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Small Home: 4 Tips for it to be cozy and functional!

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Do you have a small home and don’t know how to make it beautiful, cozy, and functional?

We’ve said it other times: a small home is definitely more challenging to furnish, but not impossible.

Nowadays, especially with new constructions, encountering this type of housing is very likely!

Let’s see what to do in the case of a small home!

1 – PAY ATTENTION TO FURNITURE SELECTION

When dealing with a small home, one might think they should opt for tinier furniture and accessories.

While maintaining a certain proportion is paramount, to have a few slightly larger pieces than many smaller ones is better.

First and foremost, smaller pieces might not be as comfortable or functional.

Also, too many pieces can create visual clutter, making the space feel even smaller.

From a Feng Shui perspective, it’s important not to overcrowd the space to allow energy to flow freely.

If the room is too full, the energy may become stagnant.

In addition to size, consider the type of furniture as well: it’s better to opt for pieces with simple, minimalist lines to avoid weighing down the space.

(credits: @elemorlovedecor_blog; @anabarcenasinteriorista)

As seen other times, it would also be ideal for furniture to have legs for being raised from the ground, creating the illusion of more space underneath and tricking the mind into perceiving greater spaciousness.

Additionally, like before, this allows for the flow of energy, making it an excellent choice from a Feng Shui perspective.

(credits: Ikea; theblushhome.com)

MULTIFUNCTIONAL AND TRANSFORMABLE FURNITURE

Very useful are also transformable or foldable furniture pieces, which you can open/enlarge or fold back depending on your needs!

There are many different types available on the market, and they can be quite aesthetically pleasing as well.

The same goes for multifunctional elements, such as storage ottomans/benches or chairs that you can use near the table or the sofa, depending on the occasion.

That allows for having fewer items that serve multiple functions!

(credits: lumisource.com; goodideatrade.com)

For making the right choice, good initial planning is crucial, where you understand how you use spaces, giving more importance to areas that you use most frequently.

For instance, if you don’t always have guests for lunch or dinner, a small extendable table in the dining area might suffice, providing more breathing space for the living room!

(credits: Amazon; Ikea)

2 – FOLLOW YOUR STYLE

When space is limited, it’s easy to feel intimidated, and when following advice (including the previous one) to opt for linear and essential furniture, there’s a risk of ending up with a result that doesn’t represent the home inhabitants.

If the house doesn’t reflect your style, it won’t be comfortable or functional, and you won’t feel at ease.

So, how do you express your style when having simple and linear furniture is essential?

Express your style through decorations!

“Less is more” is a must in small spaces, but “less” doesn’t mean lacking character!

Start with a minimal base, as mentioned before, for large furniture pieces, choosing items that can adapt to any style.

Then, express your personality with smaller accessories such as a unique chair, perhaps a designer piece, artwork, cushions, and so on.

By doing this, you’ll maintain airy spaces with character and personality – your own!

Moreover, this approach allows you to change things frequently without breaking the bank each time!

(credits: @reserve_home; flipboard.com)

3 – ORDER AND ORGANIZATION

We often talk about order for inviting and harmonious homes, but in small spaces, it’s vital to avoid visually constricting the area further!

Again, in this case, “less is more” is truly significant because it makes it easier to maintain a tidy home.

Having too many things scattered around isn’t ideal, even from a Feng Shui perspective, as it tends to stagnate energy rather than allow it to flow freely!

Tools for organizing drawers and closets can help maintain order.

There’s a wide variety available on the market, ranging in size and price to suit every need and budget!

Organizing drawers and closets effectively will allow for easy access to everything.

When items are practical to take out and put away, it’s much easier to maintain order!

Additionally, you can consider other storage elements such as benches, ottomans, or baskets, which not only serve a functional purpose but can also be decorative.

Among storage elements are still storage beds or beds with drawers, which are undoubtedly convenient but not recommended from a Feng Shui perspective due to the potential energy blockage.

If you want to utilize the space under the bed, it’s better to use boxes, perhaps with wheels, so you can move them around during cleaning and, thus, stir up the energy!

(credits: cherishedbliss.com; Etsy)

4 – MAXIMIZE BRIGHTNESS

In small spaces, it’s essential to have airy and bright environments.

Therefore, maximizing natural light is vital!

To achieve this, it’s important to keep windows and French doors clean and free from obstruction by plants, furniture, or curtains!

