the project. The original house is built in brick, material that has also been used in addition at the back of the building. The first is a living rough material, full of identity and history; the new differs from the original by small details, ranging industrial production to the way how walls are perforated: they are small subtleties that allow reading the difference, but that through their likeness build a single entity.

The volumes on the upper level have their own identity, both by the material itself, and by the colour (black, not white, to help lighten the weight of the addition). The materials enhance the generation of unique spaces, with great personality, designed for standard families, with changing needs that are also standard: rooms, bedrooms, kitchens and bathrooms build up unique spaces, intricate with the old and the new structure, ready to be appropriated by individual and different lifestyles, which come up with the new inhabitants.

Project Data:

Name of the project: Cordoba-ReUrbano Housing Building Real Estate concept: ReUrbano
Name of the Office: Cadaval & Solà-Morales.

Project: Eduardo Cadaval & Clara Solà-Morales.
Collaborators: Olivier Arditi, Catherine Nguyen.
Structural Engineering: Ricardo Camacho.
Construction Company: Eugenio Eraña, Juan Carlos Cajiga. Location: Roma District, Mexico City. Mexico.

Área: 2200sqm.
Studio Web: www.ca-so.com

CADAVAL & SOLÀ-MORALES

Photos: “Miguel de Guzmán www.imagensubliminal.com”

Doehler Loft Apartment, Brooklyn, NY by SABO Project

Doehler Loft Apartment is a recent renovation by SABO project in which a Brooklyn, New York loft located in a former die casting factory built in 1913 was completely gutted

After a 1980’s residential conversion, all concrete columns and ceilings were concealed. The removal of most partitions and a vast 4’ dropped ceiling presented the opportunity to reveal the authenticity of the building as well as dramatically expand the space.

Under the reclaimed 12’-0” ceiling, a new 7’-8” datum is defined by the height of a series of new partitions, custom cabinets, walk-in closet, glass enclosures and a new mezzanine.

The vertical combination of opacities and transparencies manages privacy while bringing natural light to every single space. The new connections between rooms establishes a continuum that seem to expand each space beyond it’s limits.

Storage is maximized throughout the kitchen and bathroom with the use of matt white handleless panels that contrast with the materiality of the concrete.

In addition, a custom built-in collection of wood containers stretches from the kitchen to the bedrooms while integrating stairs, display shelving, lighting and a home office.

The bathroom was designed around a diamond shaped ceramic tile that determines all dimensions including the apartment’s new datum. No less than 3 colors and 9 shades are combined in bold graphic patterns and gradients that wrap seamlessly around the walls and floor seemingly flooding the space.

Project name: Doehler
Architect: SABO project
Location: Brooklyn, New York

Architect In Charge: Alex Delaunay
Area: 124 sqm (1,333 sf)
Year: 2014
Photographs: SABO project

Copyrights: SABO project
Website: http://sabo-project.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SABO.project

Photo showing the space before the renovations

Photo two showing a different viewpoint of the space before the renovations

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Interior DI Project in St Petersburg, Russia by INT2architecture

PROJECT DETAILS: Interior DI Project. Work started in November 2013 and finished in January 2014. The total floor area is 105m2. The project type is an apartment which is located in Saint-Petersburg, Russia.

DESCRIPTION: This apartment suitable for a young couple in a new housing development is situated not far from St-Petersburg. The main goal of the project was to create a big well lighted open space living room with singularized functional zones and separated bedroom.

In order to do so, first of all, the balcony was integrated into the apartment and transformed into a “plywood box” that is inserted into the room.

This “box” is used as a dining zone with a wide window overlooking a forest. “The box” allowed us to widen the existing window in order to bring more light into the whole common space. The only window was a pre-existing condition and obviously was not enough for a such a big room.

Secondly, a home office zone was allocated in the living room – a small space for the desk and office equipment is separated from the common area by the two-sided shelving system.

Lastly, the third functional zone singularized from the common space is the kitchen. Even though it is a very technological zone it does not look foreign in the living room thanks to the minimalistic design.

