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Wednesday, March 22nd, 2017
The Small Sofa 6002–2 is from FFDM’s Protege Collection.
Anyone who lives in a small house will surely agree that the way to be comfortable is to get rid of huge furniture pieces. This is just an option, of course, since you can also declutter and replace the bigger pieces with more efficient pieces.
The Small Living Room
Majority of family bonding moments are spent inside this room. The number of activities that can happen there could also lead to the amount of clutter that could accumulate there. So, it’s time to downsize and declutter.
Begin by buying smaller furniture and trade them off over the huge couches and overstuffed chairs. You can also buy furniture pieces that come with built-in storage space. These versatile pieces can be an ottoman during most hours of the day and an extra storage unit during those times when you need a room for your extra stuff.
Say goodbye to bulky entertainment systems and find a sleeker and more slender console table. Make use of shadow box shelves for that uncluttered look where you can also display your framed family photos, knickknacks and collectibles.
The Small Kitchen
A small kitchen can pose certain difficulties. First, it can be difficult to cook meals there since the space is limited. When this is the case, think vertically in terms of storage. You can vertically hang pots and pants on the walls and even up to the ceiling.
The secret here is to use every available inch of space. Have a pegboard installed so that you won’t make multiple holes onto the walls.
Say goodbye to appliances as well as cookware that are just too bulky. If you don’t even use them that often, then let those pieces go.
Organize the drawers using dividers that will optimize the storage in the kitchen.
The Small Bathroom
Make the most out of your tiny bathroom by cleaning up. Use baskets that hang over the shower head. This can store your shampoo, washcloths, body wash and conditioner. Make the storage units attractive by having a cabinet with open shelves become their room. You can also check out some racks here..
Never overlook those unused nooks such as the back side of your bathroom door or those corners. Install hooks onto the door then hang robes and towels there.
The Small Bedroom
The bedroom is also a wonderful space to place your multipurpose furniture. A great option for families is the trundle bed that pulls out from underneath the bed. These also come in various finishes.
The Small Tiered Table is from FFDM’s Harbor Springs Collection.
Make Organization a Reality
It’s time to switch out your winter clothing for the flimsier fabrics of spring. This is also the time to store those bulky blankets, pillows and comforters. Remove the air from each one of them by keeping them inside sealed vacuum bags.
You can also maximize closet space with a ventilated closet organizer that already includes a shoe rack. Make good use of your drawers; learn to fold blouses and undergarments in such a way that you have a clear view of each.
The Small Sunroom
Light-colored furniture is the way to go when it comes to decorating small sunrooms. The sunroom is an addition to a home so it serves as a porch as well as a second living room of sorts. The sunroom windows can make the room appear larger and open but if this room is just too narrow, then you can buy furniture that blends well to the floor and walls. Don’t go for the bulky types as these have a tendency to compromise what could have been available space.
A narrow sunroom could also appear bigger with the right kind of paint. Paint the ceiling and the walls with a single, light color. Dark accent color can only be used as an optical illusion, if you desire.
Tags: decorating a small home, designing a small home, furniture for small home, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings, small home, small home furnishings, small home furniture, small living
Posted in Interior Design 101, Interior Design Themes | Comments Off on Miniature Living
Tuesday, February 21st, 2017
Palm Island’s Mangrove Small Nightstand is just right for your cute bedroom.
Try taking a drive arrive some new neighborhoods and you are likely to see street after street of gigantic homes. The ironic thing is that these homes are often occupied by small households. What if you want to break away from the assembly line type of housing? What would it take to correctly design a small home?
Some crucial decorating decisions will help make a small home remain functional yet stylish. From the outdoors to indoors, a home can be filled with energy and personality – you just have to know how to achieve both.
Colorful Accents, Here and There
Colorful accents can add life to any neutral surroundings. For instance, a vintage-looking coffee table plus a room-size area rug are the perfect combo to your small living room.
