How to furnish an apartment: interior arrangement and design in small rooms

Comfort in an apartment is a special component, without which no design will look attractive and stylish. But unfortunately, not everyone knows how to properly add comfort and a quiet home environment to any interior.

Every person can create a beautiful and stylish interior

Let's try to present a few basic rules that will help give individuality to any style direction of the room.

What you need to know before you start arranging your apartment

Before furnishing an apartment, you need to clearly understand in what style direction it is designed. Here it is worth paying attention to:

color scheme;
the predominance of natural or artificial materials in decoration and furniture;
own preferences;
room dimensions;
its level of natural light.

All this affects the selection of decorative elements, furniture, additional functional and other components.

The interior of the apartment should be attractive and comfortable

It is important to adhere to basic design rules:

Combine colors in the room, taking into account the basic color rules - there should be no more than 3 main tones, while additional ones should be small in area.
The lighting level should be sufficient to comfortably spend time in the room, depending on its purpose.
All interior elements must be combined with each other in style, otherwise the furnishings of the apartment may resemble chaos.

Lighting in any room of the apartment is divided into basic, local and decorative.

Arrangement in different rooms

The family spends a lot of time in the living room, so there must be a soft area in the form of a sofa and armchairs. The center can be a large table, coffee table or TV. These items are usually referred to as sofas, armchairs or chairs.

The option when there is a table in the center and chairs around it is very common and looks good, but it is suitable for spacious living rooms. Furniture in a small room is usually located along the walls so as not to interfere with free movement around the room.

On the sides of the TV, identical shelves, racks, flower stands, vases, etc. would be appropriate.

A fashionable trend is to highlight different zones in the living room.

You can select a relaxation area where there will be a TV, a sofa, armchairs, a coffee table, and a dining area with a large table and chairs. Such furniture areas can be distinguished by color, decorative partition, shelving, etc. This option will be more suitable for spacious rooms.

An example of the location of a bed in a room.

In the bedroom, as a rule, the only furniture is a bed, bedside tables, a small wardrobe or chest of drawers. More suitable here is to place the bed in the center of a long wall (with the headboard facing the wall), and on either side of it are bedside tables.

In a narrow bedroom, the bed should be placed sideways against the wall. In the free part of the room you can place a closet, a dressing table, or create a small work area. If the bedroom has a niche, then a wardrobe or bed will look harmonious in it. To create unity of space, it is recommended to use furniture of the same color scheme.

In a large kitchen, a circular arrangement of furniture would be appropriate and convenient, with a table in the center and chairs placed around it. Instead of a table, a bar counter with high chairs is sometimes used. A kitchen set and household appliances are usually located along one wall, and a small sofa is located on the other.

Related article: DIY tablet stand made of PVC pipes

Arrangement of furniture in the kitchen.

But a more common option in modern apartments is a small kitchen, in which furniture has to be placed along the walls to create a passage.

Furniture in a children's room should provide maximum space for games and movement. Therefore, the principle of minimalism with the arrangement of a bed, table, shelving, and cabinet along the walls will be relevant. In a children's room, the centerpiece can be a bright carpet.

The arrangement of furniture in the bathroom is carried out along the walls, since there is usually little space there.

The use of soft floor pillows and rugs in the apartment

Carpets create a feeling of coziness, so you shouldn’t neglect them and actively introduce them into the interior of both living rooms and bedrooms. In order to furnish a room, you should put a carpet on the floor that matches the style. They fit perfectly into any space, from high-tech to ethnic interiors. The room immediately becomes cozy with them.

A well-chosen rug will become a highlight of the interior of the living room, bedroom or kitchen

You can also use floor pillows. But they are more suitable for oriental and boudoir bedroom options.

Floor pillows create an atmosphere of comfort and warmth; if necessary, they can be easily moved to another room or stored in a closet

How to choose the right color scheme and lighting for an apartment

Color and light are very important. Even if the room is decorated with expensive materials, it is an illiterate color solution and an inadequate level of lighting that can ruin all your endeavors.

