6 Best Apartment Interior Design Tips For Aesthetics Feel Surprisingly Spacious
Stylish tricks to make any small space feel huge.
Living in a small apartment often feels like a constant battle for space. You shuffle furniture around, buy yet another set of storage bins, but still feel like the walls are closing in. The truth is, the actual square footage of your apartment is less important than how you perceive it.
Organize and protect your belongings with these durable Sterilite 27-gallon storage bins. The heavy-duty construction and secure, stackable lid design maximize space and ensure safe transport.
The feeling of spaciousness is an illusion you can create. It’s not about owning less, but about choosing smarter. Through strategic interior design, you can guide the eye, manipulate light, and make even the most compact studio feel open, airy, and intentional.
This isn’t about minimalist deprivation or expensive custom built-ins. It’s about understanding the core principles of small-space design and applying them with a few key pieces of furniture and decor. These tips will help you reclaim your apartment, transforming it from cramped to comfortable.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases. Thank you!
Unlock Space in Your Apartment With Smart Design
The biggest mistake people make in a small apartment is thinking horizontally. They focus on the floor plan, trying to cram everything in at ground level. The real secret is to think in three dimensions—leveraging vertical space, sightlines, and the flow of light.
Every object you bring into your home has a "visual weight." A dark, solid bookcase feels heavier and takes up more mental space than a light, open-backed shelving unit, even if they have the same footprint. Your goal is to choose items that do their job without visually dominating the room.
This guide focuses on specific, accessible pieces that embody key design principles for small living. Each one solves a common problem by using light, height, or transparency to create a sense of openness. Think of them not just as products, but as tools to reshape your perception of home.
Expand Your View with an Umbra Hubba Arched Mirror
Elevate your space with the Umbra Hubba Arched Mirror, featuring a stylish metallic frame that doubles as wall art. Its unique arch shape and reflective surface visually expand rooms and enhance light, with easy installation included.
You’ve heard it a thousand times: mirrors make a room look bigger. This is true because they bounce light into dark corners and create the illusion of depth. A well-placed mirror can feel like adding another window to your space.
The shape of the mirror matters as much as its presence. An arched mirror like the Umbra Hubba does more than just reflect the room; its curved top draws the eye upward, creating a subtle sense of height. In apartments with standard 8-foot ceilings, this vertical lift can make the entire room feel taller and more grand.
For maximum impact, place your mirror strategically. Hang it opposite a window to double your natural light and bring the outdoors in. Alternatively, place it at the end of a narrow hallway to visually erase the dead end, making the entryway feel more expansive and welcoming.
Brighten Corners with Article’s Leap Wall Sconce
Dark corners are space-killers. They make a room’s boundaries feel closer than they are, effectively shrinking your living area. While a floor lamp can help, it also eats up precious floor space that could be used for a side table or a plant.
Wall-mounted lighting is the small-space dweller’s best friend. Sconces free up the floor and turn your walls into functional surfaces. The articulating arm of a design like Article’s Leap Wall Sconce adds another layer of utility, allowing you to direct light exactly where you need it—for reading on the couch or highlighting a piece of art.
This isn’t just about illumination; it’s about creating atmosphere. A single, harsh overhead light flattens a room. By layering light with targeted sources like sconces, you create pools of warmth and visual interest. This depth makes a space feel more sophisticated and, paradoxically, much larger.
Create Airflow with The Floyd Platform Bed Frame
Enjoy sturdy mattress support with the Mellow Naturalista Classic platform bed. This queen-sized, solid wood bed features durable wooden slats and easy assembly, eliminating the need for a box spring.
Your bed is likely the largest piece of furniture in your apartment. A traditional bed with a box spring and bulky frame can act like a visual block, stopping the eye and making a bedroom feel stuffed. It consumes a massive amount of visual and physical space.
The solution is to choose furniture that "floats." A platform bed with legs, like The Floyd Frame, lifts the mattress off the ground, creating open space underneath. This simple change allows light and air to circulate, and lets you see more of the floor, which is a powerful psychological trick for making a room feel bigger.
