Searching for the best small apartment decoration ideas without sacrificing style or space? The key to decorating a small apartment is maximizing your living area with furnishings that make the room feel more open.
From vertical storage to specific color palettes and art patterns, let’s talk about how to make your place feel less cluttered with a practical design.
Small Apartment Decoration Ideas: How to Style Each Room with Maximized Space
Learn some of the best small apartment decoration ideas with styling tips for each room below.
Small Living Room Decorating Ideas
Your living room is a focal point of your home. Whether you want to make it more comfortable for entertaining guests or cozy for yourself when winding down after work, gain inspiration with these small apartment living room decorating ideas.
Hanging Art on Walls and Floating Shelves
Decorating your living room with artwork is more than adding visual appeal. It can transform your space and make it feel larger than it is, which is essential for smaller apartments or studios.
Hanging art on your walls or floating shelves can create an airy atmosphere while showcasing your personality, such as:
•Vertical architectural elements, like floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, arches, and a gallery accent wall, create the illusion of a taller living room.
•Fewer large wall paintings over many small ones prevent a cluttered look.
•Light-colored, narrow shelves display small artwork or decor to maximize vertical space and add more height.
•Wall-mounted mirrors that reflect natural sunlight to make the space brighter and more open.
If you want to avoid putting too many holes in your walls, use removable, self-adhesive hooks that don’t require nails or damage your living room. We recommend avoiding floor-based artwork, like large vases, sculptures, and canvases, as it takes up space and walking areas.
Small Statement Chandeliers
Ceiling-mounted chandeliers immediately draw your eyes upward when you enter your apartment. However, you should use smaller ones in your living room over long-hanging and floor-based options to make it feel less cramped because they draw the eyes downward, especially if you have lower ceiling heights.
The type and style of a small chandelier are also important to consider. Heavy chandeliers can make your living room feel less balanced due to the proportions. Additionally, those that don’t emit enough light can make it darker, casting shadows and creating a more enclosed feeling. Opt for smaller statement chandeliers with white-colored lighting instead.
Neutral Painted Walls
The color of your apartment’s walls matters. Painting them white or neutral colors expands the small living room experience. If you want to create more dimension in a neutral palette, you can create wall paint textures using a special paint roller, such as popcorn and comb lines.
Another high-impact and renter-friendly wall decor option is vertically lined removable wallpaper with lighter colors to elongate your living room.
Floor-to-Ceiling Curtains
Even if your living room has small windows, hanging ceiling-high curtains on the sides creates a taller perception by drawing the eyes up. The color and materials are also key to making the space feel taller. Choose sheer or lighter-colored floor-to-ceiling curtains to enhance natural light, which expands the area.
Small Kitchen Decoration Ideas
Here’s how to decorate a small apartment kitchen to maximize space in this central gathering area.
Light & Natural-Colored Kitchen Cabinetry
Like your living room walls, painting your kitchen cabinetry with lighter color palettes complements them and reflects more natural light for a more open experience. If you can’t paint them as a renter or want to avoid DIY, use removable kitchen cabinet covers as a practical, temporary option.
Plenty of peel-and-stick vinyl wraps with various pattern options are available, and they’re relatively affordable, too. Depending on the number and size of your cabinets, these removable covers can cost as little as $20 to $30 for an average of 8.65 square feet of material.
We recommend using countertop covers with lighter wood grain or marble designs to brighten your kitchen space with a homey aesthetic. If you prefer a more modern look, you can use neutral-colored, small-scale floral, or gold geometric patterns with a white background to make your kitchen cabinetry pop with a subtle design.
Small & Clear Round Dining Tables
Credit: Taylor Furniture
While eating on square or rectangular dining tables is traditional, we suggest small and clear round options instead. Not only do they take up less space due to having no corners, but the transparency also allows natural light to shine through. Clear dining tables made with tempered glass or acrylic let your eyes see through them, making the room feel less bulky and more airy.
Wall-Mounted Cookware Racks
Living in a small apartment means working with limited storage, which can be challenging in kitchens. Hanging wall-mounted racks to store your cookware adds vertical storage and a rustic-like aesthetic. We recommend matching these racks to your kitchen cabinetry to complement your lighter color palette design and boost the reflection of natural light.
Striped Kitchen Runner Rugs
Kitchen rugs are meant to provide more comfort on your feet when standing while cooking or preparing meals. However, the rug size, color, and pattern can significantly impact the experience of this high-use space.
