Tips for Living Large in a Smaller Space

Just because your apartment is limited in square footage doesn’t mean it needs to be limited in style. Even small spaces can be spruced up with creative approaches to make your home feel large. Whether it’s shopping for smart, multi-functional furniture pieces or learning some organizational life hacks, your smaller living space is fully capable of becoming larger than life with just a few design tricks. 

How Can You Maximize The Use of Your Smaller Space? 

Oftentimes, older, urban apartments have tons of history to them– the result of being built many years ago, meaning there’s a lot of character to the space. However, the character of your apartment can only get you so far when you have no idea what to do with your space because it looks and feels so small. Overcoming the challenges of maximizing your small living space takes work, but it is very achievable. 

As a renter, you likely have limitations to what you have control over in your new apartment. For instance, a lot of landlords will not allow you to make structural changes to the layout of the space or even change the paint on the walls. By following some simple tips for living large in a smaller space, you can gain control over the look and feel of your apartment without making permanent changes. 

Declutter

Getting rid of possessions you no longer use and minimizing the number of belongings you have is probably the most practical and useful way to make your small space feel large. The popularity of shows like Tidying up with Maria Kondo and The Home Edit has inspired a new trend of minimalistic living. That does not mean you necessarily have to make sure every item you keep “sparks joy,” nor does it mean you absolutely must get rid of stuff you love because you have limited space. 

Some ways to make quick, immediate changes to the amount of space taken up by items are to: 

• Donate clothing, shoes, and accessories you have not worn in the past 18 months. 
• Clear out junk drawers, and store items in small, accessible, categorized stacked bins. 
• Eliminate paper clutter by scanning it into a digital form, ditching the need for a filing cabinet. 
• Throw out expired medications and vitamins. 
• Choose to keep a few favorite mugs and toss the ones you never use or that don’t have sentimental value, as they just take up cabinet space. 
• Donate unread books or books you do not plan to read again. 
• Invest in a Cable Management Box– a discrete box that hides unsightly power cords and chargers. 

The principles behind cleaning, decluttering, and organizing your small apartment in practical ways is useful to make your small living space look and feel open, fresh, and bigger than it actually is. 

Invest in Storage and Organization 

Investing in storage bins, baskets, or organizers is a great way to organize your kitchen and bathroom cabinets. Facing the challenge of overflowing closets can be difficult, but with the right organizers, you can transform and maximize the space in your closet. Using organizers is essential to small apartment living, particularly in rooms that already have limited space. Shower caddies to hang up toiletries, under-bed bins for seasonal clothing, and shoe organizers doubling for household cleaning items storage are just a few ways to use storage creatively. 

Room Dividers

You cannot change the layout of your apartment but you can change your floorplan by sectioning off different areas of your space. In your living room, a divider used to separate the television area from a reading corner is a great way to differentiate the spaces of your apartment for different activities. 

Use a divider in shared bedrooms for children so they feel they have their own, private and designated place despite sharing a room with a sibling. If you use your home office to work out in, using a room divider to box off an area with a yoga mat that separates from your office desk is a nice trick to creating more space without adding square footage. 

Furnishing and Decorating Tips for Small Spaces

In a perfect world, all of your furniture would fit into the layout of each of your new apartment’s rooms. However, more realistically, once you set up your living room with your big furniture pieces, you notice that there’s more furniture than there is floor space. Buying new furniture items that serve multiple functions and decorating with items that invite light and movement into your space will make your small apartment feel like you are living large. 

Here are some useful tips for decorating your small space with furniture and decor: 

• Low-standing furniture: couches, chairs, and tables that are short and low to the floor make ceilings look higher and walls look more elongated, ultimately making your space look bigger. 
• Multifunctional furniture: pieces like beds with drawers to store your linens or, ottomans and coffee tables that have removable tops with storage inside for books or blankets are a great way to make the most out of your limited space. 
• Stackable items: end tables that are staggering heights can easily be stackable and produce more space when not being used, while also giving the room a contemporary look. 
• Decorate with mirrors: mirrors reflect light and trick the eye to think your space is bigger than it actually is when they are placed strategically across from one another or nearby a window. 
• Ditch the drapery: heavy curtains make a room feel closed off and dark, while also eliminating the entrance of natural light from windows. Items like bamboo blinds or single-layered, lightweight sheer fabric pieces in place of traditional curtains are great ways to still maintain privacy while allowing your space to feel open. 
• Bring the outside in: living items like hanging plants and wall planters can add a very natural and organic feeling to your home, and draw the eye to areas of the room that are open and spatial. 

Start Living Large in Your New Uptown, MN Apartment Rental! 

Are you looking for a great new apartment so you can start living large in Uptown? Our historic buildings are located in the heart of Uptown’s bustling, diverse, and eclectic city. 

Our Uptown, MN apartment rentals offer residents the thrill of living in a city along with the charm of old-world architecture all situated just a short distance from the beautiful Lake of the Isles. To schedule a showing at one of our Uptown apartments, call Stutsman Realty Inc. at 952-927-4144 or fill out the form below.