Fundamentalism
White upholstery is the assurance that your living room chairs will always be in style. Be sure to outfit a neutral living room with the most colorful accent pillows, throws, as well as window treatments.
Storage and Display
Be sure to invest in cabinets which double as a display and storage unit. Your amazing collection of books can go to a bottom shelf while photographs and paintings can be added to add some color to any neutral ensemble.
Place a tray on the corner table and this can easily function as a side bar where you can entertain a few guests.
Sophisticated Dining
The dining room – though small – can still appear chic with the right colorful accents. Use metallic accents elsewhere to add an instant glam and to offer an amusing surprise when guests sit all around the table.
Table runners in blue and white can easily spruce up a small dining area. Use white slipcovers on the dining chair duo to create a cozy area of relaxation. If you can’t find a table runner that describes who you are, then have a beach towel or even a throw blanket be the charming alternative.
A basic update such as this can make any small place come alive.
Home Office Nook
Who says you can’t have a home office in a small habitat? Don’t let any extra space – no matter how small – go unused. A nook between two cabinets, for instance, can easily be transformed to a home office. Just place a small desk and a chair and you’re good to go.
Add Kitchen Storage
The usual kitchen cupboards are there to be the appealing yet functional storage units. These organized shelves can become the element that divides the kitchen from the cozy dining area. Adding a small divider turns the kitchen to an airy yet appealing space.
Uttermost Living Room Chahna Small Bench 23605
Everything Is Light
Making a space appear larger means you have to veer away from dark hues. You can have a focal wall in gray but make sure that you use a punch of color to offset the dark color. Then make sure that the rest of the space remains crisp, open and light.
Bathroom Storage
Use narrow shelves to store your bathroom essentials, in doing so, though, you make sure that they are stored in a stylish manner. Invest also in canisters that will hold cotton balls, cotton swabs and your lotions. Keep toiletries under a lovely vanity so that there would be no unsightly items in your small bathroom.
What about those wicker baskets? These can be placed as additional storage on the shelves or hidden inside cabinets.
Well-considered Window Treatments
Making a small living room appear to be more spacious is as easy as using a floor to ceiling window treatment. This may be a simple addition but it will draw the eyes up to the wall, hence, the mind will think that the room is seemingly larger.
Tags: decorating a small home, designing a small home, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings, small home, small home design, small house
Posted in Apartment Living, Interior Design 101, Interior Design Elements | Comments Off on When You Have a Cubicle for a Home
Monday, August 15th, 2016
Fine Furniture Design Living Room Chaise 3101-06 offers restful lounging and sitting.
There are various upsides to small apartment living. First, there’s lower rent, also, it is at a closer proximity of many downtown areas. Small is also cozy depending on how you design the space so it’s all a matter of how you would beautify you place.
One of the sad mistakes that apartment owners make when decorating their small apartments is that they focus only on functionality instead of coupling it with design. Don’t go through the same errors – it’s time to learn some small apartment styling tips.
Delineate Different Areas
Living in a tiny space shouldn’t automatically mean embracing the open space layout. In fact, there are so many other designs that you can look into. There’s just one thing that you need to keep in mind – that you must keep yourself from overwhelming the space with unnecessary stuff.
Define the different areas by giving each a function. Shoe and coat racks can be placed by the door and that’ll define your entryway. A simple buffet should divide our dining and kitchen areas. This provides easier food service and ample storage. Backing your sofa right by the foot of your bed can draw the beholder’s eye towards the living area.
Be sure to highlight your hobby or interest as this will cap the look of your home. A bike rack will tell everyone that you are a fitness enthusiast or maybe just a lover of the outdoors. Make who you are become an integral part of your design project.
Use Dual-Purpose Furniture
When you are dealing with a tiny space, know that every inch counts. Maximize the space by buying only the kinds of furniture that have a double purpose. Find pieces that will work with the limited space that you have.
