How to Decorate a One Bedroom Apartment
Having your own apartment is exciting. You are able to make all of the decisions about how the rooms will be arranged, what colors to use and how to manage your space. While your one bedroom apartment may have issues of adequate storage and room space, you can still make your new home feel comfortable and spacious by staying organized, painting with bright colors and considering the size of a room before decorating. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Make a list of all of the measurements in your home. Your list should include the dimensions (length x width x height) of every wall in each room, the dimensions of each window and any open space between appliances. You should also take measurements in your bathroom, where you may wish to add furniture, and measure the furniture itself. This will help give you an idea of how much space you will have for new items in your home.
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Choose a paint color for the main rooms that both, compliment your personality, and give the appearance of space. The Home Renovation Guide website notes that cool pale colors and neutral tones, such as cream, white, icy blues and pale greens, can help give a room the appearance of space. Light colors will reflect the natural and artificial light in your room, which also makes the room appear larger.
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Look for furniture that has storage space, or can serve multiple functions. A sleeper sofa, Murphy bed, and coffee table with drawers are great examples of utilizing storage space in a discrete way.
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Minimize the amount of furniture in a room. The more open space in the room, the larger your space will appear. Avoid clutter by providing space between your bookshelves and desk. Keeping furniture closer together to allow ease of conversation among guests is fine, as long as the furniture does not block access to walk around the room.
In its "Making Smaller Homes Seem Larger" article, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Agricultural Center Cooperative Extension advises you should, "Use only as much furniture as is needed, leaving as much open space as possible. Limiting the amount of furniture also helps traffic flow from one room to another by keeping doors and passageways open."
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Create a focal point in each room. A focal point gives your eye a place to focus on in the room, which will make the entire room appear complete. Apartment-ideas.com notes you can use a structure in your apartment, such as a fireplace as a focal point, or you can create your own focal point by adding brightly colored pillows or throw blankets to a larger piece of furniture in the room.
While it is important to have a focal point in each room, keep the rest of the decorations in the room subtle to avoid taking attention away from your focal point.
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Tips & Warnings
Matching paint colors to main pieces of furniture, bedding or throw pillows can help pull a room together.
Keep everything organized. You may not be able to keep your home perfect at all times, but having a designated place for everything in your home will help you avoid clutter that will make your apartment look cramped.
If you are renting your apartment, be sure your decorating plans (including painting and mounting shelving units) are compliant with your rental agreement. If you are unsure of the restrictions in your home, contact your landlord or property manager to discuss your concerns. This information should also be noted on your copy of the rental agreement or lease.