That open space isn’t just for looks. While you can use it for low-profile under-bed storage, the key is to resist the urge to overfill it. Leaving some of that space open maintains the airy aesthetic and prevents your bedroom from feeling like a storage unit with a mattress on top.
Go Vertical with an IKEA KALLAX Shelving Unit
Organize and display your items with this versatile 8-cube storage organizer. Featuring customizable shelving with removable back panels and a sturdy design, it's perfect for books, decor, or even as a media stand.
Storage is non-negotiable, but how you store your belongings dramatically impacts your space. Low, wide bookcases or credenzas eat up valuable floor area and can make a room feel squat and crowded. When floor space is limited, the only way to go is up.
A vertical shelving unit like the IKEA KALLAX is a classic for a reason. It draws the eye upward, emphasizing the full height of the room. Its open-cube design is also less visually imposing than a solid-backed bookcase, allowing light to pass through and preventing it from feeling like a monolithic wall.
The KALLAX is incredibly versatile. In a studio, you can use it as a partial room divider to create distinct "zones" for living and sleeping without blocking light completely. Use a mix of open cubes for display and fabric bins to conceal clutter, achieving a look that is both organized and personal.
Create instant privacy with this portable room divider. Featuring a durable steel frame and non-see-through fabric, it easily folds for storage and adjusts to fit your space.
Define Your Zone with a Large Ruggable Area Rug
This zesthome area rug enhances your living space with its vintage design and soft velvet surface. The non-slip backing keeps it securely in place, and it's machine washable for easy care.
It seems counterintuitive, but one of the most common design mistakes in a small room is using a rug that’s too small. A "postage stamp" rug floating in the middle of the floor visually chops up the space, making it feel fragmented and even smaller.
Go bigger than you think you need. A large area rug that anchors the entire seating area—with at least the front legs of your sofa and chairs on it—unifies the furniture into a cohesive zone. This creates a clear, defined space that feels more generous and intentional, rather than a random collection of furniture.
The practicality of a brand like Ruggable, with its two-piece washable system, is a huge bonus in a small home. Every square foot gets heavy use, so spills and dirt are inevitable. A clean, well-maintained rug serves as a strong foundation that makes the entire apartment feel more orderly and spacious.
See Through Clutter with CB2’s Peekaboo C-Table
Every living room needs functional surfaces for a drink, a book, or a remote. But traditional wood or metal end tables and coffee tables add visual bulk. They create solid blocks in your sightline, making the room feel cluttered even when it’s tidy.
This is where "ghost" furniture comes in. Pieces made from clear acrylic or glass, like CB2’s Peekaboo C-Table, perform their function without taking up any visual space. Your eye passes right through them to the floor and rug beyond, preserving an uninterrupted view and making the room feel more open.
The C-table design offers an additional space-saving advantage. Its shape allows it to tuck over the arm or seat of your sofa, providing a stable surface without occupying a separate footprint on the floor. It’s the ultimate combination of functional design and visual lightness.
Your Spacious, Stylish Small Apartment Awaits You
Creating a home that feels spacious has little to do with its actual measurements and everything to do with smart, deliberate choices. By focusing on how you use light, scale, and sightlines, you can fundamentally change the character of your apartment. It’s about working with your space, not against it.
The specific products mentioned here are excellent examples, but the principles behind them are universal. Choose furniture with legs, utilize your vertical space, invest in layered lighting, and don’t be afraid of large-scale pieces like mirrors and rugs. These are the foundational tools for effective small-space design.
Living small doesn’t mean living with less style or comfort. It’s an opportunity to be more intentional about the things you surround yourself with. With a thoughtful approach, you can craft a home that is not only functional but feels expansive, calm, and uniquely yours.
Ultimately, the goal isn’t to trick yourself into believing you live in a mansion. It’s about optimizing the space you have to create the best possible living environment. By using design to enhance light, create flow, and reduce visual clutter, you can make your apartment a comfortable, stylish, and surprisingly spacious sanctuary.
