How to Make a Small Apartment Look Spacious and Luxurious

An apartment can be spacious even if it has a small square footage with the appropriate combination of colors, furnishing and lighting. All you need to do is to find the way to use the existing space in a right way. Modern homeowners tend to choose fashionable and compact apartments that have stylish interiors and require low maintenance.

Here are some interior design tips for making your apartment spacious and premium.

1. Choose a Light and Balanced Colour Palette

Color is the first thing you can use for changing the overall atmosphere of your room. Dark colors applied to large surfaces make a small room enclosed, whereas lighter ones can create the effect of an open and airy space.

Use warm whites, ivory, beige, soft greige and light taupe for decorating your walls. These colors reflect natural light and create a calm and sophisticated background.

But don't forget that there are other options to add coziness and character to your premium interior. You can add warmth and texture to your interior with walnut wood, textured wall paneling, muted olive accents and dark feature walls.

Design tip: Ensure consistent use of colours in the living room, dining area, and corridor. This approach creates harmony and enhances the impression of spaciousness of the apartment.

2. Invest in Smart and Multifunctional Furniture

Every element in a small apartment needs to fulfill its functions. Large pieces of furniture can hinder movement and create a cramped look, even if the interior is beautifully designed.

Choose furniture pieces that correspond to the dimensions of your space. Compact sofas, slim dining table and mounted TV unit will allow freeing up precious floor space.

Multifunctional furniture is another good choice. Consider storage bed, sofa with storage, nesting coffee tables or extensible dining table for guests.

Mounted furniture will be especially useful as it does not occupy the floor and creates a lighter look.

Design tip: Measure your room before buying furniture and check the clearance necessary for movement, opening of doors and drawers. Good planning is always more valuable than furniture pieces.

3. Use Mirrors to Create a Sense of Space

Mirrors are among the easiest ways to enhance a small apartment.

They reflect light and create an illusion of depth and openness, thus giving the room more brightness.

One large mirror on a living room wall, mirror shutters of a wardrobe or a decorative mirror next to the dining area would make a difference.

For the best effect, place mirrors in places which could reflect natural light sources or an attractive part of interior – that way you will create depth without having to decorate the room further.

Too many small mirrors in the room would not necessarily be as appealing as a single large one.

4. Plan Lighting in Layers

Lighting could totally transform the appearance of any apartment. Ceiling lighting would certainly lighten the room but rarely give that comfortable and luxurious atmosphere that homeowners want in their apartments.

Combine different kinds of lighting according to the purpose of different areas.

Ambient lighting: general illumination using ceiling lights or recessed lights.

Cove lighting: soft, indirect lighting highlighting chosen parts of the ceiling.

Accent lighting: accent lighting highlighting art pieces, textured walls, shelves, architecture.

Task lighting: Used to illuminate kitchen counters, reading nooks and workspaces.

Decorative lighting: Gives a touch of character by using pendants or wall scones.

Warm white lighting at about 2700K–3000K in relaxing zones may create inviting ambience for neutral colors and wooden finishes.

Nevertheless, be careful about overusing false ceilings and decorative lights in small spaces. A ceiling with thoughtfully placed lights will look more luxurious.

5. Make the Most of Vertical Space

When floor space is scarce, it is time to look up. Vertical storage enables you to keep all your belongings without taking up too much room.

Floor to ceiling wardrobes, tall cabinets, floating shelves and TV units could be better solutions than traditional storage options.

In bedrooms, wardrobes reaching to the ceiling will provide additional storage for seasonal clothes, bags and other things you seldom use.

In the kitchen, high ceilings allow you to store everything inside the cabinets, leaving the countertop clear from any clutter.

For a premium look, try to use simple cabinet doors, discreet handles or handleless doors when appropriate. You can match your wardrobes with the walls for a sleeker appearance.

Tip on design: Design storage according to how you really live. It is useful to have hidden storage for daily clutter to keep your home looking neat.

6. Select Materials That Look Rich Without Overdoing Them

It is not important whether there are a lot of expensive materials in your apartment such as marble or other imported finishes. It is much more important how all of the materials interact.

Combination of wood, stone, fabric, metal and paint can make your interior look luxurious without making it too heavy.

For instance, the interior of your living room may include ivory colored walls, walnut TV panel, beige sofa and brass elements. All of those things will create sophisticated interior.

You may add:

Textured paint;

Fluted panels in some selected places;

Marble or quartz tiles;

Wooden-laminated cabinets;

Upholstered headboards in the bedrooms;

Matte finish hardware;

In order to make the effect of luxurious apartment, you should use the materials that attract attention. For instance, you may create a feature wall or a countertop that will draw attention.

7. Keep the Layout Open and Clutter-Free

Many people usually put a lot of functions and furniture in their rooms because they have small spaces in their apartments.

It is much better to create spaces where everything flows well.

The solution would be more movement and creation of separate zones depending on the type of activity you will perform there.

For instance, in an open space that includes both living room and dining room, you can separate the living room by choosing a compact-sized sofa for your space and separate the dining area by using either a pendant light or a rug.

It is not necessary to use some kind of physical wall between your areas; it can be done with the help of open shelves, light or material zoning.