For privacy, use lightweight and filtering curtains.

If you prefer double curtains and want a thick and colorful one, use an extra-long rod so that, when it’s open, it doesn’t cover the window but only a part of the wall.

Pay attention to the color of the curtains, as they will tint the light filtering through and subsequently alter the perception of colors in the house!

(credits: Cille Grut; inredningshjalpen.com)

If your home isn’t so bright, help duplicate the light with mirrors, glossy elements, and metallic items!

However, avoid overdoing shiny or metallic elements to prevent the environment from feeling too cold!

Strategically position mirrors; practically, placing them in front of windows maximizes reflected light because they capture more.

However, from a Feng Shui perspective, this “sends back” the entering energy, so it’s better to position them laterally to invite energy to enter!

(credits: decoholic.org; Nordic design)

PAY ATTENTION TO COLORS TOO

Colors also play an important role in light reflection, and white is the ultimate reflective color.

From the live with color expert Claudia Piolatto (if you missed it, you can find it here), we understood that avoiding pure white is better because it can cause glare and tends to create somewhat sterile environments.

However, there are more than 150 shades of white, so you can absolutely find the most suitable one.

It’s not mandatory to totally eliminate colors!

For walls, choose light colors that aren’t too vivid and avoid strong contrasts (which visually shrink the space).

Feel free to use stronger colors in accessories and objects to add rhythm and character.

(credits: @anthology_creative_studio; article.com)

N.B. The bedroom could be an exception to light colors, and here’s why.

Dark colors create a cozy, intimate environment akin to a warm embrace, which is particularly important in the bedroom!

So, if you like them, feel free to use them!

Since the bedroom is primarily for resting and sleeping, prioritizing brightness at all costs can be overlooked.

However, I still advise maintaining consistency with the colors, perhaps opting for richer versions or toning them down with gray or black in the case of very vibrant colors.

That will maintain a sense of harmony throughout the space!

(credits: Pella Hedeby; Studio Enass)

I hope this article has been helpful and enjoyable for you. If so, let me know in the comments!

Feel free to share it with anyone you think might be interested, I would be honored, and it will help me gain more exposure.

If you feel that your home, or any specific area of it, doesn’t reflect your personality enough, don’t wait any longer and book your consultancy!

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Small house? Here are some tricks to make it bigger

Furnishing a small house can be challenging, especially managing not to make it look smaller than it is by making it stuffy.

As always, the expedients are there, in this case, 7 tricks that will make the house look bigger!

Let’s look at them together!

– HOMOGENEITY

In a small house, it is paramount to maintain harmony wherever possible, and one of the first things to do is to avoid contrasts as much as possible.

For this in a small house, it will be essential to try to have everything the same color walls, ceiling, doors, baseboards, floors…

The homogeneity of colors, and thus the lack of contrasts, will help make the room look larger.

Beware that this doesn’t necessarily mean having everything white or otherwise light; you could also decide to have everything dark!

The color changes, the contrasts precisely, create boundaries, and these visually shrink spaces.

Again to avoid boundaries, it would be good to have the same floor throughout the house; even if it were tone on tone, changing materials (or worse) patterns would still create some dividing line!

Likewise, use tiles as large as possible to limit the view of joints!

It is a good idea to maintain this homogeneity even with bigger furniture, curtains, and any rugs, thus keeping a tone-on-tone as much as possible.

You can play with colors, if you want, with smaller elements and decorations.

To brighten a bit of the tone on tone that might otherwise be “boring”, it will be enough to play with different materials and finishes!

(credits: Tonje Isaksen; greenarchitectures.com)

– FURNISHINGS

It will be vital, in small rooms, to maximizing space as much as possible, and for this purpose, 2 types of furniture can help with this.

One is multi-functional furniture, that is, furniture that can have several functions in one, such as a bed or a storage sofa.

Or it could be a coffee table that transforms completely to become a dining table or partly to become, for example, a desk!

(credits: lumisource.com; Amazon)

The second type, quite helpful, is folding furniture such as might be a console table which, when opened, becomes a dining table!

That will give you more breathing room when the dining table is not needed!

Of course, there are also chairs, which you can place in a closet or, why not, even hang on the wall!

This type of furniture is increasingly needed and, therefore, has evolved over the years to become really beautiful as well, allowing you not to have to sacrifice design for functionality!

