Small apartments are not uncommon, especially in Germany's big cities. This is how you get the most out of your rooms and let them grow visually.
It doesn't take much to feel comfortable and homely in your own home. But a small, dark and cramped apartment doesn't exactly look inviting or cozy either. Often, however, more space is not needed, but only one or two tricks to divide the available space sensibly and make it look more far-reaching. You can find out exactly how this works here.
1. Let there be light
Light plays a huge role in the optical enlargement of your home. It is important to make sure that you catch an object with a lot of natural light when looking for an apartment. A light-flooded room looks wide and inviting, regardless of the actual square meters.
But cheating can also be done in rooms with little to no natural daylight. Many small light sources, instead of a central ceiling light, create an illusion of grandeur. In this way, they allow the less illuminated elements of the room to fade into the background in the dark and visually grow the room.
+Do you also have little space available? These five tricks will help you get the most out of it.
© Cavan Images/Imago
2. Keep the walls white – or at least bright
A white wall merges with the ceiling, moving away from the other walls and intensifying the daylight. In general, simple and light colors are suitable for small rooms, because dark colors make a room look small and depressed. And if you need it a little more colorful, you can let off steam with the pastel colors, for example.
Harmonious home: tone-on-tone
So that the whole thing does not look too chaotic, it is recommended, especially in small rooms, not to throw too many colors and patterns together. Instead, you do yourself a favor of furnishing the rooms in as few tones as possible and preferably in related nuances.
3. Multifunctional furniture frees up space in small rooms
Even if a small apartment can be visually enlarged, the storage space remains the same. That's why it's important to plan in advance what you really want to put in the rooms and what you can do without. Some pieces of furniture can be used in many ways and have a space-saving 2-in-1 effect. For example, you can convert your bed into a sofa during the day with extra decorative pillows and a beautiful bedspread. Or place a small office cabinet next to the dining table so that you can use it flexibly in your home office and save yourself the classic desk.
Clearing up areas
Once the furniture has been reduced to the bare essentials, it is a good idea to push it against the wall to create the most central, free space possible in the middle of the room. This optical center can also be underlined with the help of a carpet.
Please keep your distance - furnishing tips for the bedroom
Please keep your distance - furnishing tips for the bedroom
4. Create additional storage space
In small rooms, the rule is not to waste space as much as possible. In order to get the maximum benefit from a well-arranged apartment, one should think upwards, among other things. Floor-to-ceiling shelves offer more space and make the room feel even higher. Objects attached to the wall, such as shelves or coat hooks, and furniture hanging from the ceiling (e.g. clothes rails), which do not take up any floor space, are also attractive for limited space.
Chic boxes can be pushed under the sofa and bed, but also under some stairs, which offer a lot of additional storage space and at the same time look tidy and tidy.
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5. Order is half the battle
In a tidy room, everyone feels much more comfortable, but apart from the aesthetic aspect, a tidy apartment also looks much bigger. Through a sensible room division and the creation of additional storage areas, a fixed place should be created for everything, to which everything is then always stowed accordingly. This way, worn clothes do not end up over the desk chair or even on the floor, but find their way properly into the laundry bag or back into the wardrobe.
Small rooms are big and big: less is more
A minimalist interior design not only makes it easier to keep things tidy, but also automatically gives you more freedom of movement in small rooms. But it is not only the furniture that should be limited to the bare essentials, one's own possessions, from clothes to collectible figures, should also be reduced at best. Otherwise, clear rooms and areas quickly appear crowded and cramped.
Category list image: © Cavan Images/Imago