Decorating Ideas for Small Rooms

* Make the most of decorating small rooms. Color plays a vital role in a small room. It sets the decorative style and scheme, but also can change the room's appearance. Use bright colors on the walls. Darker colors may be more popular but using bright colors makes a room seem more spacious. For example: Cool colors such as blues, greens, (some) purples make a small room appear larger and airier. The reverse is true of warm colors such as reds and yellows as they will make a small room seem more intimate and intense.

* A home decorating tip for integrating color into mostly white rooms—blend, blend, and blend! There are many shades of white and cream that work nicely with "graduations" of accent colors. Visualize three shades of rosy pink pillows against a white sofa!

* Decorating ideas include painting the ceiling a lighter color than the walls. Use smaller patterns in wallpaper and furniture upholstery. Large patterns may be used in accessories such as pillows and throws.

* Select fewer, larger pieces of furniture to make a room appear more open and less cluttered opposed to putting lots of small pieces of furniture in the room. Taller furniture should be placed along a far wall while shorter furniture may be placed away from the wall giving a sense of spaciousness.

* The use of screens will help divide multi-purpose rooms in a small house or apartment. A bedroom or living room may have one corner as an office. A screen will provide privacy as well as hiding the “trappings” of the work area.

* Daybeds with a pullout trundle are the answer for small bedrooms. They will accommodate two people but take up less space in the room on a daily basis. The room can also be used as an office, craft room or quiet sitting room.

* Use textures for interest in a small room. Combining textures in your decor will give a small room interest, appeal, dimension and depth. Choose accessories and fabrics with texture for the best impact; for example: wrought iron, glass, stone, metal, chrome, copper, bronze, mirrors, detailed finishes, textured fabrics, shiny fabrics, and unique area rugs to mention a few.

* Mirrors are a great way to create an illusion of space. If you have a wall in front of the entrance as you enter your home, hang a unique mirror on that wall to open it up and add interest to the area.

*Quick change artist! Move furniture and furnishings around! Don't be afraid to rearrange items in your home. Just changing the accessories or pictures from room to room can bring about a huge change.