City living can often mean making the most of a small space. What feels like a challenge at first can open up a world of design opportunities. Here are a few of our favorite tips to help your small space feel bigger.
Small Living Room Ideas
When maximizing space in a small apartment, you have to get creative and utilize every inch of your home. Besides adding storage to your living room, try these quick tips to help your space feel more open!
Mirrors, Mirrors on the Wall
Add multiple mirrors throughout your living room to reflect natural light can seemingly add square footage in an instant! Mirrors amplify the stunning space you already have. Place a pair on perpendicular walls for maximum effect.
Utilizing mirrors in your living room decor can also help maximize natural light. Sunlight makes any room feel brighter and bigger. By placing a mirror next to or across from a window, you can magnify that stunning sunlight throughout the entire room.
Soft, Breezy Window Treatments
Since embracing natural light is a surefire way to visually increase your square footage, opt for light, sheer window treatments instead of heavy or bulky coverings. Dense window treatments can make a space feel smaller. They can also limit the amount of sunlight pouring in through the window.
Try roller shades, sheer shades, or cellular shades if you’re looking for room darkening or privacy window treatments. Each of these popular styles is lightweight and airy but also effectively blocks out the outside world when needed.
Small Kitchen Designs
The kitchen can be one of the smallest areas in a city apartment. Even though space might be lacking in your kitchen, that doesn’t mean your decor has to.
Vertical Storage
The key to organizing a small kitchen is just one word: up. Use every inch of vertical space available to make the heart of your home as large as possible. Place storage bins on the top of your cabinets to hide seasonal items or tools you don’t frequently use, such as cookie cutters or specialty cooking instruments.
Use small shelves in your cabinets to allow for room to stack items on top of each other. With a few simple additions, you can nearly double your storage capacity!
Get Creative with Counter Space
Often the most challenging obstacle in terms of functionality, limited counter space is also one of the easiest (and most fun) problems to tackle. When considering adding more prep space, many homeowners and designers immediately turn toward building or sourcing a kitchen island. This is an excellent plan for some apartments, but for those who don’t have the square footage, try to approach the task a bit more creatively.
To extend your counter space, all you need is more surface area - your newly added counters don’t necessarily have to be “counters”. Consider transforming a sideboard or an entryway table into an extended portion of your kitchen. For those extra tight on space, enlist the help of a trusted handyman to engineer additional prep space that folds down from the wall. The options are endless!
Small Spaces with Big Impact in Chicago
JC Licht is the leading design expert in the Chicago area. Residents all over the city entrust JC Licht experts to help them make their small space feel like a big home. We are the preferred provider for all your home improvement needs, including Benjamin Moore paints, Hunter Douglas window treatments, wallpaper, and more.
You can count on JC Licht to Make it Happen! JC Licht is the preferred provider of Hunter Douglas products for the Midwest and Chicagoland. Contact us today to learn more!