Kitchen runner rugs with striped patterns are among the best small apartment decoration ideas because they create more visual length. We suggest using a statement color to make the area pop among your neutral color cabinet covers.
Small Bedroom Decoration Ideas
Your bedroom is where you start and end your day, so make it a priority to style it in a way that makes you feel good. Below are some bedroom decorating tips for small apartments to promote both productivity and relaxation.
Open Wall-Mounted Shelves
Hanging open wall-mounted shelves maximizes floor and vertical space in your bedroom. It’s a practical way to decorate your haven with small plants, decorative objects, and candles, or use them as horizontal bookshelves. We suggest using light-colored ones to keep an open feel while creating more depth. Also, be sure not to use too many as they can quickly make the room look cluttered.
Built-In or Under-Bed Storage Frames
Larger mattresses, from queen sizes and up, can take up most of your bedroom space but are understandably necessary for better quality sleep. However, you can maximize your sleeping area with built-in drawer mattress frames or under-bed storage for a more affordable option.
These furnishings store your bedroom items while keeping them out of sight to minimize space usage and standalone clutter.
Loft-Style or Day Beds
If you want an alternative to traditional bed frames, loft-style beds and daybeds are some of the most practical furnishing ideas for small apartments and studios. Since the mattress is elevated on loft-style beds, the bottom area can be repurposed in diverse ways, such as a workspace or a lounge area with a futon, since they typically come with built-in cabinetry and tables.
Daybeds are also designed to transform into a couch, making them especially ideal for studios that can be multi-purpose in your living room. These also come with built-in drawer options under the mattress for additional storage.
In-Closet Cabinetry or Organizers
Maximize your closet space with in-closet cabinetry and organizers.
There are renter-friendly options, such as:
•Small roller dressers that fit underneath your hanging wardrobe for foldable clothes and undergarments
•Hanging closet systems with built-in cabinets, drawers, and open shelves
•Over-the-door storage for accessories and jewelry
•Small cubby organizers for shoes
•Top shelf baskets for additional storage
Using in-closet cabinetry and organizers frees up your bedroom’s floor space from nightstands and dressers.
Small Bathroom Decoration Ideas
Consider these small apartment decor ideas for your bathroom to maximize space and functionality in this high-use area.
Above Toilet-Mounted Cabinetry
Credit: The Spruce
Much like your bedroom, your bathroom design contributes to how you get ready for the day and decompress. Making this as space-efficient and organized as possible is essential for streamlining your daily routine in small apartments.
Adding an above toilet-mounted cabinet maximizes your vertical space and adds more storage. It can store your bathroom necessities like toilet paper, feminine products, and cleaning supplies. However, you can also decorate it with smaller artwork, decorative hand towels, or faux succulents for a more refreshed experience.
Wall-Mounted Shower Shelves or Caddies
Self-adhesive wall-mounted shower shelves or caddies are smart storage ideas for small apartments because they don’t clutter your bathtub or floor with your toiletries. There are rust-proof options with various colors and materials to match your shower curtains and bathroom color palette–and they’re relatively cheap, too. Depending on the size and adhesive quality, average prices range from $6 to $30.
Light Colored Removable Tile or Striped Wallpaper
Removable tile or striped bathroom wallpaper is a renter-friendly option when decorating a small apartment. Striped patterns extend the visual length of your bathroom, while tile adds more dimension when using lighter color palettes. That way, it doesn’t feel overly sterile like a hospital.
Large Wall-Mounted Mirror
Hanging a large wall-mounted mirror in your bathroom creates an illusion of depth and boosts natural light reflectivity to make it feel more open. You can even find mirror options with beautiful frame designs like metallic vintage or woven rustic patterns to match your preferred aesthetic.
Not to mention, it’s more practical to see your entire body when getting ready than only the upper half from medicine cabinet mirrors.
Find & Decorate Your Dream Chicagoland Apartment at TLC Management Co.
Are you searching for a Chicagoland apartment? At TLC Management Co., we own and manage over 30 properties within and around Chicago.
Whether you’re looking to live in the vibrant Windy City or the slower-paced suburbs surrounding it, each property has unique amenities to cater to diverse lifestyles, such as:
•Loft-style apartments with oversized windows, high ceilings, and balconies
•Resident-exclusive Bark Parks with walking trails and outdoor social spaces
•No security deposit is required, and flexible lease terms
Ready to find your dream Chicago apartment or studio?
Browse our Chicago apartments and suburban listings, or contact us at info@chicagorentals.com for any questions today!
