Our Top 5 Styling Tips for Small Spaces

In this guest post, Chicago-based writer and stylist Wendy Altschuler, opens in a new tab shares five simple tips to maximize small living spaces.

Whether you’re part of the tiny house movement or living minimally in an urban walk-up, creating style and infusing your personality into a small space is entirely within your grasp. Just because your square footage isn’t huge, doesn’t mean you have to live blandly—even if it feels like you’re trying to solve an intricate interior puzzle. Keep reading to discover how your petite dwelling can have charm and character—in spades.

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1. Find Your Light

In a small space, lighting, opens in a new tab is key. If you don’t have a lot of windows or natural light, then you’ll have to lean on lamps, opens in a new tab to generate the magic and keep every room from feeling too dark or weighty. Create a gentle ambiance with hanging pendants, opens in a new tab, wall sconces, opens in a new tab, or thoughtfully considered table lamps, opens in a new tab.

Lighting that can be multi-functional or satisfy different purposes, like accent lights, opens in a new tab that can swivel will go far in making your home functional in the way you need it to be. If you have room, bring a floor lamp into your lighting strategy to make the best use of the corners and pockets of additional space.

2. Master Mirror Placement

Mirrors, opens in a new tab are an ideal way to make a room feel bigger than it is. When strategically placed, mirrors can also catch and reflect the light back into your home. Think about where your windows are located and how you might make a mirror work to maximize sunlight. Having the ability to check your hair or outfit before heading out the door is also a good enough reason to incorporate one or two into your residence.

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3. Maximize on Storage

Ease clutter in your dwelling with the aid of bins, drawers, and baskets, opens in a new tab. If you have a desktop filled with papers, books, pens, and loose items, for example, group like-with-like and store these things in a way that makes sense. If you have blankets, pillows, and comfort articles in your living room that seem to wind up all over the place, find a storage solution, opens in a new tab that will tidy up the room when these items aren’t in use. The good news is that you can also pick out a piece of lovely furniture that doubles as not only a good style choice, but also, a way to put things in their designated spot.

4. Ground the Room with an Area Rug

Don’t shy away from a large floor covering just because you have a small space. Take into account the size and shape of the room, opens in a new tab, as well as the amount of furniture that you need to place, and get the biggest rug, opens in a new tab that you can to fashion the illusion of a loftier area. A rug that pulls everything together and creates atmosphere is better than a tiny rug that doesn’t fit the space.

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5. Float Your Ideas

If you have minimal floor space, utilize your walls as much as you can. Instead of floor lamps, use sconces, opens in a new tab or pendants, opens in a new tab. Look for floating tables or ledges, opens in a new tab that can be affixed to the studs. A perfectly placed shelf, opens in a new tab will create space underneath it for extra storage resolutions.

And, just because you’re utilizing the wall space, doesn’t mean every necessary item on the floor needs to be jammed packed together and pushed up against the wall. Giving your furniture a little breathing room from the edges of the room will generate the impression of space.

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Written by Wendy Altschuler, opens in a new tab