I live in a 1,034 square foot home. Currently living in the house, including myself, are my youngest daughter, my oldest daughter, and her husband. Oh, I almost forgot about the pets. We also have three cats and a dog.
Sometimes it can get very busy and cramped in our home, especially when we have other family and friends visiting, which is often. I am very grateful for the home we live in because it’s in a good neighborhood and provides a beautiful roof over our heads.
Living with three other people (and having constant visitors, like my middle daughter and her partner) in a 1,034 square foot home can be challenging for many reasons. I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who live in smaller homes. Hence why I am super grateful for my abundance, which hasn’t been lost on me.
However, I want to decorate my home so that it partially represents my style and offers a flow to move around in easily. I say partially represent because decorating my home is limited right now due to finances and not being able to go “all out.”
Below, I offer some tips on home decor ideas for small homes. Check out some of my picks below!
Home Decor Ideas For Small Homes
Measurements
The first tip on the list of home decor ideas for small homes is measure! Measure, measure, measure!
I have a notes app on my phone and titled it as Home Measurements. In it, I have measurements for all the walls of the rooms I want to decorate, like, living room and kitchen, and all the windows in both rooms.
It’s easier to have it on my phone because when I’m browsing online or in person for furniture, I can quickly refer to my phone.
Decorate Vertically
I’ve heard in small places, especially in the city, that the best way to incorporate home decor ideas for small homes is to decorate up.
What I mean by that is to utilize your walls, get a bookcase, and have fun with lighting. I’ve measured one of the walls in my home and purchased a shelving unit that fits perfectly.
I have a lot of house plants, trinkets, and books, and I needed to display them in an organized and pretty way. I also have a lot of pictures and paintings I would like to showcase.
Utilize Small Spaces
I try to utilize all the space I have, especially empty small spaces. For example, behind my sofa, I purchased a narrow sofa table to place behind it.
The one I purchased has outlets at the top, which makes it easy to access when my kids or I need to charge our phones. I also decorate it with little items my daughter made or expensive boxes to hide cords in.
I’ve also purchased a shoe cabinet for storage. I like using these for small spaces since they are narrower than a regular cabinet or drawer.
You can read about my creative storage ideas by clicking here.
Use Your Walls
As mentioned earlier, use your wall space. Walls are necessary for the structure of your home, duh. But they are also negative space; you can dress up. I get a lot of my art from thrift stores and prints from fairs. I also purchase a lot of my affordable frames from Michaels.
My family and I even participated in a fun challenge of trying to paint each other. I kept one, which my daughter’s boyfriend painted of my youngest. We thought it was the funniest, and I wanted to commemorate that moment. So I framed it and put it up on an underutilized wall by the TV.
Be creative. Don’t limit your walls to just art; add a sconce or two. No electricity? No problem, use a beautiful candle sconce. As always, use a candle sconce with care and caution. Or you can also purchase battery wall lights to shine on your art.
One fun idea I’ve been thinking about is wall vases. I’ve discovered some adorable ones on Etsy, and I’ve also ordered a few plant baskets from Amazon to hang on my walls.
I’m going to include switch plates here, too, since they are mostly on walls.
This is an affordable option, also. It offers such an update to something so simple. Plus, it can really make your home look a lot cleaner if the wallplates are really old.
Have fun with switch plates because there are a lot of options out there. However, the fancier you get, the more expensive it can be. There are some from Anthropologie that are pretty expensive. To me, they are worth it since you do use them and look at them a lot.
I’ve only replaced my light switch wallplates since my outlets are usually out of sight.
Check out some of my images below.
Style
I feel like my style is more maximalist than anything. I never really worry about whether something will match in my home or not. Of course, if it’s a big ticket item, I will put extra thought into it before purchasing. But for the most part, if I like it, it’s a part of my style, and the pieces will most likely work together.
I think what happens is some people overthink their style, and it either paralyzes them or they rush to make a purchase.
I don’t think you should buy in bulk when it comes to decorating your home. Take your time in finding pieces that are part of your style. Have fun in the process of making slow purchases.
Understand that you will also make some mistakes in these purchases, and that’s okay. If it doesn’t work for you in one area of your home, can you put it somewhere else?
