Simple Apartment Living Room Decor

Apartment decorating is a lot of fun, but it can also be challenging. Here are some easy tips that anyone can use to help maximize your apartment space and still decorate in style.

1 Use versatile furniture. A chest of drawers can serve not only as a dresser, it can double as a TV stand, bathroom cabinet, entryway table, or buffet. An ottoman with storage works as a footstool or extra seating. A tray on top makes an instant coffee table. Stow blankets or extra linens below.

2. Maximize kitchen counter space. Tastefully display dishes, cookbooks and small kitchen appliances above the kitchen cupboards. Hang a pot rack or a line of hooks close to the ceiling to organize your space-hogging pots and pans.

3. Create a designer room. Bare white walls are a trademark of new apartments and rentals. Cover up the white without the clutter of shelves and create an amazing designer space at the same time with a peel and stick wall mural.

4. Let there be light. Use track lighting and aim it at the walls to create an expansive feeling and free up floor space at the same time.

5. A sofa for all seasons. Slip covers and throw pillows create a "new" sofa. A light colored summer sofa can easily become a cozy soft suede winter sofa with a stylish slip cover.

6 Raise the Bed. Add storage space to your bedroom by propping the bed up on plastic bed risers. Conceal with a stylish dust ruffle or bed skirt.

7. Double your closet space. Add a rod to your closet and maximize the amount of hanger space available.

Use these tips to save space and make a big decorating impact on your apartment. Remember, the space may be a rental, but it's your home. Make it yours.

Apartment painting is the quickest and least expensive solution to spruce up your rental space. Choosing the right colors and shades can add a lot of personality to a space in which you cannot make any big design decisions. Many times, the rental units in an apartment building are all the same, and a simple paint job can make a plain and simple apartment more personal.

Although painting seems simple, there are a few basics that you should remember before going into a big apartment painting project. The rooms you are painting should be clean and dust free before painting. This is because dirt and dust make it difficult for the paint to stick to the walls, and if the walls are too dirty, the paint will eventually peel. Additionally, it is best to use a primer on the walls before painting with the desired colors. Primer paint serves a number of purposes. It can be used to cover a darker paint, especially if you are using a lighter shade. It also ensures that the top coat of paint will stick to the walls better. Without the use of a primer, the finished product can look unprofessional, and might not last long.

Not giving much thought into your choices for the right colors, shades and finishes can be just as disastrous. Apartment painting introduces a new set of challenges, especially if you want to bring more personality to plain white walls. There are several things to consider, including space, to create the illusion you want. Light shaded colors are better-suited for a small apartment space. These colors help create the illusion of a larger space by making the ceiling and walls appear much farther away. A light color choice is not limited to just neutral colors. In fact, adding accents with brighter colors such as yellow or red, can add an extra design to make the room stand out even more. Bright colors can both bring more vitality to any room and reflect light much better. Light reflection is one of the many elements that will have an important role in having a more spacious appearance to a small apartment. In addition to brighter color choices, you can also add mirrors, and other furnishings, especially if they are made of a reflective material, to add to a more spacious appearance.