With working from home becoming the norm for many of us this past year, we are spending a lot more time at home staring at the same four walls, and we can’t help but start looking around for how to change up our interiors.
This can feel like a difficult or near impossible task if you live in a smaller apartment or house.
Now it has been reported that many of us will continue working from home, it has become a space people are happy to invest more time and effort into. So how we can make the space that we have look more ‘spacious’?
The team at Essential Living have put together five top tips on the best furniture to invest in for those who want to make a big impression of their small spaces.
Small space hacks – Fold-away dining tables
Now we can all have people back to our houses, dinner parties are back in full swing and everyone wants to have the space for a nice dining table.
With a small space this can feel impossible – but fear not. You do not need to compromise your dream dinner party for floor space. Fold away tables are a great investment and we expect them to become a popular feature in smaller apartments in coming years.
John Lewis and Furniture123 have some great options for extendable and foldable dining tables.
Image credit: John Lewis
Small space hacks – Floor mirrors
Large full-length mirrors have come back into fashion, and for good reason.
They may be great for seeing a full view of your outfit, but they are also an amazing way to open up a small space, making it appear twice the size. This is of course because of the reflection and illusion of depth. Ideal for rented apartments as you can prop large mirrors up in your living room, bedroom and even bathroom areas to add an imaginary few square metres to your space.
Both The Range and Dunelm are great examples of places that have multiple options for full length mirrors at reasonable prices.
Small space hacks – Lift the room
The right shelving can make or break a space. Walled shelves free up floor space and can make a space look more spacious and tidy.
Lifting a space can make a huge difference when the space is only small. Storage taking up precious floor space is not ideal and means you have items to walk around.
Instead, wall shelving draws the eye upwards and makes the room look larger than it is. If you are worried about putting up a shelf in your rented apartment, then you can also look at tall floor shelving as an alternative. Top tip: The higher the eye the larger the room appears.
You can find great floating shelf options in most home furnishing stores including IKEA, B&Q and Wayfair – see here for some great options.
Small space hacks – Make sure your furniture isn’t too big for the space
Many people make the mistake of buying too much furniture for smaller spaces – many also buy furniture that is a little too large.
Furniture such as large tables, bulky sofas may make someone feel like they can fit loads of furniture into their space but it actually makes spaces look a lot smaller. Clean lines and less cushions work to make your space feel bigger.
You may even want to think about getting a sofa with storage underneath. These are a great way to store items like books, games and that picture you have to put up when the family comes over but do not want it on display at any other time…
Small space hacks – Tall plants
Again, it’s all about bringing the eye upwards. So – though some people may think that bigger plants will look like they take up more room – tall plants are great for smaller spaces because they lift everything up.
Great apartment plants to invest in include parlor palm, bird of paradise, yucca tree, or the zz plant – a plant revealed as one of the best indoor plants for apartments by the Essential Living interior experts.
