Decorating a small space is a challenge most college students will encounter at least once during their four years at school.
And although decorating any space is firstly about what makes its inhabitant happy, there are a few things small-space dwellers can do to take full advantage of their room.
For Suzanne Merlino, graduate student in consumer and design sciences, and Erin Williams, senior in interior design, making a small space feel bigger is all about light.
Merlino suggests making use of any natural lighting a space has and steering away from darker paint colors on the walls.
“First, utilize any natural light because the more natural light, the bigger the space will feel,” Merlino said. “And on top of that, using light colors on the wall will make the space feel bigger than if you use a darker color.”
Merlino asserts that the right furniture can also make a small room appear larger.
“I would say if you want the space to look bigger, go with some lighter furniture and just do accents of darker colors and patterns,” Merlino said. “Like even for your coffee table, if you choose a see-through coffee table over like a wood coffee table, that would help because you can see through the furniture and so the space looks bigger.”
In the same vein, Williams advises using accent pieces for pops of darker colors and patterns and focusing on using light colors for the larger items.
“It is really based on light colors,” Williams said. “If you keep all of your bedding and all of your bigger pieces neutral, you can really play around with color and your accessories, and you can really play with pattern and color in your drapery and in your rugs.”
Williams recommends keeping larger items at a minimum and instead decorating up.
“It’s important you don’t focus on bigger furniture,” Williams said. “Decorating up is more important in smaller spaces, because if you have too much furniture in the room, it looks really cluttered. So like picture frames or any kind of decorative accessories that go up instead of on the floor. Bigger pieces of furniture aren’t really essential.”
One thing both Williams and Merlino suggest to make a tiny room feel more spacious is hanging mirrors on the wall.
“Mirrors are actually very important because they will make a space feel bigger more than anything … You will see the reflection of the room in that mirror, and it just makes it feel bigger,” Merlino said. “Especially if you put it across from the window it could really add to the space, because you’ll see that window in your mirror.”
Posters, however, are less lauded by Merlino and Williams.
“As far as posters go, I would say maybe keep them to a minimum because if you have too much clutter on the wall, it could cause the space to seem smaller,” Merlino said.
Williams suggests dressing the posters up a bit if one does decide to put them on the wall.
“Sometimes with posters, it can kind of look overbearing, and if you are trying to make it not look so 'college-y' then sometimes posters are not such a good idea,” Williams said. “But there is kind of a way that a neat, rustic frame can make it seem not like a poster but like a piece of artwork.”
In places where painting walls is not allowed, Merlino said decals can make a good wall accessory.
“Maybe put decals on the wall," Merlino said. "I don’t know if they allow you to do that, but you could put vertical stripes on the wall, and that would add some height."
Other small tips Merlino gives include adding plants to a living space and using metallic accents.
“If you had a metallic lampshade because the way the light reflects off of it, it actually makes the room look bigger,” Merlino said. “And then I would always say to add plants to a living space.”
Ultimately though, Williams emphasizes the best way to decorate a room looks different for each individual.
“It is based on the personalities of the individual. If you really love color and artwork or whatever, it is … based on your personality," Williams said.
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