Small Spaces, Big Problems: Your Most Asked Questions

QUESTION: 

Can you use a dark color in a small space?

ANSWER: 

Short answer, ABSOLUTELY! Long answer, if you do it right. While we have often heard that painting a small room dark will only make it appear smaller, that actually isn’t always true. Painting a small room dark can sometimes even make the room appear larger and more dramatic. But there are a few things to pay attention to when going dark in a small space.

KEEP IT TONAL:

If you decide to go dark with your walls then keep things more monochromatic elsewhere. The drama will come in through the dark color on your walls so you don’t need to bring in a lot of other color or pattern.

Paint Sheen:

Not all paint sheens are created equal and not all of them work for every space either. In a smaller space, we usually like to use a matte finish (anywhere from flat to eggshell) the matte finish will help to hide imperfections in the wall which will help the dark color feel more expansive visually.

Metallics can be your friend:

Be sure to create balance in the room by having a few areas that pop. In this case, metallics can do just that. By metallics we mean, golds, silvers, coppers, rose gold – anything that has a little bit of sheen. Bring in a brass lamp to the corner of a dark blue room and you’ll instantly have that pop that will help balance out all the dark color and give your eye a break from the darker paint color.

QUESTION: 

I have a long and narrow living room, help me!

ANSWER: 

There are a few tips to keep in mind when designing a narrow and long living room.

CREATE SEPARATE AREAS:

Because of the way the floorplan is in a long and narrow living room, most likely you won’t be able to have all of your furniture centered in the room. So rather than having your chairs across from your sofa, try creating two different seating areas. One at the front of the room with a narrow credenza across from the sofa that can house your media equipment and then at the other end of the room you could create a smaller seating area with two chairs and a side table.

ALLOW A PASSTHROUGH:

If your living room is a passthrough to another space, be sure to keep walkways open and accessible. If you still need to place a coffee table in front of your sofa and there is no way around it then instead of a traditional rectangular coffee table you could opt for an ottoman or oval piece which will not only visually appear less intrusive to walk around but will also provide extra seating for when you have additional guests over.

GO VERTICAL:

If you have a long and narrow living room, then employ the vertical space as best you can. If you are able to, a large unit across from a single sofa can act as your living area and then you can add in a chair to accent if you have space for it. The vertical piece will not only bring your eye up making the room feel larger but will also give you a lot of storage and keep things off the floor that don’t need to be there.

QUESTION: 

Do you have any tips for differentiating between spaces in a small open concept, without crowding it?

ANSWER: 

Just because you have a small space doesn’t mean that you have to specifically designate each area visually. In other words, it doesn’t need to appear that you have an office in one corner, an eating area in another corner and a bedroom in a separate corner. Let the spaces speak to each other, and you can always use one space for multiple uses. Like your dining area can also work as a makeshift office area when you need to work. Here are a few of our tips when rooms have to do double duty.

GO MONOCHROMATIC:

The first rule when decorating a space (and what we mentioned above in another answer) is to keep it minimal in tones. That doesn’t mean that it can’t be colorful but that does mean to stick to a tonal palette, whether that be cool tones like blues and greens, or warmer tones like terra cotta, beige and rusts. By keeping things within the same tonal palette, the space will feel larger and more cohesive which will allow it to feel less disjointed.

USE FURNITURE WITH BUILT IN STORAGE:

When you lack on space, then the best thing to do is make up for it with built-in storage. Whether that is a bed that has pull out storage under it, or a bench that opens up to reveal some extra space – always look for pieces that have a little extra room to store things which will help keep everything hidden that doesn’t need to be out.