Is your apartment so cramped it feels more like a prison cell than a home?
When you live in a small apartment such as a studio, you’ll be constantly battling to find space for all your stuff.
But the more stuff you have, the more claustrophobic your home becomes, creating disorder and stress, making you want to leave just to catch a breath.
But it needn’t be that way.
Because here you’ll find some really smart small apartment hacks that’ll maximize your space and transform your home for the better.
- Lighten Up
Lighting is one of the most important aspects of a home, particularly when it’s lacking in space. Not only does it affect how the space feels, but it also has a huge impact on your psychological wellbeing.
If your apartment is dark and gloomy like a cave, you’ll feel dark and gloomy yourself. Plus you’ll struggle to find things, create excess stress, and it creates the effect of a smaller living space.
To begin with, try to get as much natural light in as possible as it’s far better than artificial. So keep your windows as clutter-free as you can. If you can’t get much light, you can get some lightbulbs that mimic natural light and work great.
The lighting will also affect where you put things like furniture. So of course you’ll want more light in areas such as a workspace and kitchen, but maybe a dimmer, cozy lighting for your lounge or bedroom.
- Command Your Colors
In a similar way to light, all colors have a profound effect on how we feel in a space. They can brighten up a place or darken it. They can work exquisitely with the design flow, or they can clash quite horrifically.
Therefore, it’s best to have colors that work well together such as similar shades (e.g. white or cream with pastel yellow or blue).
Of course the lighter the colors, the more vibrant and spacious the space will feel.
Naturalistic colors like green, blue, yellow, and brown, all have a calming effect and have even shown to boost mood and reduce stress.
Strong, dark colors like black or red can have the opposite effect such as increased energy and productivity.
Achieving optimal lighting and color schemes are among the most effective life hacks for small apartments. So experiment with it and be strategic in matching them to the space accordingly.
- Smarter Storage
The one thing we always need more of is storage. Of course the longer we live somewhere, the more stuff we accumulate.
But storage doesn’t have to end at boxes, cupboards, and drawers. In fact, you can easily take what storage you have and give it an upgrade to maximize its capacity.
Here are some quick storage hacks anyone can make:
- Add hanging racks and shelves to your closet
- Use caddies to store extra things on existing furniture
- Install a mirror cabinet in the bathroom
- Place a shelving unit around the sink or toilet, or hang one in the shower
- Place sticky hooks inside cupboard doors to hold pot lids and utensils
- Add extra clip-on shelves to cupboards and wardrobes
These are just a few creative Ikea hacks that take full advantage of empty space that would otherwise go unused. With a little creativity, you’ll be surprised at what extra space you can make.
- Slicker Shelving
Shelves are a great way to use empty wall space, but at the same time, you don’t want to feel like you’re trapped in a library. Bookshelves are also quite cumbersome and require some of your precious floor space to stand.
A good fix for this is to put up floating shelves. They’re easy to install, take up very little room (no brackets!), and they look very minimal and neat. Definitely worth a try.
Alternatively, if you have a corner to spare, stick a corner bookshelf there. These are great as they make use of an area that isn’t typically used, and you can take it all the way to the ceiling if you like!
Shelves can be added almost anywhere with little space or effort, so take a good look around your place and make use of wasted space.
- Furniture That Flourishes
You may feel attached to your chair or bed, but is it really a good fit for a smaller space?
These days there’s all sorts of multipurpose furniture that not only saves you space but increases it significantly.
If you have space under your bed already that’s great, but did you know you could get raisers to lift your bed higher, creating even more space beneath?
If not, the other options include a bed with built-in drawers, a raising bed lid with storage underneath, a folding futon, or you could even install a wall-mounted pull-down bed so it can be folded away during the day.
And the folding frenzy doesn’t end there!
Take a look at your other furniture and see if you can find a folding substitute. You can get all sorts of smart, space-saving chairs, tables, and desks to bring out as and when they’re needed. Then stowed away neatly out of sight.
If you don’t like the foldable stuff, why not opt for something clearer. Glass tables and clear acrylic chairs are less noticeable as you can see right through them, making your space appear a little more spacious.
- Bring the Outdoors In
If you’ve ever walked amongst nature, or even relaxed in a garden, you’ll have surely noticed the effects it had on your wellbeing.
The great outdoors brings the benefits of sunshine, fresh air, open space, and lots of green goodness, all of which creates feelings of calm and relaxation.
What’s more, the color green has been shown to boost creativity as well as a calming, stress-relieving effect.
So when you’re confined to a smaller space, it makes sense to bring as much of the outdoors into your home. Just don’t turn it into a jungle!
You can add these elements of freshness and tranquillity by simply adding a few plants here and there. And to save space, try placing them on shelves, hanging baskets, or on the window sill.
- Tidy up and Get Creative
Okay, it might go without saying that keeping tidy creates more space, but by organizing things and maintaining cleanliness regularly ensures you keep that space you’ve created.
When a space is cluttered, your mind feels cluttered and chaotic. So by reducing your clutter, things become more organized, ordered, and easier to maintain.
Put your own stamp on the place with some creative approaches such as putting your mirror on the back of a door, or dividing up a room with a wall made out of a bookshelf unit.
If you’re a dab hand at DIY, get your tools out and start building some of your own hacks to organize your space. This allows you to customize your creations to your purpose and your liking.
Small Apartment Hacks Bring Huge Potential
Living in a smaller space might feel limiting at first, but by implementing these small apartment hacks, you can maximize the space and make it a home to be proud of.
Aside from creating a more liveable and inviting home, you can really add some character that no one else has in theirs.
And once you’ve got everything perfectly organized and tailored to your liking, you’ll feel so much better in yourself as well as your amazing home.
