10 Small Room Design Tips to Maximize Space

Almost anyone who has lived in a place like New York City has experienced this problem: how to make a tiny, cramped apartment room look spacious. I myself have experienced this issue and have listed below the ways that I have found to be helpful in making a small space look bigger. 

This post will give you 10 great ideas for your small room and how to design it to make your small NYC apartment seem bigger.

1. Keep it clean

This one is easier said than done. But simply keeping a space clean can make a huge difference. This includes never leaving anything out (unless they are used daily); In the kitchen, put things in cabinets to keep the counters clear, in the living room put games away.

You don’t have to be a minimalist to achieve this step. If you have too many little things, get some storage bins. There are nice cheap ones at Target that work great for this. You can store all of your belongings without it interfering with the room. Plus it looks nice and is only $4!

Storage is key (check out other storage ideas here)

2. Nothing too small

There is a concept known as the Fist rule: avoid buying anything smaller than your fist.

This means things like trinkets, tiny photos, small toys, etc. Little things like this tend to make a room look busy and messy. If you avoid displaying anything on your shelves that is smaller than your first it will help make the area seem cleaner and less crowded.

3. Light colors

Colors such as white, light blue, and pastels will make the room seem light and airy. Depending on what aesthetic you want to go with, you can keep it light and airy. Or, you can accent it with one bold color which can tie the room together (See idea 4 below). In general, an entire room with a dark aesthetic is going to feel smaller and more cramped than one with a light aesthetic.

4. Accent wallpaper

Creating a strategic color differentiation can help make the space seem bigger than it actually is.

Personally, I think putting a small dark strip around the bottom of the lightly colored room as it draws the eyes upwards and creates the illusion that the wall is taller than it actually is.

You can also choose to accent a wall. Pick a wall you would want to draw attention to and highlight it with a color. Avoid intense or dark colors over an entire wall though. This can really overwhelm the room. I’m general, choose your colors wisely. Refer to step 3

Make sure before you buy wallpaper that is removable. Test a little spot before applying it to the whole room!

Here’s the one I used and recommend. It did take off the paint in some places though so be warned.

5. Vertical statement pieces

It’s all about acknowledging the verticality of the room as you draw the eye upwards. Any big vertical piece (something that is vastly taller than it is wide) will seemingly lengthen the room. This can be curtains, plants, some kind of art hung on the wall, or a really tall bookshelf. In my apartment, we have tall fake flowers on a high shelf in the living room that draws your eyes upwards. In my bedroom, it’s a giant balloon letter that sits on top of my tall bookshelf.

6. Off-the-floor furniture

Any piece of furniture that you can see underneath is better. Whether it’s glass or couches that have legs or side tables that are tall and you can see underneath. Certain pieces of furniture provide a lighter feel and open up the space as opposed to heavy furniture that will weigh down the room and seemingly take up more space

7. Utilize the Wall

Often times we forget about the wall space and how it can provide function and not just aesthetics like pictures and mirrors. Anything that can be put on a wall instead of taking up floor and counter space is ideal.

For example, floating shelves instead of bookcases. There are surprisingly a lot of wall storage options. The IKEA pegboard system works well for a variety of spaces.

8. Mirrors

One or two mirrors around a small room can really make the room seem bigger as what once was a hard solid wall now looks like a continuation of the space.

The only thing to be careful of is where to place your mirror. You want it facing an area that is open and free so that the mirror reflects this openness instead of a cluttered area (which would obviously just create more clutter). If possible, have the mirror facing a window. If it reflects the sky in some way it will bring natural light and colors through into your space.

One big mirror across the wall works better than a dozen tiny mirrors. Again, remember idea #2

Bedroom: it’s important to note that bedroom mirrors take some consideration. Avoid having a mirror in a way that you can see your own reflection from your bed. This may subconsciously keep you up at night and disturb your sleep as out of the corner of your eye you see human movement.

9. Minimal decorations

You might have the urge to put many different pictures or posters in your small space. Stay away from this. It will make it look way more crowded – especially if the posters themselves have a lot going on in them.

What you want is one or two big pieces of art (or a mirror) which will open up the room without making it look bare and empty.

This also goes for shelf space. You don’t need to display everything you own. One or two accent pieces is okay and everything else can be put away until needed (see #1)

10. Plants

As strange as it may seem, a few plants strategically placed here and there will make the room seem much bigger than it is. I don’t know what it is about them, maybe the fact that seeing plants reminds us of the wide-open outdoors? Either way, a couple of plants can give the room this open feel.

Tall plants placed on a shelf by themselves can help to achieve other goals such as 1, 5, and 9. Aesthetic vines hung high up can also achieve this.

However, plants are difficult to take care of. If you don’t have the time to water and take care of them, either get fake plants or skip this step

Conclusion

This post has been all about small apartment decorating ideas that can make your small apartment seem bigger. I hope these tips have been helpful. Comment your favorite small apartment decor ideas.