Apartment Interior Design: Living Large in Small Spaces
by Dawn Westdawn.west@interiordesignschoolreview.com
Interior Design School Review Columnist
Apartmenttherapy.com recently announced the winners of their Second Annual Smallest Coolest Apartment Contest. The prize-garnering apartments are more than just pleasures to behold; they're little gems of interior design ideas, just waiting to be snatched up and used again and again. Here are a few highlights of the apartments' interior designs for both your admiration and inspiration.
Apartment Interior Design Idea #1: Curtains
This year's smallest coolest apartment was a toss up, with the contest naming not one, but two first place winners. But for innovation, "David & Im's OneSpace" a 426 square foot studio apartment in San Diego can't be beat. The apartment features a thick white curtain from floor to ceiling, spanning nearly the entire length of the apartment. Behind it the couple stores clothing, electronics, all the stuff people need to store. And while hanging a curtain may seem more shabby than chic, the massive scale of the curtain in this apartment gives it grandeur, playing into the minimalist serenity that pervades the space. So while curtains are the start of this steal-able apartment interior design idea, the real take home lesson is not to forget about good old fashioned methods for hiding stuff. Instead, play with them to achieve the look you want.Apartment Interior Design Idea #2: Bold Colors
The contest's fourth place winner, "Hakarl and Jili's Bold Bright Moves" proves a point apartment interior designers, both amateur and professional, often can't quite believe: even in small spaces, big color can work. In their 450 square foot one bedroom apartment the couple used red, yellow, orange, black, and white. The effect is anything but hodge podge. By restricting color to single walls, the bright paint defines spaces and creates structure. Employing color even when it might seem risky is an interior design idea well worth considering. But more than that, remember that mixed and matched elements can lend a sense of order, not a sense of chaos, so long as they're contained and structured within the space.While the winners of Apartment Therapy's design contest may be amateurs, their apartment interior design ideas are definitely worth professional attention.
Sources
Apartment Therapy Smallest Coolest Apartment Contest
About the Author
Charity Shumway teaches writing at Oregon State University. Charity holds a B.A. in English from Harvard University.
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