Apartment Furnishings: The Basics

With the right apartment furniture, your small apartment can feel spacious while remaining fully functional. Before buying furniture for an apartment, it’s important to assess your furniture and storage needs. Read on for tips on how to furnish an apartment or studio flat.

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1. Think Small

Whether you're furnishing a bedroom, living room or bathroom, we recommend picking pieces that are small in scale. Below are some examples:

Try a loveseat: Although full-size sofas and sectionals provide a lot of seating, they take up a lot of space. Smaller loveseats allow for more floor space.

Consider compact dining furniture: Instead of a solid rectangular or square dining table, choose a versatile or compact version. Options that create extra space include: round, collapsible and wall-mounted tables. Tables with drop or butterfly leaves can be expanded when necessary, but can be made smaller for everyday use.

Forget the vanity: Bathroom vanities, though they offer significant storage space, take up a lot of room in a bathroom. Instead of installing a vanity, go with a small, wall-mounted sink. A medicine cabinet can replace a flat mirror while also providing storage space.

2. Choose Multifunctional Furniture

Add extra seating, tabletop space, or storage with double-duty furniture. They're a must-have for any tiny space. See examples below:

Hidden storage is key: Hide odds and ends in a coffee table or ottoman that doubles as storage.

Combine function with storage: Floating desks are unobtrusive and include significant shelf storage space for books, files and other odds and ends.

Nest your tables: Nesting tables are sized so that they fit into each other. They can be spread out to transform from one small table to a whole set. Slide them out when entertaining or instantly tuck away when you need the space.

3. Store Smartly

Hefty cabinets, vanities and dressers can not only take up excessive space, but they can also be difficult to move into and install in a small apartment. Instead, opt for some lighter and less obtrusive storage options.

Utilise above-toilet space: The wall space above the tank of your toilet is perfect for extra bathroom storage, especially if you don’t have a vanity.

Store under the bed: Under-bed space can be valuable for storage. There are many under-bed drawer options that are easy to slide in or out of the space.

Shelves instead of cabinets: Keep your kitchen open and simple by storing cookware on shelves or racks above the countertop, instead of in bulky cabinets.

4. Open Up the Space

Instantly make a room feel larger by using mirrors. Mirrored pieces reflect and boost natural light, which gives the room an open and airy feel. The room’s reflection in the mirror also creates the illusion of a larger space. Here are some ways to use mirrors to enhance your apartment’s space.

Go big: Opt for an oversized wall mirror to create a window-like focal point in your room.

Go long: Full-length mirrors leaned against walls look like doors to another room, widening the appearance of your space.

Mirror your furniture: Using mirrored furniture, like mirrored coffee tables and side tables, is a well-known design trick for opening up a space in a functional way.

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