A one or two bedroom house, apartment, condo or townhouse can be just as impressive and grand as something with fifteen bathrooms, Wow, imaging having to clean all those, I have enough trouble with two.

One interesting thing I have found from past experience is that decorating a smaller place is actually easier, not to mention less expensive.

Whether your currently living in a small space or downsizing – that’s another one of those trendy “buzz” words, which simply means your moving into something smaller – planning how your going to decorate or redecorate is a good idea.

You may think because it’s smaller, having large pieces is out of question. Not true, having oversized furniture is not going to make your rooms appear smaller, what it will do is give a warm inviting feeling. Of course layout and size of a room will determine how many pieces can comfortably go into it. After all, you may be looking for drama and comfort, but you still need to be able to maneuver around.

This also applies to accessories, it’s better to have a few large dramatic pieces as opposed to a lot of small items, which can tend to turn into clutter and dust collectors. The exception to this would be with collections. But again you want to have places to showcase them like glass front hutches, cabinets, bookcases or shelves.

Another decorating challenge can be in warming up your new place. This normally can easily be achieved by adding color with paint. Now that’s all fine and good unless you happen to be renting and your landlord say’s “Paint, oh no”. That’s ok; color can be added in a number of other ways. Several examples: ·Window treatments ·Furniture fabric ·Accent pillows ·Area rugs ·Wall art ·Plants & Flowers

Storage can be another issue in a smaller space, there just never seems to be enough. If you’re buying new furniture or deciding on which pieces to bring from your current home, look for ones that can perform double duty.

For example:

Think Vertical Effective space planning and interior design requires that you plan in three dimensions - so start thinking about space above your head and higher up on walls. There are great functional bedding and storage solutions you can use to easily double your floor space in a bedroom and its functional storage space.

Futons for guest rooms Why waste functionality and floor space of a designated guest room when it can normally operate as your den or library? When guests are expected, simply fold down futon and make it into your guest bedroom.

Loft beds for older children Loft beds are excellent functional solutions for older children that also want to use their bedroom as a social hangout or study room. A loft bed allows you to place a sofa or study desk underneath bed. This also creates a great atmosphere under bed that is private and quiet.

Bunk beds for youngsters When there is more than one child in a bedroom bunk beds are a logical solution for using more of vertical space available in a room, and also creates more space on floor for playtime.

Murphy beds for studios and 1 bedroom apartments Murphy beds are a great bed design to incorporate when space is on limited supply. Installing a Murphy bed will instantly open up room floor space. In small apartments, installing a Murphy bed can have effect of feeling like you've just added another entire room! Murphy beds are also a great option for adding to dens or studies to create a guest room.