The color palette of the interior in any style should be based on 2-3 basic tones

Most often the base color is neutral, be it light or dark. And bright colors serve as accents. They should be small in area and harmoniously combined with the main color. In this case, you will be able to furnish a room that will have excellent taste.

How to properly furnish an apartment

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After purchasing a new apartment and carrying out the necessary repairs, the new owners are faced with the acute question of purchasing and correctly arranging furniture. How to do this so that the room not only acquires a cozy look, but is also very convenient from a practical point of view? This article will help answer this question and several others.

General recommendations for apartment furnishings

Before you start furnishing your living space, you need to adopt some of the elements of modern interior design. First of all, each of the rooms, depending on its purpose, must perform some of its own functions and at the same time be quite comfortable.

Kitchen sets should be chosen as modern as possible, since they perform the largest number of necessary functions, while being quite compact, especially with built-in appliances. If you are furnishing a common living room, then you should make a choice in favor of comfortable medium-sized upholstered furniture, arrange cabinets and shelves to store the necessary things, and put a coffee table in the middle of the room. The armchairs can easily be replaced with modern original ottomans or beanbags - it looks stylish and at the same time takes up very little space.

For the bedroom, it is very important to choose a comfortable and spacious bed, preferably with additional internal drawers for storing bedding. You shouldn’t over-clutter the room – just a wardrobe and a couple of elegant bedside tables are enough. You should not blindly follow fashion and use an interior design in your apartment that is completely unsuitable for your mood or inner feeling. The most important thing is to create the most cozy and warm atmosphere in the apartment, in which you can relax and feel complete comfort at any time.

Combine several styles and interesting interior solutions, choose the right color scheme - there are no restrictions here. It is very important to maintain a certain order and arrangement of things. You should not combine something very minimalistic and modern with old antiques - this will create conflicting feelings. Also, you should not use too dark colors, as you can create a too gloomy atmosphere that completely excludes comfort.

How to properly furnish a small apartment?

With a fairly small room, it becomes quite difficult to place in it everything that is necessary for a further comfortable life. Let's look at a few basic tips that will help you cope with this problem. For a sleeping place, you should choose something quite compact, but at the same time very soft and comfortable, for example, folding furniture or a sofa bed, which can be easily pulled out before going to bed. At the same time, for most of the day it functions as a regular sofa on which you can seat guests, and takes up very little space. You can separate the sleeping area with light screens or curtains, but in no case with any heavy furniture.

For the work area, you should choose something modern and very functional, for example, a wall with numerous compartments for storing all kinds of necessary things. A closet would also be a good option, which will allow you to avoid leaving room for opening the doors and free up some space for maneuver. In general, try to purchase as much transformable furniture as possible - this will allow you not to clutter the room with unnecessary interior elements.

For a kitchen, it is necessary to observe the necessary minimum of required equipment; it is desirable that all of it be built-in and small in size, but at the same time perform all the required functions. It is worth using all the available space, for example, placing a microwave and something else, relatively small, on the windowsill. In the hallway, especially if it is very small, you can get by with very minimal furniture; in general, it is enough to place a small cabinet and a shoe stand, as well as something to sit on. If space allows, you can place a specially ordered wardrobe here, which will allow you to accommodate a large number of things and free up space in the main room.

A few examples of interior design for small spaces implemented by our design studio:

Design of a modular house 28 sq.m.
Studio apartment design 40 sq.m.
Interior design “Moderately bright and bachelor”

The main mistakes when decorating an apartment:

Do not make the interior too monochromatic and consistent in the same color scheme; it is very important to create contrasts. For example, with a neutral coloring of the walls, a good solution would be furniture in fairly bright, saturated colors, which will create an additional positive mood in your apartment.
It is not necessary to place all the furniture in the corners; some modern options in the very center of the room will allow you to create a unique and unique interior.
Don’t consider yourself a stunning designer with a rare sense of style; before buying furniture, consider the furnishing options presented on the Internet or in catalogs and choose something that will best suit the overall mood in the apartment.
Do not neglect the functionality of the interior; every detail of your furnishings should serve its specific purpose.
Do not clutter the room with unnecessary and bulky furniture, leave the spaces necessary for comfortable movement.
Make sure that each piece of furniture is combined with the rest; do not mix styles too sharply. Now, after all the considered recommendations and advice, it will be much easier to decide how to correctly arrange the necessary interior items in the apartment.

