This post is written to show the transformation of our condominium in Norther Virginia as well as providing my tips for decorating a small home. I am very excited about finally getting around to post about our home in NoVA. We bought our first home, site unseen, in April 2016 when we were still living in Mumbai, India. We returned to NoVA from India in August 2016. 4 months after the closing of the condominium, we moved into the house in September.

How To Decorate A Small Home

This was our home from the summer 2016 to the summer 2018 between our two overseas assignments. The post prior to moving back to Northern Virginia was Mumbai, India and our current post is Manila, Philippines. Despite the short time we lived there (2 years!), we filled our home with ample of love and memories to keep for life. We have made all the places we have lived our own unique home. This home, however, holds a special place in our hearts because it was our very first home we have ever owned as a family.

I find it easier to furnish and decorate a small home as opposed to a big home. However, decorating a small home comes with its own challenges. Before I get started, I would like to add that sizes are all relative. The condo we bought in 2016 would be considered small for a family of 5 in the American standard, but it felt like a perfect size for our family at the particular stage of our life. For someone like myself who comes from Tokyo, it was actually pretty big.

Here you will see how I have decorated my small home. I hope you all will enjoy seeing the transformation.

1. Choosing The Right Paint Color

We hired a professional painter to paint the entire condominium except for our master bedroom because I loved the paint color that was already there.

When you pick a paint color for a small room, I recommend that you pick a lighter shade of color. If the room has a lot of natural light, you could paint one wall with a darker color to make it an accent color. Except for that, I don’t recommend painting all the walls in a small room with a darker shade of paint because that will make the room look smaller. Our kids bedroom which used be in blue is a good example. (Please scroll down to see the photo.)

2. Repainting Kitchen Cabinets

The kitchen of our condominium was small. Thus, I wanted to paint the cabinet doors in white to make it look more spacious. It worked. Since I wanted to save some money, I painted the kitchen cabinets myself. (I’m never doing that again!) Instantly the kitchen felt bigger. I used Benjamin Moore paint as the brand was highly recommended by several of my friends. Since I was saving money by painting the cabinets myself, my friend suggested that I would purchase a good quality paint. I am glad that I did.

3. Furnish With Small Size Furniture Pieces

If you have big bulky pieces of furniture in a small house or apartment, the space would look even smaller. The key to make the best use of space is to furnish your home with the appropriate size of furniture. As you may notice, we have many pieces from IKEA whose furniture is designed to work for smaller homes.

If you already own big pieces of furniture when you downsize your home to a smaller one, I understand that it would be difficult to get rid of the furniture you have loved. However, I would say it is the right time for you to buy new furniture. It may be hard to let go of the furniture, but you have to remember that it is only a thing. It will help you move on by removing your emotional attachment from the furniture.

4. No clutter In The Living Space

I always tried my best not to leave any clutter in our kitchen, dining and living room. Having a clutter makes the space look smaller. It also becomes a sore in the eye to look at a mess on shelves and counters.

The IKEA furniture behind the dinner table with 8 baskets helped me declutter our dining room as well as living room. I used one of the boxes for any paper or letters that my children or my husband brought back. Three boxes on the bottom shelves were used as a cubby for my children. I assigned each child with one box. When they returned home from school, they had to put their backpacks in their appropriate box. Any personal belongings to my kids that I found after they left for school would be put in their boxes. My kids would have to organize their boxes once in a while.

5. It’s OK To NOT Decorate With Everything You Own

Most of our picture frames were put away in our closet for 2 years. I wanted to decorate our home with photos, but both my husband and I wanted to minimize the number of holes we make on the wall and we had limited wall space. Having less on the wall makes the room look bigger. Knowing that we will rent it when we move overseas again, we wanted to make our own job easier.

6. Fewer Or No Area Rugs

Area rugs are great in terms of instantly creating a mood to the room. However, they also trick your eye and makes the room look smaller. Since our upper floor was all carpeted, I did not use or feel the need to use area rugs. We loved our new dark grey carpet. The new shaggy carpet felt very soft on our feet.

7. Bunk Beds or Loft Beds Can Save Space

In order to make the best use of a space for kids, I recommend bunk beds or loft beds. Kids always love sleeping on the top bunk. I’m all about making my kids share a room, too. It teaches them social skills. It might be hard to have a bunk bed or loft bed when your kids are still very young or if you have a rambunctious child like I do. My son injured himself by jumping from the bunk bed ladder to the loft bed ladder. He even put bean bags under the loft bed ladder. He hit his mouth on the loft bed ladder. I was so glad my husband happened to be home because my son bled from his lips. Later we found his teeth mark on the loft bed ladder. I was appalled by his crazy idea and stupidity, but it is part of his growing process. It builds character, I guess? I was simply grateful that he did not crack his teeth! Goodness! Anyways, they may not always be the best solution depending on the type of your child (I’m sorry to say that!), but I do find them helpful for an effective use of space.

Below photos of our kids room also show how a darker shade of paint can make a room look smaller.

8. Don’t Be Afraid Of Sectioning A Room

I’m a fan of making a room into two sections. A couch’s back does not have to be against a wall. (Many people think sofas should be again a wall, but no! You don’t have to.) I like creating a separate space by putting a couch in a middle and use the back side for something else. The best part of it is that you can hide a clutter behind the couch.

9. A Lower Bed For A Small Space

I’m a fan of a low bed. It is so much easier to get up. I love IKEA beds for that matter. Lower beds also make the room look bigger. In other words, tall beds can make the room look smaller. If you have a big room with a high ceiling and you don’t know what to do with so much space, a canopy bed might be fun to have. However, it is definitely not for a small room.

That is it for now. Thank you for reading my blog post. I hope you enjoyed it!

Happy Decorating Home!!!