If you live in the suburbs, a five hundred square foot home sounds like a claustrophobic nightmare. But if you’re in a booming city like New York, San Francisco, or Los Angeles, where square footage is hard to come upon, five hundred square feet can actually be an oasis.
How big is 500 square feet? Well, to put things in perspective, a standard two-car garage is about 400 square feet. Think about having your kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and living room all in your parents’ garage. Pretty snug, huh?
With such tight quarters, it’s essential to get the most out of every inch of your apartment. How can you maximize your home’s square footage to make it fashionable yet functional?
Unify the Space with Color
Choosing the right colors helps to unify the space and make it appear larger than it is. Different intensities of the same color work well on adjoining walls, especially if the walls have varying amounts of exposure to the sun.
By painting baseboards and trim a different color, you can break up the vertical plane and make the room appear smaller than it is. Avoid this by painting a surface the same color from floor to ceiling – baseboard and trim included.
You’ve heard that light colors are best at making a space appear more open, but if the room is tiny, white can make it look sterile and even cubicle-like. Instead, a slate gray or chocolate brown with floor-to-ceiling drapes in complimentary tones can give the appearance of a larger, more inviting space.
Keep it Tidy
Clutter is not becoming in any environment, especially not in a tiny one. Avoid clutter by ensuring that you have sufficient storage. One of the best ways to accomplish this is by getting multipurpose furniture.
Window seats can serve as a reading nook while doubling as storage for blankets, pillows, and other linens. Coffee tables with drawers are perfect for storing books, magazines, and mail.
Tone Down the Furniture
A 500 square foot apartment is probably not the best place to show off your eccentric tastes. If you want to make the room seem larger and more well put together, keep it simple.
Smaller and lower furniture makes a space appear more open. Clean, simple lines and slender wooden or metal legs are both fashionable and are less visually distracting.
When choosing lighting for your apartment, pass on the end tables with huge lamps. Instead, think wall sconces and minimalist floor lamps.
Make the Most of Natural Light
Natural light makes your apartment feel bright and airy. Make the most of your windows by using light-colored drapes. A mirror near the windows to reflect the sunlight will also increase the amount of light in your apartment.
Remove Doors
Traditional hinged doors take up a ton of space. If your landlord agrees, take down the doors and replace them with sliding barn doors. If replacing them is not an option, you can also use tension poles and simple curtains to achieve privacy without sacrificing square footage.
Make the Entire City Your Living Room
If you are pent up in a five hundred square foot apartment, the chances are that you’re living in a pretty vibrant city. Well, then, get out there and explore. Meet up with friends on the steps of the historic church down the block, have picnics in the park, and just get out there. The world is your oyster.
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