The Interior color scheme is based on the nuance palette with small bright accents here and there. White walls and neutral floors are the background and pastel colors – coral, gentle blue, pearl gray – create an atmosphere of warmth and coziness.

Ocean blue wall color in the bedroom combined with the hints of red offers a relaxed but at the same time exciting atmosphere – one that is well-suited for the young couple’s bedroom.

Interior style in this project can be described as contemporary with the mix of Scandinavian design elements and Mid-century Modern furniture.

By mixing old with absolutely new, by blending modern century furniture with the typical minimalist one we tried to create a balance of functionality and artwork perception of the space, and to get an expressive, stylish and unique interior with an authentic atmosphere as a result.

STUDIO DESCRIPTION: INT2architecture is a young active multi-disciplinary team of architects, designers, artists, photographers and philosophers based in Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, Russia. Founded by Alexander Malinin & Anastasia Sheveleva.

The name of the studio is a merger of two words: INTuition + INTellect because we believe that answers to many questions lay in between rational and irrational cognition. The main line of work – private housing design, interior design of private and public spaces, landscape and industrial design, urbanism.

web-site: www.int2architecture.ru
e-mail: [email protected]
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Int2architecture

Alexander Malinin graduated from Volgograd State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering in 2005. Co-founder, principal architect and designer at INT2architecture.

Anastasia Sheveleva graduated from Volgograd State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering in 2009 and post-graduate program at The Strelka Institute for Media, Architecture and Design in 2012 (studio “Citizens As Customers”). Co-founder, principal architect and designer at INT2architecture.

Cumberland St Townhouse Project, Brooklyn, New York by Ensemble Architecture

View standing in the outdoor area looking inside

This view of the townhouse is looking back at the house from standing in the rear outdoor entertaining area. The completed and finished look from Ensemble Architecture, DPC is a sensational one with indoor, outdoor flow being one of the property’s key features amongst others.

The Cumberland Townhouse, as pictured above, is located on a park block in the neighborhood of Fort Greene in Brooklyn, New York. The house was in a dilapidated state when the owner’s purchased the building; the rear wall was falling down and water had been entering the building for several years.

This is a long view from kitchen through to the dining area and then beyond to the outdoors via the expanding doors that fully open out to reveal the rear entertaining area.

The house was completely transformed with a new rear wall and a two-story addition at the rear of the house. The addition is open to the living room above and is connected through interior steel and glass windows that mimic the two-story, exterior windows.

The stunning dining area with the doors fully opened to the rear entertaining yard with its outdoor bbq and seating area.

The doors at the garden open completely to create a seamless connection between the kitchen / dining level and the garden.

The master bedroom of the Cumberland St townhouse with a view through to the ensuite bathroom and an extensive bookcase to satisfy any avid night time reader.

Vines are planted in recessed planters along the 2 story party walls in the dining room–the room was designed with the idea of being an indoor-outdoor space where the garden melds with the interior spaces.

The Cumberland St townhouse sitting a living room with a parquet floor as viewed from another lounge room

The vines will cover the double-story party walls and will add an organic quality to all of the spaces that the dining room connects. The top of the addition is a private master bedroom balcony.

Cumberland St townhouse living room with ornate fireplace, large turkish floor rug and a relaxing chaise.

Ensemble Architecture, DPC
168 7TH STREET, 3C
BROOKLYN, NY 11215
www.elizabethroberts.com

The Cumberland St townhouse staircase with parquet flooring hallway.

Photographer: Dustin Aksland

Cumberland St townhouse ensuite bathroom.

Cumberland St townhouse bathroom with clawfoot bath, overhead shower, mid century art deco pedestal style basin and ceramic tile floor.

Another bedroom used as a baby nursery bedroom.

Minimalist living room with two chairs, fantastic elevated outlook and the parquet floor.

Kitchen butlers sink and dishwasher.

Another view of the kitchen bench area showing the oven and the cooking area.