1. home and garden
2. home furnishings

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Resize Your Space
Armed with a few key decorating tips, you can fill your small-scale home with bigtime style.
By Megan Stotmeister
You’ve transported furnishings, unpacked boxes, and made a Life Care Services community
your home. Now it’s time to decorate your new, smaller living spaces. Stumped on how to infuse
rooms with style while leaving the clutter behind? Try these tips from decorators in the know.
Keep It Light
The golden rule for enhancing decor may actually come in a shade of pale yellow. “Keep the
colors light and open in order to give your home a more expansive feel,” suggests Dean
Maddalena, AIA, an architect at studioSIX5, an interior design company in Austin, Texas.
A monochromatic color scheme that features colors in the same family creates consistency and
a sense of spaciousness. For instance, think of how an all-white room with off-white accents
appears bright and airy. Contrasting and darker colors, on the other hand, may break up a room
or become distracting.
There’s no need to throw out everything bold-hued (that would be boring!), but dressing the
background of your rooms in neutral colors gives the illusion of more space. In particular, walls,
ceilings, and large furnishings look best in light, neutral tones. Bring in those brighter colors in
smaller furnishings, accessories, and artwork. “I like to keep the larger pieces more neutral and
pick up accent colors in throw pillows,” Maddalena says. “It’s much easier to buy new pillows
than to re-cover a sofa.”
Look Up
When you’re stretched for inches, turn eyes upward. Vertical stripes on the walls—whether
painted or on wallpaper—create the appearance of height. Another option is to hang artwork
higher on the wall. Or add white crown molding to draw attention to where the walls meet the
ceiling.
Enjoy the View
If you are fortunate to have a pleasant outdoor view, flaunt it. Large window treatments
overwhelm a room, so use light, sheer fabrics that allow light to shine through while adding
softness to a space. “Window treatments are important—you want to keep as much natural light
coming in as possible,” Maddalena says. Consider combining sheer treatments with blinds.
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When open they allow light and views in but can be closed for privacy. Another window treatment
trick: Make the windows appear larger than they are by extending a curtain rod and the curtains
beyond the window frames.
Clear the Clutter
“I think one of the hardest things for people to do is to avoid moving too much into the smaller
space,” says studioSIX5 interior designer Lea W. von Kaenel, ASID, IIDA. “You really need to
analyze which furnishings and accessories you need, so your home doesn’t look too crowded
and cluttered.”
Before rooms become overrun, be selective. “Don’t think you have to fill up every space on the
wall,” von Kaenel advises. “Select a few key pieces that are meaningful to you or that you like the
best.” For variation, rotate accessories every few months to minimize crowding and showcase
more of your belongings. “Be selective when hanging artwork,” von Kaenel adds. “Leave some
wall spaces blank for an uncluttered look.”
Be Deceptive
Achieve depth with a bit of deception. In the living room, glass-top tables allow the eye to travel
through the room. Or display reflective surfaces, such as a large framed mirror over a mantel or
sideboard, to create the illusion that the space is larger than it really is. “Use a lot of decorative,
framed mirrors above console tables, dresser tables, and buffets to give a sense of extended
space,” von Kaenel suggests. Position a mirror across from a window to reflect the light and
views from outside.
Illuminate Your Space
Lighting enhances a room’s overall sense of spaciousness—plus it’s an effective means of
drawing the eye to certain items. Three major types of lighting work together to enhance visibility
in a room: ambient, or general, lighting; a more focused illumination called task lighting; and
accent lighting, which directs light on specific objects such as collectibles.
“You want to evenly light the room with ambient light,” Maddalena says. “It’s really key, because
it’s easy on the eye and expands the space.” Floor lamps provide ambient illumination when
overhead lighting is lacking. For task lighting, von Kaenel recommends using torchiere and table
lamps, which can brighten dark corners, provide light for reading, or lend illumination to a desk
area. Finally, for a more decorative effect, direct accent lighting toward a specific piece of artwork
or a wall display.
Pick Patterns Carefully
Too many patterns can overwhelm a small space. Choose one focal-point pattern or fabric and
go for simplicity elsewhere. Or follow Maddalena’s lead: “Large-scale patterns on big pieces of
furniture tend to make the space feel smaller,” he explains. He suggests choosing smaller
patterns or textures on large pieces, medium patterns on medium furnishings such as chairs, and
larger patterns on small items such as pillows.
Consider adding interest with fabrics and textures rather than relying on patterns. Cover sofas
and chairs with textured upholstery instead of prints, or add subtle variety with tone-on-tone
woven fabrics, textured wall finishes, and delicate draperies.
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© 2008 – Life Care Services LLC
Use Multifunctional Furnishings
You work hard to maximize each inch, so should your furniture. Furnishings that serve multiple
functions are key for taking advantage of small spaces. An ottoman with a spot to store items
inside is perfect for tucking away games and blankets—and it can serve as extra seating too. In
the bedroom, a small desk might double as a bedside table, or an armoire could be used to store
clothes and electronics. “Looking at bedside tables with extra storage below instead of just a
freestanding pedestal table is helpful,” von Kaenel says. Or use a skirted table, which allows you
to hide items from view. Elsewhere in your home, hosting an overnight guest becomes possible if
you place a sleeper-sofa in a living room or den.
Get Size-Wise
An oversize couch may devour a living room, and a massive table leaves little room for chairs
around it. Rather than using furnishings that eat up precious space, choose one or two
reasonably sized pieces to anchor the room.
“You want furnishings that are ergonomically correct for your body,” Maddalena explains. “A lot
of sofas and lounge chairs are lower and deeper, yet you want a sofa that is easy to sit down on
and get off of, which is generally smaller in scale.” Ottomans, armless open chairs, and low
tables are good options for filling in available space between major furnishings. Footstools work
well in small rooms as well, as they provide extra seating and a perch for a coffee cup or books.
Arrange Appropriately
Rather than lining the walls with furniture, create a sociable triangle by angling pieces toward
each other. For a furniture island, use an area rug to ground the space and then build around it.
The more open floor space available, the larger a room appears. To eliminate traffic blocks, pay
attention to how people move through a room. Move furniture away from walkways and allow at
least a three-foot pathway for traffic flow.
Serve and Stash
Entertaining in a small space requires versatility. Invest in a few nice folding chairs to stash in the
closet until just before your guests arrive. And don’t fret if there aren’t enough seats for
everyone—people enjoy standing when mingling. A drop-leaf table is handy for fitting guests at a
dinner party; after the party, drop the leaves to create a small desk or breakfast table.
Nesting tables are effective too. Keep the smaller tables tucked beneath the larger one, which
might serve as an end table or nightstand. Then, when you’re entertaining, strategically place the
smaller tables around the room so guests have spots to set drinks or plates.
Customize Your Closet
You can cram only so much into a closet before it becomes impenetrable. Once you’ve done all
you can to organize, Dean Maddalena and Lea W. von Kaenel of the interior design firm studio
SIX5 suggest enlisting the help of the pros. A number of companies specialize in designing
customized closet systems with built-in storage. “If you can personalize the closet as much as
possible, it opens up the amount of storage and dressers you need in the bedroom,” Maddalena
says.
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© 2008 – Life Care Services LLC
If you’d rather go the do-it-yourself route, inexpensive options include multi-pronged hangers for
hanging clothing vertically, and stackable, see-through boxes for storing sweaters, hats, and
shoes. Take advantage of under-bed space too—you can stash out-of-season clothes or
comforters in plastic containers or vacuum-sealed storage bags behind the bed skirt to free up
more closet space.
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