Simple Home Decoration Ideas for a Small House
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Just because your home is small doesn’t mean it can’t be elegant and stylish.
Whether you want to create the illusion of more space or stamp your personality on your surroundings, there is a wealth of ways to dress up your living quarters to make the most of the space you have.
It might not be palatial, but with a few simple home decoration ideas, you can make your home your (small) castle. And it doesn’t need to break the bank, either.
Home Decor Ideas for Small Homes
These tips for decorating a small home range from the most simple to the slightly more complicated.
Don’t be afraid to let your ideas run wild in planning your decor. You’ll be surprised what you can achieve with a little imagination.
Experiment with Color
When it comes to simple home decoration ideas, it doesn’t come much easier than paint. Changing the color scheme of your room is a great way to update your look quickly, even if you’re on a budget.
You can give your entire home a timeless elegance by decorating it throughout in shades of a single color.
If you choose a neutral like mushroom or dove gray, then it will also lend itself to adding individual touches to bring some personality to each room.
Painting one feature wall, or accent wall, a contrasting color to the rest of your room is still a popular technique that stands the test of time too.
If you choose to go the color route, then be sure to choose complementary hues for each room. This is particularly effective for a small home, where you can often see all the rooms from each other.
Light and Bright
Many times, what you’re aiming for with small home decor is to increase the feeling of space. The absolute best way to give your surroundings the illusion of spaciousness is by maximizing the use of light—both artificial and natural.
Swapping out your light bulbs is an effortless and cost-effective way to change the mood of your rooms. Choose blue-based illumination to add cool, bright light or yellow-based to add warmth.
Carefully placed mirrors will also add to the overall brightness of your space. If you mount them where they will catch the sun’s rays from windows or reflect the glow from lamps, you can effectively double the amount of light in your room.
The Magic of Glass
Part of maximizing the lightness of your rooms is making the most of the glass you have and perhaps even introducing more. If you can, replace small windows with larger panes in narrower frames that let in the maximum amount of light.
Glass doors can also be a great option, especially if you have access to a yard. The view through to an attractive garden outside patio doors can work wonders to make your room appear airy and cozy at the same time.
Glass dining and end tables are also a good choice for small rooms. Because they enable you to see more of the walls and floor, they add to the feeling of roominess.
If glass furniture is prohibitively expensive, there are some very stylish clear acrylic or plexiglass options available which will achieve the same effect at a fraction of the cost.
Window Dressings
While you’re magnifying your glass, don’t be tempted to cover it all up with soft furnishings.
Heavy curtains and drapes will cut the light that comes into your home, so go for blinds instead. Not only will the clean lines add a polish to your interiors, but they are versatile and available in a vast array of colors and styles.
For example, you could choose a natural material like bamboo, a fabric roman blind for a softer finish, a roller blind in a contrasting color, or go for slats in a shade the same as, or complementary to, your walls.
The choices are almost limitless, and whichever way you go, blinds are an ideal simple and affordable design idea for a small home.
Get Clever with Storage
Keeping clutter under control is key to maintaining the suggestion of space in a room. There are furniture styles that are purpose-built for small spaces that either have a convenient dual purpose or some clever built-in storage.
A gateleg table will fold down to double as a console, and they will usually even hide foldaway chairs inside.
Beds with a gap underneath for baskets, like the platform bed we built, or one large space offer an ideal place to store extra bed linen, pillows, duvet and even towels.
If you don’t have a guest room, a sofa bed in your living room doesn’t have to be huge to give a comfortable night’s sleep to a friend.
Keeping the design of your furniture simple with straight lines will help add to the feeling of spaciousness. You might find my Tips for Buying a New Sofa helpful if you’re in the market to replace yours.
The area under a hallway staircase can be the perfect place to hide a closet for storing coats and boots or the vacuum cleaner.
But even in small homes, storage doesn’t have to mean hiding items away. A series of matching containers on wall shelves can be both practical and decorative.
Use Your Corners
Keeping your furniture to the perimeter of a room helps to make it feel larger, and you can use the corners to your advantage too.
They might be too small for furniture, but they are good places to add height and interest to your small-home decor.
A treasured item can be displayed on a corner shelf, or a floor lamp can add some visual interest with the added bonus of creating more light in your room.
Don’t Forget Plants
Plants are the perfect choice when you’re looking for simple home decoration ideas. They come in all sizes, shapes and colors, so you will find something to suit even a small home.
A single specimen can be striking, or a cluster together will give your room a homey feel. You can find some great ideas for creative ways to use plants in 6 Great Ideas for Decorating with Plants Indoors.