Which leads me to this: use what you already have. A lot of my decorating is from pieces I already own.
Use What You Already Have
Like I mentioned, I have books. I used them as a part of my home decor as well. Some of them, I painted the covers cream to blend in better with my decor. Others, I turned them around to display the pages instead of the binder.
I also had a bunch of magazines I didn’t want to get rid of, so I used them as decor as well.
Throughout the years, I collected crystals and kept them in drawers. I think the reason I didn’t display them was that I didn’t think they were decorative. It wasn’t until I took the time to redecorate my house with the intention of not spending money did I decided to go through my drawers and closets to see what I had.
Rugs
Even if you have a small area, you can still decorate your floors with a pretty rug. For my living room, I layered two rugs on top of each other. It gives my little space a lot of character, which I like.
In the hallway, I have a small runner as well. The only area I don’t have rugs in is the kitchen. This just makes the area more efficient to clean.
I love rugs and feel like you can use them even if you already have carpet. They can help pull your place together. Plus, they create a soft place for you to sit or lie on if you want.
Lighting
Lighting is another home decor ideas for small homes. You can decorate your home with beautiful lights. If done strategically, lights can set a fun or romantic mood in your home.
I love lights, both small and large. For floor lamps, take your time on this purchase, as this may be a highlight of your room and can get pretty expensive.
I wish I waited to get my floor lamp because this is something I use the most. But I was being rash when I made my purchase, and now I have to see it every day.
I also have a small table lamp I love. These aren’t as visible as my floor lamp.
I also use small rechargeable lamps I purchased from Amazon. I love these because I can move them to whatever area I need them for. For example, my kids and I were playing board games in the living room, and the light was not focused on the board. I moved the rechargeable lamps to the coffee table to give us more light.
I love the idea of rechargeable lamps. They offer so many cute varieties and are lightweight easily move around.
Pick Narrow Storage
Pick narrow storage. I say this because in a small home, storage is so helpful. Especially when they are more on the narrow side, they stick out less.
A lot of shoe cabinets provide a good amount of storage. They also offer a lot of narrow options. And guess what, you don’t have to store your shoes in them.
I got this idea from my girlfriend, who lives in a tiny apartment in San Francisco. She lined one of her larger walls with all of the same white shoe cabinets she found at Ikea.
I was thinking, “Wow, that’s a lot of shoes!” But when she opened them, she showed me she stored a lot of her electronics and paperwork in them. I thought that was such a genius idea.
Plus, since they were so narrow and didn’t stick out much from her wall, she was able to easily flow through her apartment without bumping into them.
Behind my sofa, I also purchased a narrow sofa table. It has outlets at the top to make it more convenient for my family to charge their phones, etc. It is also a place where I can house more pictures and storage boxes where all the charging wires live. I use old Cartier boxes for that (check out the picture showcasing my sofa table).
You can read more about my creative storage ideas post by clicking here.
Creativity
Last but not least, have fun being creative. If you’re not feeling creative, get inspiration from Pinterest or other social media platforms. Try your best to relax and have fun with the process of decorating your home.
Also, don’t rush the process. I noticed that when people rush to decorate their homes, they’re usually not happy with the outcome. They make a lot of expensive mistakes and purchases.
I take my time and thrift a lot of my pieces. It makes the process a lot slower. It’s also more cost-efficient and helps with my consumption footprint.
I’ve purchased candlestick holders, ashtrays, frames, and vases from thrift stores.
I love print and color. Sometimes when I shop with friends, I’m often told that the things I pick won’t match what I have at home. If the piece really speaks to me, I will purchase it and make it work. Pick things that make you feel happy.
If it’s a big ticket item, be sure to be thoughtful in your process. Because it will be harder to get rid of if you change your mind.
For my couch, that was a long, thoughtful process. I was using my friend’s old hand-me-down couch for the longest time until I found a couch that fit all of my criteria. That’s for another blog post.
I hope this blog post not only inspires you but also gives you a lot of home decor ideas for small homes, too!
Be sure to check out my widget below for some home decor ideas.
As always, thanks for reading.
Love, Sutivi
