9 Simple Ways to Make a Small Space Look Layered and Personal (Not Cluttered)

Even a small space can have a heavy personality when you make the ripe move with coloring material , normal , and article of furniture .

Brie Williams / Interior Design : Teresa Roche

Thinkliving in a small spacemeans you have to restrict pattern and accessory for fear of your abode looking cluttered ? mean again . Take a expression at this tiny South Carolina bungalow and see how eclectic artistic production , flock of radiation pattern , and a consistent coloration palette amp up how big it lives and its charming looks .

breakfast room with art wall

Credit:Brie Williams / Interior Design: Teresa Roche

" I had to be very attentive about each space — how to contain everything I love without overwhelm the center in a much small house , " says homeownerTeresa Roche , who is also an creative person , drift possessor , and textile graphic designer . The direction she layer art , pattern , and personality into every column inch of her home prove thatmaximalismisn’t off limits even in circumscribed square footage .

Here are 9 small - space deck lesson from this originative pro .

Set a Color Palette for the Whole House

In a small space , sticking with one neutral paries colour throughout all the way is n’t boring , it ’s strategical . In this menage , painting all the walls creamy white(Sherwin - Williams Alabaster ) creates a ocular flow and sets up a backdrop that allows art and patterns to really glow .

Repeating the same accent people of color through multiple room is another winning strategy in a little space . Roche used a pallet of ochre , earthy browns , herbal super C , and warm yellows across every room in her theater . In the living room , the pallette point up in upholstered article of furniture and pillows as well as art and the curtains in the adjacent entrance hall . " The repetition create an easy menses from one place to the next , ” Roche says .

Make Artwork Blend

Agallery wallmakes an inst and impactful focal point . In a small space , it ’s important that individual artistry pieces flow together visually and read as cohesive . For her dining bay , Roche string up preferred pieces from plane wire , which she attached to a icon rail . The continuity come from the colouring material in the artwork and the types of frames . “ I love unify physique of all shapes and size , but I stick to subtle materials — white , wood , nickel - sweep ash grey , and brush Au — and stay away from black frame because they often overwhelm the slice themselves . ” The subtle flow from shape to frame keeps the instalment from drown the eye .

Use Patterns That Act Like Neutrals

In an opened floor plan , be mindful when choosing pattern that will be used prominently . For this kitchen , which is receptive to the dining and living country , Roche used an abstractionist basketweave wallpaper pattern that she think neutral . ( Notice the radiation pattern and people of color repeat on stroke pillows in the next living way . )

" My patterns are n’t mad patterns — they are classic one , " she says . " My basketweave pattern was bold enough to make an impression but not too consuming for the art I wanted to geminate with it , ” she say . Other radiation pattern that can act as neutrals include nonfigurative , irregular stripes and plaids . They give a room structure but also blow over into the background because of their regular , almost - geometric patterns .

Repeat the Same Pattern

Using the same pattern in both wallpaper and framework is a longstanding decorator trick for creating a space that looks put together but not to a fault busy . Roche used the attack in her foyer , hangingwallpaperand doorway curtains in the same painterly stripe . It ’s a bluff rule , but because of the blank scope and the mode it ’s recur over so much Earth’s surface area , the centre registers it as desktop .

Keep Window Treatments Simple

backbreaking , detailed windowpane treatment can make a small elbow room feel claustrophobic . If you’re able to forego them in all , do . In this sit room , the window are deliberately bare to let in maximum light and perspective , plus their white trim blends with the rampart color tomake the distance looking larger . If you require the secrecy or promiscuous control that window discussion bring , choose something round-eyed , such as wovenRoman shadesor dim-witted bloodless curtain panels , and retell them throughout the house .

Establish a Furniture Palette

Just like aconsistent colour palettecan make a little space look larger and more well - designed , so too can editing your furniture choices . For example , all of the furniture in Roche ’s home shares either standardised unsubdivided physique or wood tones , or both . In this theatre , that means fortune ofmidcentury mod , antique pine tree pieces , and Danish modernistic furniture , like this low-down - slung sofa and chairs , which are so versatile that Roche has reupholstered them three times over the year .

" I never hesitate to mix article of furniture from various clock time periods , " she says . " I purchase what speaks to me . " When your piece of furniture is cohesive , it ’s also gentle to move pieces around from room to room when you ’re ready for a change .

Think Small Scale

For furniture you only use now and then , prefer a small sizing that still gives you functionality . For example , using a diminutive antique pine table , rather than a traditional desk , made it possible to sneak a workstation into the street corner of asunroom .

Maximize Outdoor Space

Because thefront porchgets used as an out-of-door living elbow room when the weather cooperates , it should be render as comfortably as the indoor translation . That entail ample seating and lighting , which here is accomplished via a mere woven shade . Outdoor chairsin versatile blanched blend with the house vividness and railings to make a crisp , unlittered background for model throw pillow .

Draw the Eye Up with Art

Even the stairwell can contribute to a calorie-free , undimmed , and airy feel in a small house when it ’s plow to a refreshing clean key task on rampart , trim , and the steps themselves .

Another trick is to attend artwork at the top of the stairs to draw in the eyes up and through the space . In her staircase , Roche hang a series of four paintings vertically to emphasize the top of the ceilings . “ For stairwells , the minus blank space becomes as important as the artistic production to me , ” she articulate . “ I do n’t care littered stairwells , so I do n’t require to see house painting after painting . "

title by Jennifer DeCleene

family room with crosshatch pattern