(credits: progettosedia.com; neptune.com)

Study your space well and what you need for your everyday life to choose the type of furniture that best suits your needs.

Another shrewdness will be to take elements that have feet and do not rest directly on the floor: this makes the eye perceive the space underneath, giving more breadth to the room.

(credits: roomandboard.com; pinterest)

– EMPHASIZES THE HEIGHTS

Deceiving the mind is really very easy; it is always just a matter of perceptions!

Accentuating and emphasizing heights is a great way to make spaces seem visually larger!

A first way to do this is to use, where possible, full-height furniture, which, in addition to everything else, will give the possibility of more storage space!

If you are using drapery curtains, it will be imperative that you hang them as close to the ceiling as possible and that they skim the floor; let’s avoid optical barriers with curtains too short!

(credits: aewee.top; brandoconcept.com)

Replace floor and table lamps with wall ones you will illuminate properly while leaving the floor and various surfaces free!

Then if you get some particular lamps, maybe with arms you can even create some scenery!

Another way to emphasize heights is to use very tall plants!

The plants then will also give movement, create visual interest, and bring a touch of freshness!

(credits: medium.com; maisondepax.com)

– FOCAL POINT

Speaking of visual interests: the focal point becomes almost essential in a small environment!

And the best way to do this is to use huge paintings that immediately attract the eye and attention!

I emphasize that it should be a single large painting rather than a wall gallery so as not only to create visual interest but also to avoid visually shrinking the environment!

Lots of paintings will, in fact, have many borders and create boundaries that we have already seen many times will make environments appear smaller!

Not only that, many paintings, although perfectly placed, also create a somewhat visual clutter that, again, optically shrinks the spaces!

(credits: Behance; Amazon)

– DECLUTTERING

Picking up on the previous point, decluttering in small spaces is essential!

Lots of things, all misplaced, create visual confusion, and this, as already mentioned, will make the environments perceived as “crowded” and, therefore, smaller!

Withdraw everything you can and place in baskets or boxes what is in sight.

There are really so many solutions on the market to be able to keep everything tidy.

(credits: @crescentlivingco; amazon)

– DOUBLE THE LIGHT AND THE SPACES WITH THE MIRRORS

Mirrors are known to reflect, and this in small spaces is really a not inconsiderable help!

In fact, you will be able to double light and space!

You can think of mirroring an entire wall to give the optical illusion of extra space!

If the whole wall is too much for your taste, I still recommend using large mirrors to multiply as much light as possible!

In addition, large mirrors are also very scenic and can be that extra element of style that never hurts!

(credits: inmyroom.ru; Mark Luscombe-Whyte)

– SMALL SPACES, SMALL ELEMENTS?

Be careful not to fall into the common mistake of thinking: “because I have small spaces, I must have small furniture and elements!”

Everything too small will shrink spaces, in addition, to increasing the risk of overfilling and thus creating visual chaos that, again, will make the environment feel even smaller!

Always keeping proportions in mind, it is good to play with size by taking big and small elements.

Properly study what is essential and functional for you, get it comfortable and, therefore, maybe larger, and pair it with smaller pieces.

The interplay of sizes will help visually enlarge the spaces!

(credits: Stephen Sills; Margaret Boatner)

I hope this article was helpful and you love it; in case, let me know in the comments!

Feel free to share it with anyone you think might be interested, I will be honored, and it will help me get my name out there.

If you feel that your home, or some environment of it, does not reflect you enough, do not wait any longer and book your consultancy!

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Furnishing a small house? the 5 common mistakes to avoid!

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Furnishing a small house is actually a challenge, but it can be done with a little bit of cleverness and attention.

There are at least five general common mistakes made when furnishing a small house, and I’d like to discuss them in this article, giving you some tips and tricks to avoid or fix them!

Ready? Let’s see them together:

1 – DARK AND HEAVY FURNITURE

One of the most common mistakes is using heavy and dark furniture.

Furniture with substantial, solid structures and dark colors visually shrinks the spaces, making them feel a bit suffocating!

It’s better to avoid them by opting for furniture with light profiles, such as chairs and tables with thin legs.

Try to choose furnishing elements through which you can see the structure; this is a trick to deceive the mind: if you can see the space beyond a piece of furniture or an accessory, it will seem like the environment is larger!

Additionally, lighter furnishings will make the environment feel more airy, elegant, and, therefore, more pleasant!

