Interior Design for Small House – In a real estate market where a bungalow costs big bucks, small-space living is the norm. Instead of longing for more palatial digs, make your small space lovely and maximize every inch you have. Think of decorating a small house as filling a jewel box. Fill it only with gems; those things you really love; and tuck every item into its proper slot.
Considerations for Interior Design for Small House
Before you start decorating, make a list of each room and how you’ll live in them. Everyone eats, sleeps and sits. Beyond that, will any member of the household need a place for working, studying or hobbies? Do you entertain? Do you need book storage and a comfortable reading area? Allot space for your particular needs before you start adding the extras. It’s fine to decorate for the lifestyle you’d like to have, but designate space for the life you actually lead first.
Misconceptions
In Interior Design for Small House, the conventional advice is to paint the walls with white or light colors to make the space look larger. That’s good advice–if you like light-colored walls. If you long for intense color, go for it. It works as long as the color flows and you don’t chop up the space visually. If your rooms are visible to each other, contrasting colors will make them look smaller because abrupt color changes stop the eye. Instead, try graduating shades of the same color or colors next to each other on the color wheel. For example, your eye flows from pumpkin to rust to brick, but stops at each color change with red, yellow, and blue. If you want contrasting color, paint an accent wall at the end of the house on an outside wall, where the eye would naturally stop anyway.
Scale
Beware of pieces that are larger than they look in that spacious furniture showroom, but don’t fill your small home with a bunch of tiny furniture and accessories. A jumble of little stuff looks messy. Small spaces look and feel larger with fewer items of medium to large scale. Think of yourself as Goldilocks and look for the scale that’s just right: comfortable for your body but not too big for the space.
Arrangement
Make sure each room has a focal point and arrange your room around it. Place your largest pieces first. Bumping into the furniture makes a small house feel even smaller, so allow at least 3 feet for major pathways. Utilize your vertical space. Hang artwork in clusters that reach all the way to the ceiling. If your kitchen storage is limited, hang pots and pans on the wall.
Selection
Look for multipurpose furnishings to maximize the space you have. For example, choose a sofa table that doubles as a desk and an ottoman with hidden storage. Metallic and mirrored surfaces, in furniture and accessories, make a space look larger by reflecting light into the room. Glass-topped tables have less visual weight than wood–which makes a big difference when they’re placed in the middle of the room.