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Cool Design for Small Spaces
Author and designer Kyle Schuneman takes you through the transformation of small apartments in a wide range of styles in his book The First Apartment Book: Cool Design for Small Spaces. It’s full of great photography, budget-friendly inspiration and crafty decorating tips that even the klutziest of us can pull off.
It came to my attention last month when I heard that it mentioned LushPad as a resource for used designer and mid-century modern furniture. Of course I had to take a closer look!
Styles highlighted in the book include the Artist, the Bohemian, the Preppy, the Roommates, the Collector, and the Rebel. Also included are Cheat Sheets to help you build your own style from the ground up.
Two of my favourite tips from the book:
- Use Tempaper - a temporary wallpaper that’s easily removed so it’s great for rental apartments – to brighten up a room.
- Find the perfect rug for your dining room. Make sure the rug is low pile and a washable material like cotton. Width is especially important. All the legs of your chairs should fit on the rug, even when pulled out from the table.
It’s a great book if you want new thoughts from a fresh mind on how to decorate your space, or if you’re looking for the perfect house-warming gift for a friend. You can find it on Amazon here.
Give-Away!
Leave one of your own decorating tips in the comments section below and we’ll choose one comment at random to win a copy of The First Apartment Book: Cool Design for Small Spaces. We’ll draw for the lucky winner on October 31st, 2012.
UPDATE: Patricia Terlaan wins our copy of The First Apartment Book: Cool Designs for Small Spaces. Congrats, Patricia!
Melanie CarlsonOctober 3, 2012 at 4:50 amAuthor
My Decorating Tip: Instead of leaving electrical sockets stark white against a coloured wall, paint over them so they blend in.
Patricia TerlaanOctober 3, 2012 at 2:57 pm
Chairs and tables must be smaller than the oversized furniture used in so many places. I find that a few key pieces and not to overclutter the walls etc.. will make the space look larger.
Trevor FriesenOctober 3, 2012 at 4:46 pm
Versatile Storage. We live in a 2 bed condo, and have replaced our coffee table and a storage shelf I built 15 years ago with a large George Nelson basic cabinet and Cognita bench. The cabinet holds everything that used to be piled on the exposed shelving unit (messy and unsightly) and the Cognita bench organizes 4 bankers boxes worth of papers, dvd’s and other ‘stuff’ (out of sight) and provides extra seating in the living room. Our place feels nearly twice as big now and looks much, much better!
Jennifer FriesenOctober 30, 2012 at 8:08 am
Eliminate unsightly window blinds and visually expand your spaces with window film. It offers a clean, minimal look and privacy while letting in light. Window film is nonpermanent which is great for rental suites, and comes in a variety of designs to suit your style. It looks great on our condo balcony door which used to have cheap metal blinds attached from top to bottom for privacy from its large window. We sure don’t miss the banging blinds when using our balcony!
Richard DietzelOctober 30, 2012 at 12:06 pm
Two things. If you like to collect and show a lot of things then consider of site storage (a very organized small unit will hold a ton of Tchotchkes) and trade down, in a small space my ’50′s Zenith Hifi would go in storage and my Trans Oceanic or table top Grundig would take its place. The Eames lounge copies would be knocked down and…hmm any number of shorter, narrower recliners with ottoman could swap in.