So, NO to bulky, heavy, and dark furniture, and YES to ones with light, open, and bright structures!

(credits: moebel.ladendirekt.de; lago.it)

(credits: Room & Board; hackrea.com)

2 – SMALL RUGS

Another general common mistake is opting for a small rug; this never works well, not even in a large house, but it becomes detrimental in a small one.

A small rug will give the impression of a smaller space because it creates boundaries.

That will cause the mind to be somehow drawn to those boundaries, separating the part of the rug from everything else.

The rug should be large enough to enclose, contain the furnishings, or at least be under the front legs of the furniture.

That will show fewer edges of the rug and, consequently, fewer boundaries!

So, NO to small rugs (it’s better not to have them at all); YES to large rugs that go under the furniture!

(credits: rugsusa.com; Margaret Boatner)

3 – DIFFERENT AND CONTRASTING FLOORING

Having different floors with strongly contrasting colors is another classic mistake.

Contrast is a fundamental element in interior design, but it must be used wisely!

Different and contrasting floors are great when you need to visually divide an ample space containing two functionalities, such, for example, as an open-plan area with a kitchen and living room.

But in a small space, it’s somewhat similar to the principle we just discussed with rugs: different floors with different and contrasting colors create boundaries and visually shrink the space.

When space is limited, uniformity is crucial, so if you want to use two different floors, choose ones with the same tone.

The transition from one floor to another will be subtle, making the various zones feel like a single, larger space!

For this reason, where there are rugs, it would be ideal for them, besides being large, to have the same tones as the floor.

You’ll notice the different textures, but you won’t see barriers that sharply divide the space into diverse areas!

So, NO to great contrasts on floors, YES to uniformity; it’s okay to change textures, but try to maintain the same tones as much as possible!

(credits: progressprofiles.com; materiesuperficiarredo.it)

4 – FAILURE TO PLAN THE SPACE

Not planning the spaces when furnishing is a common mistake, but it becomes particularly noticeable when space is limited!

It’s crucial to make, in small environments, the most of the space according to your lifestyle.

So, every time you want to buy something, ask yourself:

– How do you use that space?

– Who lives there?

– What are your real needs?

That is essential to buy only what is necessary to make your spaces functional and efficient.

Let me give you an example: if two people live in a small house, there’s no need to get a 3-seater sofa or a sectional; a comfortable 2-seater sofa will suffice, along with maybe some extra seating that can be used near the table when you have guests!

Of course, you’ll need to ensure that all elements harmonize with each other for stunning spaces!

Multifunctional elements are essential for furnishing a small house:

– As in the previous example, a seating option that can serve as a relaxation spot near the sofa but also be used as a chair near the dining table when needed.

– A coffee table that transforms into a dining table;

– A pouf that doubles as a coffee table or storage unit;

These elements allow you to need fewer items and have more free space!

So, NO to furniture chosen just because you like it, YES to planning the spaces according to your needs.

(credits: graziademonte.com; instagram.comp60U_nKM-AFtaken-by=jackieruedaphotography)

5 – USING ONLY FLOOR SPACE

Yet another common mistake is using only the floor area, but the space is three-dimensional, and in small environments, we really need to take advantage of every available surface.

So, walls, but also ceilings where possible!

Think vertically, perhaps with shelves or wall-mounted furniture as storage space; in the kitchen, you could consider attaching a fold-down table instead of a traditional one.

Use wall lights instead of floor lamps: you’ll properly illuminate while leaving more floor space.

Of course, pendant lights, but you can also consider hanging a seat from the ceiling or lowering it to create additional storage space if the height allows it!

Even plants, instead of placing them on the floor, you could consider hanging them.

Thinking vertically will allow you to have everything you like and desire in your home without cluttering the floor and enabling better use of space.

You’ll thus have a functional home for your lifestyle, but also beautiful and, above all, comfortable!

So, NO to everything resting on the floor, YES to unleashing your creativity by making the most of every available surface!

(credit: carousell.sgpbohemian; elle.se Johanna-bradford)

I hope this article about furnishing a small house has been helpful and enjoyable for you. If so, let me know in the comments!

If you’d like, here are some more small tricks to make the most out of living in a small apartment!

Feel free to share it with anyone you think might be interested, I would be honored, and it will help me gain more exposure.

If you feel that your home, or any specific area of it, doesn’t reflect your personality enough, don’t wait any longer and book your consultancy!

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