interior designer living room
hi this is elle uy and welcome to my very first decorating 101 video my very first topic is about small spaces because i'm sure many of you can relate in living in a small space. i actually call our house the tall tiny house since it's small but i'll give you a tour next time let's start with how you can visually expand the look of your space even though it's really small how to make it feel spacious
the very first thing which is quite obvious is installing mirrors put big mirrors on your wall for example, if you have blank wall and you have no idea what to do with it place a big mirror there or your dining wall, or behind a sofa and if you have a tight budget as you know big mirrors is quite expensive what i do to save on cost
i buy small mirrors and install them in a collage. visually it looks like a big piece but in reality they are just inexpensive bunch of mirrors next is curtain, and this is important since i see a lot of people install their curtains incorrectly usually what people do when installing curtains they install the rod right at the top of the window
and the curtains are all squashed in with the window frame to make your space look bigger make your curtains wider and higher than your actual window. for example, this is your window make your rod wider extending it outside the window frame by 12-15 inches in terms of height, if you have an average ceiling height make your curtains from floor to ceiling but if you have a very high ceiling, at least
extend the curtain 12 inches above the window frame visually, it makes the space looks bigger it will make your window look bigger as well the space will look brighter if you installed curtains this way the issue with this, here in the philippines the available ready-made curtains is not that long, so when you install your curtain higher it will not reach the floor so what i do is have them custom-made
i buy fabrics from tutuban since they have a lot of nice options, then i'll have it made based on the measurements i wanted if you already have a curtain and don't want to buy a new one since you already love the one you have what you should do is look for a fabric that complements your curtain for example, your curtains is cream with green geometric lines you can look for a plain dark green
and extend your curtain at the bottom if your curtains lacks 10 inches, then you'll have 10 inches band and it will look like an intentional design. when it comes to choosing furniture... what i notice is if people have small space they buy really petite and small pieces like a sofa that your thigh can barely fit into because it's that narrow the issue with that is yes you have a sofa, but
you can't fully enjoy it because it's uncomfortable the important thing is you have a normal size looking furniture for example you have studio and you want a sofa instead of buying a 3-seater, get the 2 seater version but it's still deep and comfortable like our sofa, it's a just 2 seater since a regular 3 seater won't fit but it's a comfortable place to sit. the important thing is the proportionality of the furniture to your space
buy a normal size furniture not just oversized to not overwhelm your small space spaeking of furniture, all of us have cabinet and closets that's really big and bulky paint it or choose a color that is closest to your wall color if you have white walls, buy a closet that is white or have your existing cabinet painted white if you have a navy blue or dark walls
paint your cabinet a dark color as well that way, your big pieces of furniture will just blend in your closet will look like it's just part of your wall by doing that it will make your space look bigger, even in reality, that closet is just taking up the same floor space so, for bulky furniture, paint it the same color as your walls
just a recap, expand with mirror, hang curtains high and wide use few proportional furniture and camouflage bulky pieces next is storage since that is the biggest problem in a small space what can we do to maximize storage in a small space. first of all.. get rid of excess stuff if you have a small space
even if you put a lot of storage, but you have an excessive amount of stuff, it will still look cluttered and tight. so if it's unneeded and you have't used them in a year donate them or get rid of them. it's important that our house looks fresh and bright and it feels good to go home to a nice and clutter-free home so let's get rid of unnecessary stuff
one option, if you are having some renovation anyway elevate your floor when you elevate one portion of your space the bottom area you can use as a pull-out bed can you imagine if you have your bed there when it's all closed off at day time, it would make everything more spacious but if you don't want your bed in there, it's totally fine when you elevate your floors, you can use all that space for storage
you can store a lot of items by just elevating one portion of your unit that's the first option if you're not doing any construction, what are the ways to maximize the storage of a small space is by utilizing your walls don't forget the vertical space since the floor space is very limited so we can't do anything with that
but maximize your walls hang cabinets, shelves, or hooks that is still pleasant to look at. there's really a lot of things you can store on your walls. if you have peg boards you can also use those for storage and you can organize them nicely another option is.. don't forget the doors of your cabinet
you can store a lot of things there what i put in my closet door is my accessories my necklaces and bangles are all there for the bathroom, you can buy those storage that you can hang on the door you can put your toiletries there if you have a small bathroom and you don't have much storage. also, underneath the furniture... so for the bed the one with built in drawers are nice but if you already
have a bed without one. you can still store a lot of things under there just get some storage bins also use multi-purpose furniture like our coffee table, it has a shelf but it's better if you can get your hands on a table that has drawers or it can be a storage chest some dining table have drawers as well there's a lot of furniture that
has additional storage you can buy instead of the normal one so you can maximize your small space in terms of space planning, if you have a small space you need to prioritize if you live in a studio unit, and only available space is for a bedroom and just one area for living or dining think of what's more important for you do you have a lounge area for living
or a decent dining space. you can actually do both if your priority is a lounge or living area have a sofa there, and choose a table that is convertible for dining but if your priority is to have a decent dining area what you need to do is put a bench seating with pillows to have a lounge look but the dining space is still the main focus if your priority is dining and living, and not the bed
just get a daybed that can convert or used as a sofa just prioritized your space. don't try to fit everything full size because one space can be transformed dining can be a living space, and vice versa it will all depend on the furniture choices so that's the basic ideas on how to maximize your space maximize your storage, and furniture placement
and how you can visually make your space feel spacious despite the small area i hope you learned something and if you have topics you want me to discussed put a comment below or send me a direct message via instagram if you want to see more videos like this and makeover videos, subscribe to my channel :) that's it.. bye!