You CAN live it up in your small space!

I recently worked with a client who was living in a small condo.

She needed to use every square inch of that space.

But how could she store all of her stuff and still make it pretty enough to entertain friends?

There are a few things that we did to make her small space work for her.

Choose furniture that serves more than one purpose.

Your coffee table could also have hidden storage in it or it could lift up in order to act as a desk.

Your end table could have a bookcase bottom.

You could use an old chest of drawers for a coffee table.

The drawers would be great for storing extra throws or your television remotes.

Ottomans, coffee tables and end tables should definitely provide storage.

If your table is just a table, that valuable space underneath it is not working for you.

Choose seating that provides the most amount of seating space it can.

Choose sofas and chairs that have narrow arms and backs so that it takes up less space that isn’t used for seating.

If you have a sofa with a large rolled back it’s using up vital space in your room and not providing any more seating.

Also, a great tip for choosing a sofa that gives you the most amount of seating –

choose a sofa that has either one large cushion or three cushions instead of two cushions.

Nobody ever wants to sit on the crack.

Choose furniture with rounded edges instead of squared points.

Furniture with rounded edges allows you to walk around your small space comfortably, without banging into the corner.

In a small space that’s already challenging to move around in,

you don’t want to be banging your knee into the corner of the coffee table every time you get up.

Use a tone on tone color palette.

It’s just like when you want to look taller, you dress all in one color.

In your small space you can keep the color palette simple and it tricks the eye into thinking that there is more space.

You can make tone on tone rooms more interesting by adding texture with your fabrics.

Add a thick, woven throw to your side chair.

Use some tweed pillows on your sofa.

But keep them in the same color palette to keep your eye moving around the room.

Mount things on the wall.

No need to use up precious floor area in your small space.

Use your vertical space.

Wall mounted lights are great for saving precious table area, especially next to the bed.

Wall mounted hooks for hanging coats and dog leashes,

instead of a standing coat rack that uses up floor real estate,

are great in the foyer area.

Get things up off of the floor.

Add wheels to your furniture.

Putting things on wheels makes it multi functional.

A wheeled chair is easily moved to different areas of your small space for conversation.

An end table on wheels can be moved as needed for serving.

No need to find furniture that comes with wheels.

Adding small wheels to the bottom of furniture is a fast easy project.

And adding wheels can add a great industrial look that is so popular right now.

Now you know what to do this weekend.

This one is a classic – Add mirrors.

Mirrors reflect light and also create the illusion of more area in your small space.

Have you ever been in a restaurant and you see people way in the back of the room

but when you walk to the back of the restaurant you realize it’s actually a mirror.

They’ve tricked you into thinking the restaurant is much larger than it is.

This works in your home as well. It doesn’t have to be a 1980s mirrored wall.

You can find a great, framed mirror and hang that,

or try a grouping of several eclectic mirrors to add some interest.

Flea markets are a great place to find some.

All that said; less is more.

Put in only as much furniture as you NEED for your small space to work for you.

A small living room needs seating.

It needs a coffee table and at least one end table to put a drink down on.

And your small space needs some storage to hide unattractive necessities, like extra reading glasses.

But it does not need ten stuffed animals from the kid’s room,

files that belong in the office

or twenty magazines you’ve already read.

Get rid of the clutter.

Or at least hide it in your multi functional tables.

Small spaces can be great living and entertaining spaces.

Use the space efficiently and smartly.

Make your small space work for you.

If you have a great small space to share join the conversation on our Facebook page or share it with us on Instagram and Pinterest.

4 Things Every Room NeedsDecorate Your Dorm Room