Making a small apartment feel personalized, cozy, and luxurious can be tricky. Many renters struggle to find ways to make an apartment feel like home without doing major renovations and potentially violating the terms of their lease.
That’s why Business Insider asked interior designers for tips on making a rental feel more luxurious without making big changes. Here’s what they had to say.
Choosing a focal point to decorate around can make a room feel more elegant.
Decorating around a specific element, like a fireplace or a piece of wall art, can bring symmetry and unity to a room.
According to interior designer Tommy Kebbson of Kebbson & Co., this can instantly make a space feel more elegant.
“Even small adjustments like placing lamps on either side of a sofa or balancing artwork on both sides of a wall can make a significant difference,” he said.
Kebbson also told BI that a symmetrical space doesn’t mean all elements have to be identical. Lamps and art can be complimentary without matching perfectly to achieve a balanced, cohesive look.
Use curtains to make your ceilings feel higher.
Jennifer Jones, principal designer at Niche Interiors, suggests using curtains to trick the eye into thinking your ceilings are higher than they are.
“Mounting tall drapery panels above windows is an easy way to make your small space feel instantly larger,” says Jones. “The trick is to pull your eye upwards, which emphasizes the height of the space and makes the volume seem larger. Drapes also add softness and sophistication to a space.”
Mirrors can make an apartment feel bigger and brighter.
Mirrors are a great addition to any room — and not just for touching up makeup or putting an unruly strand of hair back in place.
“A well-placed mirror can reflect natural light and make the space feel much larger and brighter,” interior designer Laetitia Laurent of Laure Nell Interiors said.
Laurent told BI she likes to position mirrors opposite windows and in dark corners to draw light to those areas and add a sense of depth to the room.
“In smaller rooms, even a large statement mirror can work wonders, acting as both a functional piece and a design element that enhances the room’s overall flow,” she said.
Don’t underestimate the power of a rug.
Aside from making cold floors feel more cozy, area rugs can also help add structure to an apartment with an open floor plan.
Kebbson said he uses rugs to subdivide rooms, and finds this method especially helpful when designing a studio apartment.
Interior designer Vicky Floros also emphasized the importance of rugs and said they’re good items to splurge on.
“Rugs act as the anchor of a room and can make or break a space,” she told BI. “While there are many budget-friendly options available these days, this is one item worth investing in, as it can completely transform the look and feel of your room.”
It’s wise to choose multifunctional storage pieces and furniture.
When creating a luxurious feel in an apartment, Elissa Hall, lead designer and founder at EDH Interiors, suggests using pieces of furniture that “serve both form and purpose,” like a convertible couch or a storage ottoman.
“For a recent project, I included a custom-built shelving system that acted as a room divider, offering storage and space definition without sacrificing the open atmosphere,” Hall said.
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