How to rationally use a small apartment

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

A small apartment is not at all a reason to be upset! After all, even in the smallest area, you can place everything you need for life. In addition, constrained circumstances force us to invent something new and give rise to fresh creative solutions. To make a small space as spacious, functional and comfortable as possible, you just need to follow a few simple tips.

Consolidation and zoning

First of all, think about what zones are needed in your apartment. This can be an entrance hall, living room, kitchen, dining room, study, bedroom, nursery, bathroom, toilet. It is not at all necessary that they all be in separate rooms. Modern interior solutions allow placing several zones in one space.

In order for each zone to be readable, you need to properly zone this common space.

Try combining several rooms into one, such as an entrance hall, kitchen, dining room, and living room. This will be a common area where all family members and guests can gather. In order for each zone to be readable, you need to properly zone this common space. The entrance hall can be separated by a light partition wall, and the kitchen and the sofa area can be divided by a dining table or a bar counter.

Perfectly zoning the space without cluttering it, various screens, curtains, translucent glass partitions, chests of drawers, high and low shelves without back walls. Visually, you can divide the zones by painting the walls in them with different colors, making different floor heights or using a coating that differs in texture or color.

When planning your new space, think over the routes of movement along it, make sure that uncomfortable obstacles do not come across on the way. Use a laconic modern style, get rid of all unnecessary things, adhere to minimalism and harmony in the composition.

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Disguise and symbiosis

In conditions of a lack of space, you have to carefully think over the placement of furniture so as not to eat up precious meters. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to any niches and openings and adapting them for shelves and hidden cabinets. Take a fresh look at your home - there are certainly suitable places in which to organize storage and replace furniture in the room with them.

Built-in furniture with dull fronts takes up less space than a free-standing wardrobe and does not attract attention. If the layout allows, allocate a small space for a dressing room - it is much more spacious than any wardrobe and eliminates the need to put a wardrobe in every room.

Do not forget about the space under the windowsills. For example, in the kitchen in front of the window, you can arrange an additional work surface and install a sink, or arrange a place for storing or eating food.

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Compactness and mobility

To keep more free space in a small apartment, choose compact furniture. Do not overload the interior with a lot of furniture, for example, give up the usual set of a sofa and two armchairs in favor of one corner sofa.

A technically challenging but very effective solution is a retractable bed. With it, you can turn the bedroom into a living room in one fell swoop. If this option seems too complicated to you, and there is no separate room for the bedroom, then the old proven solution will do - a folding sofa bed with an orthopedic mattress. In addition, you can consider options for roll-out beds, which can be hidden one under the other or on the podium. This solution is especially important for children's rooms.

In small hallways, do not install bulky cabinets - limit yourself to a small shoe rack or chest of drawers

Use sliding doors instead of swing doors in cabinets and between rooms - they do not require additional space to open at all. In small hallways, do not install bulky cabinets - limit yourself to a small shoe rack or chest of drawers, as well as hooks for everyday clothes. Hide the rest of the upper wardrobe in the closet.

Instead of a bath, give preference to a shower stall - this way you can save a little space in the bathroom. In a small kitchen, instead of a separate table, use a single-legged cantilever structure that is attached to the wall.

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Higher and higher

To win precious space in a small apartment, you have to literally jump over your head. In the kitchen, occupy all the space with hanging cabinets up to the ceiling, make shelves, bookshelves, wardrobes high, with mezzanines. Do not forget about the walls above sofas and beds - you can store books or bed linen in hanging cabinets.

If the height of the ceilings allows, then in addition to the usual bunk beds, you can arrange a multi-level space, which will fit a living room, a bedroom, and an office. By expanding your habitat upwards, you increase the free space in your apartment.

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Effective use

The main rule for owners of small apartments is that not a single centimeter should be lost. Therefore, make good use of your space. For example, arrange drawers under beds, couches, podiums. Shelves or mezzanines can be arranged above doorways. Use a balcony or loggia as an additional room: arrange an office or dining area there.

Use a balcony or loggia as an additional room: arrange an office or dining area there.

In the living room, place a fold-out sofa, which, if necessary, turns into a sleeping place. Buy chairs and stools that are stackable and do not take up much space. For kitchen furniture, use convenient designs that allow you to access the farthest corners and use the entire volume of the cabinets. In the bathroom, install a bathtub and sink in a shape and size so that they can overlap without compromising convenience and take up less space.

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In addition to these tips, use techniques that allow you to visually expand the space of the room: a competent combination of colors and textures, the use of glass and mirrors, the choice of the right style - and then your small apartment will turn into a comfortable and even spacious place.