Small Home Styling

With so many interior style blogs and social media accounts, it’s easy to feel inspired. But if you have a small home you might feel restricted in your interior styling possibilities. But there’s no reason you can’t think big with your small home styling!

Find a Style That Suits Your Space

You might be a big fan of bold, deco-luxe styles or vintage, French provincial styles. But if you have a small home, these styles can make the space feel over-cluttered.

Deco-luxe interiors rely on a lot of dark colours with metallic accents. While it is a myth that black walls make a space feel smaller, too much of these impressive tones can feel heavy.

French provincial interiors rely on a lot. In general, there’s always a lot going on in these spaces. A small home can’t always afford this luxury as if you fill up the space with large, impactful furniture then there’s no room for you!

Instead, opt for more contemporary, minimalist home styles. (Discover what each style entails here.)

One of the defining aspects of a lot of contemporary interiors is their use of white space. This negative space can make a small home feel larger than it actually is. This can involve using select artworks instead of covering your walls in decorative accents. (And wallpaper is always a risk.) Not that you can’t have fun with your wall décor. Monochromatic or typography-based artworks are great in small spaces because they feel simple to the eye. Things only feel too heavy if there’s a lot of visual elements all at once.

You can also create negative space underneath your furniture. Armchairs and sofas that don’t extend to the floor and have long, visible legs can make a space feel less full without actually changing the amount of items in a room.

Use Clever Storage

One of the problems with a small home is that there’s never enough room for all of your belongings. So clever storage solutions are a must. There are plenty of ways to accomplish this but there are two pieces of furniture that can be absolute lifesavers when trying to minimise clutter: the storage bed and the storage ottoman.

Yes there are plenty of different types of storage furniture, but in a small home you need your furniture to work double time.

Storage ottomans

Storage ottomans work in pretty much any room of the home. They can be placed at the end of the bed to keep extra blankets and linen close by. You could use them in your living room as relaxed seating as well as easy storage of throws or even books. You might even use them to store toys if you have little ones. A storage ottoman fits into a small home easily and can serve almost any function you need it to.

Beds with storage

Unlike ottomans, storage beds won’t work in every room in your home. However, they take up no extra space. After all, you’ll need a bed no matter what, right? The two most common types of storage beds are those that have drawers on either sides, or those whose foot end lifts up to reveal a large compartment underneath your mattress. Each style has its benefits, but what matters most is making organising all your belongings easier!

Light ’em Up

If there’s one lesson to learn early on when styling a small home it’s that lighting is important. All the amazing, minimalist styling in the world will be rendered moot if your lighting isn’t up to snuff. A well-lit home feels a lot bigger than a dark one.

You might be tempted to use only ceiling lights. After all, they don’t take up any floor or surface room. But a tall floor lamp or even a table lamp can do the trick just as well, while also giving you an opportunity to express your personal style.

Make the Most of Every Space

Sometimes there’s that weird corner of the living room that we never use. We just don’t know what to do with it. If you live in a small home or flat you can’t afford to not use it. Could you create a book nook in that little corner? Or maybe you could use as a storage corner with multiple bookcases and display cabinets. Could you even turn it into a mini office space with a small desk, chair, and laptop? Or if you’re not inclined to create a new space, can you rearrange your existing furniture?

Spread out your furniture. Create that negative space. If there’s a weird place in your small home that you’re not using then think to yourself how you could rearrange the room to use it up. Could the sofa actually turn 90° and be pushed against that wall?

Every piece of furniture and every homeware in your space helps create your personal style. With a small home these pieces must be deliberately chosen. But that just means being sure of your design choices and purchases. Your styling isn’t limited by your space, only by your imagination.