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Light colors to create coziness

Since it is quite easy to furnish an apartment in light colors, you should know the basic rules on how to avoid boredom in such rooms.

A bright sofa as an accent in a white Scandinavian-style living room

Use colored decorative pillows, drapes with patterns in pastel colors, and rugs with small patterns. All this goes well with soft milky beige shades.

Using vertical space from ceiling to floor

Don't leave bare walls. After all, they are the ones who cannot leave a cheap impression even with the most expensive repairs. Hang paintings or other decorative elements on the walls, such as panels, decorative fans or other ethnic figurines, masks, etc.

Panels, posters or paintings will become the central elements of the room and emphasize the good taste of the owners of the house

If you resort to this technique, the house immediately becomes individual, and not a faceless space.

Highlights of room furnishings

The first thing you need to do is imagine the entire space of the room and its functional purpose, along with furniture and areas. It’s better to draw all this on graph paper, indicating the exact dimensions of the room (it must be measured), and cut the furniture out of paper and place it in the right places.

You can also simply draw with a pencil and erase furniture on graph paper. Be sure to indicate the dimensions of both the room and the furniture. Here https://viko-mebli.com.ua/ you can look for a sofa or just look at their varieties.

Room furnishing diagram

Electrical points and furniture

An important nuance is electrical sockets and switches. They should be located on the walls so that they can be used and do not interfere with the arrangement of furniture. If, before arranging furniture in the room, you are planning renovations, incl. arrangement of electrical points and installation of switches, be sure to think about their placement along with the furniture.

So, for example, you can place a sconce near the bed and/or a couple of sockets above the bedside table. All sizes, both furniture and the location of sockets and lamps, must be planned in advance so that everything works out as it should. It is advisable not to make electrical sockets and switches very close to the headboard, since this is still electricity, for example, I would make it 10-12 cm to the sides than in the photo above.

Determining the central element of the furniture

Every room has a central piece of furniture, it could be a bed, a fireplace or something else, even a painting or a dining table. This object must be identified, first placed on the plan (or in nature), and from there, begin to arrange others. In the kitchen, this is usually the dining table. There is a bed in the bedroom. There may be a fireplace in the living room.

Furniture arrangement, the main element is the bed

Distance and angles

The main rule regarding the distance between pieces of furniture is that there should be a distance between them for comfortable movement.

I recommend: Kitchen furniture: features and specifics

The corners of a room are a special place. The corners do not particularly attract the eye, so they can be assigned the role of a “warehouse”, installing shelving or cabinets there. Tall vases and lamps also look good in the corners.

Cabinets and shelving are often located in the corners

Using flowers instead of decorative items

If you don’t like paintings, photos and other things on the walls, you can replace them with real flowers. In this case, it is worth choosing beautiful clay pots. Because they will look quite stylish. But it’s worth keeping them in the same style and color scheme. But their shape can be different, depending on the needs of a particular type of indoor plant.

Using compositions created with the help of living plants, you can give the interior a new life, and this will not require significant financial investments

If the room has large spaces of “bare” walls, then you can equip them with flower slides.

How to arrange furniture correctly according to Feng Shui

Harmony is what needs to be achieved when arranging furniture in a room. Arranging items correctly is much more important than the characteristics of the furniture itself. So, furniture can be super elegant and beautiful, but it can be arranged crookedly, without observing the fundamental principles of arrangement and arrangement of objects. Universal placement methods:

Arrange furniture symmetrically . Use the pairwise principle. First, determine the center, and starting from the central zone of the room, arrange the pieces of furniture so that they are at the same distance from the center. The central place can be considered not only the geometric center of the room, but also large objects, as well as corners, windows, doors. The symmetrical method is good for square rooms. In order to create symmetry, use the same furniture, made, if not exactly the same, then at least in the same style and size. Example – two identical lamps, two nightstands on different sides of the bed. Or two chairs on either side of the fireplace.
Arrange objects in a circle . The circular method of arranging furniture involves furnishing the room around a table or chandelier as a starting point. This method is more suitable for large rooms, as it involves the use of more space. In order for the interior composition to look harmonious, it is necessary to maintain the distance between objects. If it is comfortable to walk, then the furniture is arranged correctly. If the walls of the room are semicircular, a circular method of arranging objects will be very appropriate. In this case, you can use furniture of different style characteristics.

