General features of arranging a small apartment
The task for owners of small apartments is difficult, but quite doable. To get started, check out some general rules.
- There is no need to clutter the space with massive furniture.
- Use furniture models that can serve several functions at once. For example, a sofa bed, a chest that serves as a table and storage space, racks that serve as shelves and a workspace, and more are perfect.
- Make a choice in favor of folding furniture and transformable furniture.
- Avoid heavy drapery curtains; it is better to opt for light lace curtains or blinds.
- Don't hang large chandeliers if the ceilings are low. Using diverse lighting will help create interesting options for areas of the apartment.
- Even if you like deeper and darker shades, in a small room it is still better to use light tones and pastel colors.
- In some cases, it is worth thinking about combining the kitchen and living room, kitchen and hallway.
- Consider adding a loggia or balcony and using a window and sill.
- Furniture designed to reach the full height of the room will allow you to increase the number of storage spaces.
- Vertical details in the design will visually increase the height of the ceilings.
- It is necessary to correctly use options for zoning space and arranging furniture.
Tips and recommendations for arranging a small apartment can also be easily found on our channel.
Color solutions for a small room
A miniature room can be visually expanded with the right color palette. Preference should be given to light shades. They are able to visually distance the walls and ceiling from the incoming person.
Vertical stripes on the wallpaper visually increase the height, creating the illusion of an optical illusion.
It is not forbidden to choose a warm color scheme: red, peach, brown, purple, cream and other colors. The main thing is not to overdo it with saturation. Bright colors should not be used. Otherwise, you can achieve the opposite effect. Intense shades will make staying in your home uncomfortable; there will be a feeling of constant pressure and tension. The same principle works with cold and pastel tones.
You can visually separate one functional area from another using different colors or textures of finishing materials.
You should not experiment with combining a line of different colors. It's better to stop at one or two. The monochrome effect is ideal for small spaces.
Photo wallpaper on the wall is an excellent decor option for the living room.
Bright walls: Orange
Orange color is quite rare in the interior, as not everyone loves it.
Orange color lifts your spirits, sets you up for success and even relieves stress. It has practically no contraindications. True, in large quantities it can tire.
Designer Denis decided to transform a rented apartment in Zhulebino with the permission of the owners and first of all got rid of the empty white wall in the kitchen. He first painted the wall orange, then used masking tape to apply a chinoiserie pattern to it. Afterwards I covered it with white and beige paint. After the second layer of paint, the tape was removed and the shadows were added with a small brush.
This is a budget option for transforming space, but it is unusual and interesting. All manipulations with the wall took me three days.
Options for decorating a small room
Various accessories and decorative elements will help give the appearance of the room a complete look. A good option is mirrors. Their ability to reflect light is indispensable for visually expanding space. Another way to increase space is to properly design the window. It is not recommended to use floor-length curtains, wide curtains, or dark curtains. They will create the effect of isolation and gloominess. Additional accessories will successfully fill the interior if they correspond to the overall style of the room.
The best solutions are:
- Small paintings.
- Roller blinds.
- The carpet is oval or round in the central part.
The color scheme of a small room, regardless of the style, should be light and pastel.
It is better to avoid large elements and bright details, as well as figurines, vases, and frames. Not only will they not decorate the environment, but, on the contrary, they will create a feeling of clutter. Remember, the fewer objects in a room, the larger it appears.
You can add a couple of bright accents to “revive” the interior, not flashy, but restrained, calm shades.
How to renovate a small room so as not to overload it, but, on the contrary, to visually expand its boundaries? In this regard, you should adhere to the “golden rule” - using a minimum number of parts with maximum impact. By adopting this trick, you can turn the tiniest room into a cozy nest. Get rid of the stereotype forever that a small room cannot be cozy. The renovation of the room is shown in the photo below.
The use of bright, rich colors will make the room visually smaller, while pastel, light colors, on the contrary, will add lightness to the room.
Red
A very rare color in the interior. Characteristic of the pompous classical style (remember the bedchambers of kings) and Japanese minimalism (in the form of individual bright details).
Red color in the interior is aggressive and tiring. At first it can excite and give cheerfulness to a person who finds himself in such a room, and then it will begin to irritate him.
We only saw a completely red room once. It was a bathroom in the apartment of the artist Ekaterina in Korolev. She believes that the bathroom is the best place to perk up. That is why a bright scarlet color was chosen for this room: it helps you wake up in the morning and quickly come to your senses.