The space where you’ll set up your bedroom can have a foldable sofa. An ottoman can be a seating and storage unit at the same time. A foldable dining table can be hidden from view when no longer in use.
Find dual-purpose pieces that are the appropriate size to your tiny space. Those overstuffed furnishings will only make a small place look a lot smaller.
Look for Unused Spaces
Having moved into your cute space for months, it’s easy to be stuck with the design that you initially came up with. There are many spaces that you can free up and repurpose. If you’ve been storing old magazines in huge boxes for the longest time then this just means that it’s time to unclutter.
Nooks and crannies could also have their purpose. They can be used as a corner library or as a small corner office.
Grow Vertically
It is crucial that you think vertically when you have a small space to work with. The tall, narrow storage units can help solve clutter issues. You can begin by placing two bookshelves of the same height on both sides of the doorway. A single entertainment center can also be used, one that reaches from the floor all the way up to the ceiling.
Hooker Furniture Living Room Melange Joli Nesting Ottomans offer dual purposes – they can be used as a seating as well as a storage unit.
Make Organization Your New Best Friend
Storage is your best pal when you have a small apartment. This is your tool in hiding stuff that you don’t need at the moment. Practically speaking, though, you have to learn to find and keep just the things that you need.
Make good use of back-of-door hangers and hanging organizers. Line your shelves and drawers with extra bins or baskets.
As soon as your organization tools are set, you would soon realize how much space can actually be freed up. Just cap your design project with a light paint palette and you’re done.
Tags: decorating a small home, decorating a small space, furnishing small apartments, interior design for small spaces, living in a small space, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings, small apartment furniture, small space, small space design, small space interior design, small space organization, small space solutions, tips
Posted in Apartment Living, Interior Design 101, Tiny Homes | No Comments »
Friday, July 22nd, 2016
The Fine Furniture Design Living Room Settee 0811-02 is great for small homes because it is compact yet it is visually enticing nonetheless.
Have you taken the time to notice, lately, that most neighborhoods are showing bigger and bigger houses? See also how a nice row of like-looking houses is still an ongoing trend? More often than not, though, these homes are owned by small families. This spells less interaction among family members. The building of these giant structures are breaking down what should have been a close relationship among family members.
Going Non-Palatial
The recession made a lot of people realize that homes can be built a little smaller. They are a lot easier to maintain (and even pay for). And with the living costs rising each year, it becomes more and more reasonable to live affordably. This can be done by starting with the structure of your home.
It may not be that appealing to live in a smaller home if the basis is the series of United States Census where the average American home size is at 2,400 square feet in 2010. Large homes may be dominant but there are benefits that these colossal structures won’t be able to give.
Here are some of the major benefits of living in smaller spaces –
Energy Eficiency
Smaller homes are known to be more energy efficient. There is less space to cool or heat which also means that a smaller home as a lower carbon footprint.
Having fewer rooms also means that you won’t have a pricier maintenance expense. This also means less time spent on cleaning a lot of rooms. The time that you used to spend cleaning your home can now be spent on quality activities with your family. You can now spend more time outdoors, doing the things that you all love.
Hooker Furniture Living Room Melange Joli Nesting Ottomans: Find pieces that have dual functions.
Coziness
Gigantic rooms are often not cozy. Only smaller rooms can evoke this kind of feeling, and can even add a sense of intimacy which all larger homes lack.
Less Expense
Smaller homes are also less expensive to keep. These are designed to stay cool using cross-ventilation and shade. You can also enjoy the summer months by staying on the porch, keeping the windows open and using only fans. You will spend less with electricity when you use natural light and enjoy the natural breeze.
Compact homes are also well-built. They are less exposed to the natural elements. Just make sure that the construction materials used are sturdy.
An Improved Social Life
Being in a neighborhood with smaller homes means the structures are built closer to each other. Most gigantic homes are built with a large front and back lawns, plus more square feet of extra space. Add to that the fence, bushes and trees that cover these giant homes and socialization becomes virtually impossible.
