Small Space Organization Tips

In response from a (soon-to-be) small apartment dweller here are some great space (& sanity) saving tips to live by.


The following tips are taken from Apartment Therapy {www.apartmenttherapy.com} reader tips. I chose the ones that I thought were the most applicable (after living in a tiny apartment myself).

• If you have a small space use small pieces that fit the scale of the apartment. Your space will feel bigger.
• Dual purpose! Look for multiple uses in everything you buy. An ottoman is cozy, but an ottoman with hidden storage is even better.
• Go vertical and use the space up to the the ceiling whenever possible - shelves and storage that have a small footprint but are tall can really help in a small space.
• Arrange the space so it meets your needs for the way you truly use it, and put money into the areas where you spend the most time. If you always eat in the living room, maybe that means investing in a coffee or side table that's really comfortable to eat from and forgoing a separate dining area altogether.
• Edit, edit, edit. Look at everything with a critical eye. If you have a chair that you just don't love, get rid of it. If you notice you miss having a chair, find one that you love, is a better scale and a better investment of your space. Don't store anything that you don't need.
• Expandable dining table.
• Really invest in a closet organization system. You'd be surprised how on track that can keep you and you could always just shut the door.

The following are also from AT, but are more about making your small space 'feel' less cluttered than actually saving space. Good tips none the less.

• Furniture with legs feels less heavy in a space than pieces that sit directly on the floor.
• Large mirror to give the illusion of more space.
• A dark floor against light colored walls and furniture can really make a place feel more spacious. (Although this could be hard to achieve in a rental.)

Personally the best advice I can give to anyone living in a small space is, be smart. If you don't have alot of space then think through anything you bring into your home. Any object you bring in needs to have a defined space before you buy it and if possibly duel uses. Remember in a smallapartment/home/office there isn't room for 'good rooms', in a small space every space needs to be 'great'.

Lastly to finish off a very wordy post here are some photos of a great duel-funtioning small space:

This apartment from the AT Small Cool contest utilizes many of the tips from above; a unifying color pallate, a large mirror, smart storage solutions (under the bed drawers, utensils racks, shelving), and and still doesn't feel all that small or cluttered.

Stay tuned for more small space saving tips and inspiration!