Which method to choose is up to you personally. But both methods of arranging furniture are quite acceptable for most apartments and houses. Now you know the principle of how to arrange furniture, all that remains is to show a little imagination and creative thought. Feel like a real interior designer.

Basic principles:

the main thing in furniture is not decorative properties, but functionality;
build an interior composition starting from the main element;
furnish the room only with necessary items;
place furniture close to the wall, but not too close;
use the triangle rule;
group small items together.

For inspiration, look at the interior photos:

Arrangement options for a large room

The largest room in the apartment is the hall. The space allows you to give free rein to your imagination. Therefore, it is not difficult to create a beautiful and comfortable environment in the living room. The quality of the reception of guests will depend on how well the hall is furnished. Read the article on how to furnish a room.

Before arranging furniture in the hall, it is necessary to identify the main zones of this room. Make a plan on paper or use a computer. In the hall you can select a relaxation area, a work area, and a place to sleep. Indicate the dimensions on the drawing. This way you will eliminate the possibility of making a mistake when buying new furniture. At this stage, calculations are important.

An interesting design solution would be to make the room have an irregular geometric shape. For example, add a fifth corner, make semicircular walls. But in this case, you need to have the vision of a designer in order to arrange the furniture in the living room appropriately. Alternatively, you can use the teachings of Feng Shui.

The main principles of Feng Shui:

Decorate the center of the room.
First of all, arrange large items, then in descending order.
Do not place tall furniture near a window.
Do not place sofas or chairs with their backs to the door.
The table should be round.
Place the TV and other electrical equipment against the west wall.
Place flowers near the TV.
The fireplace plays an important role.

Follow these rules for arranging furniture so that positive energy circulates throughout the apartment and negative energy is neutralized.

Arrangement options for a small room

In a small room, such as a bedroom, it is more difficult to arrange furniture due to the lack of space. Therefore, for a room of 15 square meters, take into account these tips:

Install a sofa book.
If possible, avoid using cabinet furniture.
Buy multifunctional items. Table with shelves, bed with drawers.
Fewer decorative elements.
Avoid sharp corners.
A bunk bed is a great choice.
Use anything that will help save space in a small room. Retractable tabletop, book-table, lift-up bed.

To successfully arrange furniture in a small room, also first draw drawings or at least hand sketches of the room and all items.

How to properly furnish a studio

Light is very important for the studio. Place pieces of furniture according to the principles of room zoning. Focus on functionality, but don't forget about convenience.

Popular interior styles for decorating an apartment

If you plan to completely change the interior of the room, then you should pay attention to the following styles, which have recently been the most popular in home improvement.

Minimalism

Don't know how to furnish a small apartment? Here is the ideal advice - if the number of square meters limits you, then resort to minimalism.

Minimalism is characterized by a simple and elegant interior in a calm color palette; paintings or living plants are acceptable as small accents

At first glance, this space may seem boring. But it is not so. Its functionality can make even a small apartment, especially a Khrushchev apartment, very ergonomic and convenient to use.

Provence

Don't know how to beautifully furnish your apartment? Provence style will help you with this.

The interior in the Provence style is characterized by the cozy atmosphere of a country house combined with French luxury

The combination of a milky background with a small floral print in pastel colors makes any room very elegant and stylish. For Provence, it is worth considering that he still needs a fairly spacious apartment. Since the abundance of decorative elements in a too small room can result in creating an uncomfortable space.

Scandinavian

This style is close to minimalism, but its distinctive feature is the use of cool, light colors when decorating most of the space. Therefore, this option is ideal for a studio room.

