Making the most of your square footage will improve your home's ambiance and keep you from the costly process of upgrading to a larger pad. Clever space planning and versatile furniture pieces make all the difference when decorating small spaces.

Small Space Planning

The secret weapon in decorating small spaces is creating a space plan that is a scale version of your room. This will ensure that the selected furniture pieces and fixtures fit in the room, saving time and money.

To draw a space plan, you'll need a tape measure and graphing paper, or use an online layout tool. After measuring the room, draw out the dimensions with one square equaling one foot on the graph paper and marking the placement of doors, windows, and permanent fixtures. Use a furniture template or a fixtures template to draw in scaled furnishings and fittings.

Small Space Home Decorating Ideas

With a plan in hand, you may discover that pieces from other rooms will fit into the space, so play with different furniture arrangements on paper. Before applying the new design, take some time to de-clutter your space and clear out surplus items. Less clutter will instantly make a small space feel more expansive.

Another small space home decorating idea is using every inch of your space. Don't line furniture up against the walls - bring it into the center of the room when possible. You want the eye to focus on what's in the space, not on the size of the room.

Function trumps form when it comes to small space home furniture pieces, so they must be multi-use in nature. Luckily, there are loads of attractive and versatile furnishings available these days for decorating small spaces. Choose ottomans, coffee tables, and end tables that double as storage units. Explore the stylish small space home furniture pieces from Inova which combine a fold-up hideaway bed with a table, desk, or sofa.

When decorating small spaces, reduce any contrast of colors in the design elements and accessories to help expand the room. For example, choose small space home furniture in colors and finishes that are similar to flooring and wall tones.

When looking for small space home decorating ideas and inspiration, look to imaginative resources like Christopher Lowell's You Can Do It! Small Spaces and HGTV's Small Space, Big Style.

Small Space Bathroom Plans

Often, a home's smallest room is the bathroom, giving a new meaning to the phrase "water closet". The first step in lavatory remodeling is to draft a small space bathroom plan on graph paper, so that you get the most out of fixtures and storage capacity. To make confined quarters feel more open, use transparent glass panels for shower and tub enclosures as well as for shelving.

An additional small space home decorating idea to make bathrooms appear larger is using a similar light-tone color palette for flooring, fixtures, and wall color. Small space bathroom plans should also integrate mirrored surfaces and optimize natural light where available. If there are no windows, brighten up the bathroom with an affordable solar tube or tubular skylight.