Blue
Bright blue interior solutions are rare, although many subjects of the reports admitted that blue is their favorite color.
Of the entire bright palette, blue color has the most beneficial effect on a person. It improves concentration, relieves fatigue, suppresses aggression and gives positive emotions.
We saw a bright blue dining room in an apartment on Leninsky Prospect, decorated in a colonial style. Along with the wall, the owners also painted the kitchen unit, which was once white.
Violet
Purple is a rather complex color, and very rarely does anyone decide to choose it to decorate an apartment or house.
It is believed that the color purple and all its shades are difficult to perceive in the interior. This color can even cause depression.
However, psychologists admit that everyone’s perception is individual: there are people who feel very comfortable in purple interiors. So, we saw a purple-crimson kitchen in an apartment on Barrikadnaya. If you look at the pictures of this apartment, it becomes clear that the kitchen is in complete harmony with all the rooms, but that’s a completely different story.
After what we saw, we can conclude that most often in Russian realities people choose yellow, green or blue colors for painting walls if they do not want to make them neutral. These are the most comfortable and universal colors for living, which uplift, calm and do not irritate.
In any case, every person's home is a reflection of their taste and perception, and if someone likes to live with red or purple walls, then so be it! And we will be happy to look at unusual interiors, which are interesting because they reveal the personalities of their owners.
Burgundy
A few years ago, Marsala was declared the color of the year by the Pantone Institute. In the wake of the general craze for the wine shade, designer Alena Stark decided to repaint her Scandinavian gray living room bright burgundy. According to her, this color “gently envelops” and gives the room the warmth that is so lacking in winter.
The photo shows Alena’s apartment in Podolsk.
The most beautiful apartment interiors in the world: 5 luxury penthouses
The reality is that the most stunning apartment designs are also incredibly expensive. Our review includes five spectacular penthouses from around the world that have earned the attention of experts not only for their excellent design, but also for the high price of the property.
- Brooklyn clock tower, New York
Three-level penthouse with an area of 633 sq. m with stunning views of the metropolis, located in a former cardboard factory - in a tower with a real clock, so the owner will always know what time it is. Inside there are 3 bedrooms and the same number of bathrooms. A glass elevator and staircase are designed in the center of the main loft living room; the ceiling height in some rooms reaches 15 meters. Each bathroom has large skylights. There is an outdoor terrace on the roof. The apartment is controlled by a “smart home” system.
- Park Avenue, New York
Residence with an area of 370 sq. m is located on the 92nd floor of the tallest residential building in the city. The layout includes 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a library, a front hall and a separate service entrance for staff. American designer Kelly Behan filled the interior with designer furniture and created a bright, cozy and elegant space, not tied to fashion and time. She paid special attention to large square windows of 3x3 meters: neither furniture, nor accessories, nor textiles block the wonderful views of Manhattan.
- Trafalgar One, London
Duplex penthouse with an area of 350 sq. m located in a historic building on the famous Trafalgar Square. In the modern, beautiful apartment interior from the London Honky team, the emphasis is on dark oak panels, parquet, warm bronze shades, and tonally contrasting fabrics. The spiral staircase actively participates in the color palette - the pure white color of the fence. Handmade carpets were selected for the bedrooms.
- Avenue du President Kennedy, Paris
It was not possible to find reliable data on the area of the two-story penthouse overlooking the Eiffel Tower, but it is clearly quite large: the layout includes a formal dining room, 8 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, a private elevator and access to the upper terrace (there is a sauna and a gym) with 360-degree view of the surroundings. The bright interiors are decorated in a palace style with a predominance of natural wood and marble.
- Eureka Tower, Melbourne
Eureka Tower is Melbourne's tallest skyscraper, and, of course, the 676 sq. m penthouse. m is equipped with panoramic glazing to admire the scenery. The owners have at their disposal 5 bedrooms, 2 kitchens (one of them is lined with black granite), men's and women's bathrooms, a spa area, and a wine cellar. Wood is actively used in decoration - from light brown to almost black, upholstered furniture - squat, massive in shape, but in spacious rooms it looks very proportional.
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At the TopDom bureau, we will help you create an excellent interior design for your apartment - from the initial idea, drawing up a design project to its professional implementation. The gallery of our works contains more than 4,000 visualizations and photos of renovations!