Freshness, cleanliness and order always live in the Scandinavian interior

But it’s worth considering that a large window is important for the Scandinavian style. After all, maximum daylight should penetrate into the room. Moreover, it is advisable not to curtain the window itself or to do it with light transparent tulle. And in order to protect the space of the room from the outside world, different types of blinds are used.

High tech

This interior option cannot be made inexpensively. Despite its apparent cheapness, this is a completely misleading impression. Cabinet and upholstered furniture, as well as other decorative elements, should be as linear as possible or have smooth lines made of plastic.

High-tech is in many ways similar to minimalism. Both of these styles do not tolerate unnecessary details, they value architecture, form and space.

Most often, designer furniture is used for such an interior. It perfectly emphasizes modern style and new trends in fashion.

And others

Eco-styles are also respected and popular in the modern world. They give a person the coziness and comfort of natural materials, which he may lack in today's world of everything artificial.

Eco-style is suitable for any room: bedroom, living room, kitchen or hallway

This option for decorating a room will also be quite expensive, because you will have to use natural stone and wood. But they are the ones who give maximum comfort and warmth to the interior space.

What is important to consider

To create an ideal and complete interior, you should adhere to the following recommendations:

For a visual representation, it is worth first creating diagrams of what different options for the future layout will look like. This can be done by drawing a layout on paper manually, creating it in a special computer program, or making a three-dimensional version of it from cardboard and paper.
In small rooms it is better to use a minimum number of pieces of furniture, but so that it is correctly and comfortably arranged;
Near large pieces of furniture, such as a sofa, it is better to leave a free space of about 1 m.
The furniture should look harmonious from any vantage point - from doors, windows, balconies, seating areas.

When thinking about the arrangement of furniture, you need to take into account many parameters: the size of the room, its shape, ceiling height, window and door location.

But it’s important to trust your own taste, because even a fashionably furnished apartment can turn out to be uncomfortable.

An example of creating design and interior in small rooms

The smaller the room, the more effort it takes to furnish it. In addition to your own preferences, you should also take into account rationality and ergonomics. After all, they will allow you to make the most of every square meter. And in small rooms this is really important.

A small room should not have a lot of furniture - only everything you need

To make it easier to navigate how you can organize small apartments with maximum comfort, you should look at the examples given below.

Photo wallpapers with perspective help make a room visually more spacious.

Interior of a small living room with a dedicated workplace

Cozy living room with panoramic window

Arrangement methods

There are ready-made ways to arrange furniture in space. When using them, you need to take into account the features of your room.

The options may be the following:

Symmetric. This method involves arranging identical pieces of furniture to the side of the selected center, which is not the center of the room itself. The center for such a scheme can be any large detail or part of the room, most often it is a TV or a picture in the living room, a bed in the bedroom, a dining table in the dining room. As paired pieces of furniture, you can use, for example, identical chairs on either side of the TV in the living room, or bedside tables in the bedroom on either side of the head of the bed. Paired pieces of furniture must be the same or similar in style, size and color. Otherwise, the interior will look tasteless. A symmetrical arrangement of furniture in a rectangular room will look good. The square shape of the room is also perfect. This placement method is easy to implement, since you only need to select the center and place paired pieces of furniture on the sides.
Asymmetric. Large pieces of furniture (sofas, wardrobes, chests of drawers) are usually placed near the walls, and small pieces (chairs, coffee tables, poufs) - in the center of the room. This method is more free, it allows you to combine furniture of different styles and colors. It is perfect for disproportionate rooms.
Circular. When using this method of arranging furniture, it is located at the same distance from the selected center, which is most often a chandelier or a large table. An option is possible in which there are several centers at once, and the furniture will be placed around each of them. Such furniture circles can have their own style and characteristics. To create several circles, a large room is required, and in a small room 1-2 centers would be appropriate. This method is especially good for rooms in which one or more walls have a rounded shape. It should be taken into account that some part of the space may be “eaten up”, since it is necessary to arrange furniture in a circle or semicircle, often leaving corners empty.

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Basic rules and methods of furnishing rooms