Do not block windows with furniture and keep walkways free from unnecessary objects.

Keep in mind that an open floor plan is not unused space, but the place that creates comfort in your home.

8. Use Curtains and Window Treatments Wisely

Windows can play an essential role in making a small apartment look bigger. Thick curtains, heavy pelmets, and dark-colored window treatments may reduce the feeling of spaciousness.

Use lightweight curtains in soft, neutral colors that let natural light into your rooms. Hanging your curtains from higher places and letting them go past the windows will make windows look taller and wider.

For a contemporary look, use sheer curtains and blackout curtains in your bedroom. It gives you the possibility of being flexible yet elegant at the same time.

Do not cover your windows if you do not need privacy and put large furniture pieces next to them.

Natural light makes colors more harmonious and helps you use fewer artificial lights during the daytime.

9. Design a Small Bedroom for Comfort and Luxury

Small bedroom designs must always aim to create a sense of peace and luxury in the space by ensuring comfort, proportions and simplicity in the design.

Begin by selecting a bed size that is proportionate to the room rather than oversized beds. Include a simple upholstered bedhead, comfortable bedding and few cushions.

Avoid the use of many decorations on the walls and rather select one decoration behind the bed, either made of wood, cloth or other material with texture.

Consider floating bedside tables that save some space in addition to wall lights that will leave the top of the table clear for other things. Sliding wardrobe shutters can be considered when the clearance in front of the wardrobe is not sufficient.

Select cream, beige, off-white and taupe colored bedding. Contrast can be added using cushioning and throw blanket or other decoration.

The room should be relaxing and luxurious, and not cramped.

10. Make a Small Kitchen Look Clean and Premium

A tiny kitchen may be designed to appear elegant through proper planning of storage, lighting, and finishes.

Opt for a clean color palette and cabinetry that utilizes all the wall height space available. Cabinetry with a light tone would make the kitchen appear larger while wooden finishes will bring warmth to it.

Keep the kitchen counter decluttered by including enough storage space for appliances, utensils, and other daily needs.

Under counter lighting will prove beneficial in this case because it will allow lighting of the countertop without taking up much counter space. Functional storage in the form of drawers and pull-out organizers can also be included.

When choosing a material for the backsplash and countertops, consider compatibility instead of clashing colors.

The idea is to design a kitchen that looks great in pictures but functions well too.

11. Add Personal Touches Without Overdecorating

Accents will personalize your apartment; however, a large number of decorative accents will give a crowded look to an already small apartment.

Rather than decorating each available space, you may choose a few accents that will speak for themselves. This may be an impressive picture, a sculpted floor lamp, a textured throw pillow or even an indoor plant.

You should coordinate the finishes and colors of your accents.

Plants will bring the freshness and texture into the decor while pictures will inject character into plain walls.

Do not decorate all the available spaces. The negative space will give the eye somewhere to rest and accentuate the furniture and finishes.

Do not forget that an artfully decorated apartment often looks more luxurious than a cluttered one full of expensive decorations.

12. Avoid These Common Small Apartment Design Mistakes

Even the best materials and furniture will not seem great if the general concept is wrong.

Let’s consider some mistakes you need to avoid:

The choice of bulky furniture: It will take too much space in the room.

Too many colors: The lack of harmony will ruin your design.

The overcomplicated ceiling: It is hard for small apartments to accommodate too many details there.

Neglecting the storage space: Clutter will ruin the beauty of your interior.

Blocking natural light: Too much furniture and heavy curtains will darken the room.

Too many accent materials: Feature walls and accent materials will make your interior chaotic.

Following the trends without thinking about function: Your interior should be beautiful and functional.

How Much Does It Cost to Make a Small Apartment Look Premium?

This question will depend on the dimensions of the apartment, its initial state, materials and amount of customization involved.

You don’t have to renovate the whole home immediately. Begin with making those alterations which will be visually appealing, such as lighting, organization, paint on walls and adequate storage space.

In case you have enough money in your budget, purchase good design wardrobe, cabinets in the kitchen and some other particular things. They would make your apartment more functional as well as visually consistent.

It would also be smart to save a part of the budget on electrical installations and other things that might be needed on-site rather than spend all money on visible surfaces.

Not necessarily the most expensive thing is the best investment. It should improve the look and functionality of your apartment.

Final Thoughts

Making a small apartment appear spacious and luxurious involves a combination of many factors. The perfect colour scheme, appropriate furniture in good proportion, lighting, smart storage ideas, and suitable materials can work wonders, helping you make a small home look sophisticated and elegant.

There is no need to follow all the latest trends or use high-end materials in every part of your home. The idea is to identify the actual needs of your home, remain consistent in the design concept, and allow everything to be sufficiently prominent.

New Arch Studios provides interior design services based on the combination of aesthetics, function, and smart spatial planning. It is always our goal to make a comfortable and sophisticated space using our knowledge and experience in interior design. It could be a studio apartment, 1BHK or a stylish 2BHK apartment, but the result will be satisfying.

Considering an interior makeover? With the help of interior design services, you can create an ideal living space.

Visit New Arch Studios for interior design services.