City or city-like living means you have less space to sleep and walk around in but the great outdoors will serve as your grander home. With small space living, you have to learn to schedule your activities as a family outside of your home. If you live alone, then walk to and from work; enjoy biking rather than running in an elliptical trainer; or have dinner with someone at a fancy restaurant somewhere.
Front porches in neighboring small homes also have a welcoming feel to them. It’s like begging for you to pay your neighbor a visit. Big and grand areas are never within walking distance so if you want a lot of socialization, then it’s time to live in a smaller home.
Small Space Challenges
It would be wrong to think that small space living is sublime all the time. Smaller kitchen means less space for you to move around as you cook your food. It may also be awkward to live in a limited amount of space at first but you’d surely get used to it. Later on, you’ll realize that there are more benefits to living in smaller space than to keep a humongous place.
Tags: decorating a small home, decorating a small space, designing a small apartment, designing small homes, designing small space, energy efficient living, energy-efficiency, energy-efficient home, furnishing small apartments, furniture for small apartments, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings, small apartment furniture
Posted in Apartment Living, Condo Living, Interior Design 101, Interior Design Elements, Tiny Homes | No Comments »
Friday, June 24th, 2016
1586-90014-BLK1 Belle Semainier Chest is petite and vertically superb for any small apartment.
Small apartments may have their upside but they also come with some furnishing concerns. Sure, you love paying the lower rent and being close to your work, add the coziness and all, and what you get is a warm, easy-to-decorate place. But is it really that easy to furnish a tiny apartment?
One of the greatest misconceptions about decorating smaller apartments is that functionality should always come before design. While function is important, it is also just as crucial to create a design that describes who you are. An apartment might have limited space but this does not mean that you have to be short on style, too. You have to find the right balance between style and function or you won’t be comfortable in your apartment, eventually.
You Can Still Define Separate Areas
One advice that homeowners often get when it comes to style is to use an open space layout. This lack of definition on space could look cluttered if not given much attention.
As much as you can, try to define separate areas by giving each area a purpose. For instance, you can place a coat and shoe racks right by the entryway. Place the buffet between the kitchen and dining areas so serving and storage become easier. Back the sofa up to the foot of the bed so the beholder’s eyes are drawn to the living area.
If you have a hobby, go ahead and experiment in separating the area where you would display your collections and other living areas. Don’t be afraid to show who you are. If your hobby is biking, then install an indoor rack that will make your bike look like it’s been intentionally made into a décor. Plants may also be used to signify changes in space use.
Make Use of Dual-Purpose Furniture
Every inch counts when it comes to dealing with small space. Invest in smaller furniture that, preferably, can double into something else. Focus your energies on buying furniture pieces that work with your chosen theme.
Bedrooms are often the perfect rooms for dual-purpose furniture. It is best to buy furniture that has a dual purpose than to work the space around the furniture that you purchase.
Consider having a trundle bed that folds into a sofa when you want to watch the television. A hollow ottoman can also double as a storage case, or a dining table with built-in leaf to make guest entertainment a lot easier.
Whatever kind of dual-purpose piece you buy, just make sure that you buy the sizes that are appropriate to your available space. Overstuffed pieces will only make your space look a lot smaller than it already is. Now don’t worry too much about searching for sofas, there are many designs that will fit your micro-living space.
Assess Unused Spaces
Living in a small space means you also have to rethink unused areas now and then. If there are extra pots that lay around or candles that have not been used for so long, then what’s the point in keeping them around?
Now look around your apartment and find out if you have any dead spaces that serve very little to zero purpose. Find blank walls and unused corners then discover how you can make these spaces more useful. Use them to your advantage, create storage where there was none before.
Extend Vertically
Planning the best way to use space means you have to know how to use vertical storage. Narrow, tall storage systems work best in smaller spaces so shop for those kinds. An entertainment center that is narrower yet reaches from floor to ceiling is your perfect divider between the living and sleeping areas.
Decorating tiny apartments doesn’t need to be taxing. All you need is a little creativity and a tad of patience and you should be fine.
Flexsteel Living Room Love Seat 1139-20 is the right solution for small apartment seating needs.
Tags: decorating a small home, decorating a small space, designing a small apartment, designing an apartment, furnishing small apartments, furniture for small apartments, interior design for small spaces, living in a small space, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings, small apartment design, small apartment furniture, small space, small space organization, small space solutions, studio apartment living, styling an apartment
Posted in Apartment Living, Furniture, Interior Design 101, Tiny Homes | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016
Apartment living doesn’t have to be a drab. The Hancock and Moore Living Room Member Apartment Size Sofa 4106 will make your cozy place an elegant one.
There are a lot of benefits to living in an apartment. If you are still undecided on whether to choose an apartment or that spacious, single family home, consider this list –
Amazing Benefits of Living in an Apartment
First, just think of the amenities such as tennis court, pet sitting services, gyms, and swimming pools – these are all available when you live in an apartment complex.
Apartment living also means flexibility. If you are not in for the long run, then this short-term sort of arrangement is just the thing for you and your family. Regular houses require at least a year for leasing; apartments have options ranging from three to nine months.
Homeowners can be in constant worry of house repairs. If you live in an apartment, this is one less thing that you would worry about. Minor repairs will be your landlord’s concern from now on.
You might think that having limited storage is more of a disadvantage than a benefit, but think again. Over the years, how much stuff have you accumulated that are not really needful? Living in a place with limited storage will make you more conscientious regarding the acquisition of new items. You will also learn to value the furniture and decor that you have used for a long time.
Living in a cozy setting will also make heating or cooling a lot easier. Say hello to lower utility bills! You will also say hello more often to your family members since there are only a few places where you can bump into each other. Also, get ready to meet new neighbors.
There are also some apartments that already include the utilities as part of the rent. This means you will have pooled bills. Add to these benefits the increased security in your home and you would surely consider living in a smaller complex.
FFDM’s Boulevard Collection features this streamlined bench, a great piece to add to your new apartment.
Interior Design for Small Spaces
Begin your apartment interior design by choosing your color palette. Make sure that you stick with a solid array of hues that balance and complement the rest of the decor and furnishings. Color cohesiveness is your goal and since you have a smaller space to work on, make sure that you do not cram all the colors that you want in one room. Spread the different shades of blue, for instance, in different rooms.
Make use of lighter colors such as shades of white, pastels, or just about any pale shade. If you really have to use a darker shade of paint, then just use it on your accent wall.
Next, find furniture items that are suitable to apartment living. Bookshelves can double as dividers and can even create an illusion of having two rooms when you actually just have one. Speaking of optical illusion, you can also create more space if you install mirrors all over your place. A large mirror that is installed horizontally on one wall will make a huge difference.
Another way to divide the place and also to have some privacy is to use a screen panel. This is an effective way to close off the bedroom area. This is not just a functional addition to your home – it is also aesthetically pleasing.
Taller shelves are also ideal for this kind of dwelling. They take up just a portion of the floor and make good use of the apartment’s height. Going vertically is the way to go now that you have chosen to live in a smaller place.
Apartment living is not a bed of roses, of course. You will have to learn how to deal with that neighbor who will do her laundry at 2:00 A.M. or those party animals who live next door. Depending on your circumstance, apartment living can still be ideal for you and your family as long as you make a home out of it.
Tags: decorating a small home, designing a small space, furnishing small apartments, furniture for small apartments, McCreerys, McCreerys Home Furnishings, small space design, small space organization, small space solutions, storage, storage advice, storage planning
Posted in Apartment Living, Interior Design 101, Interior Design Elements, Tiny Homes | No Comments »
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