Hamburg - A dream apartment for city dwellers has three or four bedrooms, a large kitchen, bath and balcony and is located in the city centre. The reality is, hardly anyone's budget is vast enough to afford such space, and in large expensive cities, sometimes there's not even enough money to cover the rent for a basic, smaller apartment.
Urban and regional planners must take into account that people have to sleep, live and eat in just a few square metres of space. Furniture that is too big and insufficient or poorly used storage space can make an apartment quickly look like a junk store.
"Before moving in, tenants should consider what they want to do with the rooms," said interior decorator Anne Jung of a German home furnishing consultant company in Wiesbaden. A student's requirements differ from those of a manager who uses the space just to have a place to stay during the work week.
When shopping for furniture, always take along a diagram of the apartment and the exact measurements of the rooms. In the large warehouse-size rooms of furniture stores, many pieces of furniture appear really small. But they actually would completely fill up the rooms of the apartment.
"Small apartments can appear to have a generous amount of space," said architect and author Thomas Drexel of Augsburg, Germany. An apartment can be made to look bigger by creating angles that should not be cluttered up with furniture. Consider removing doors, for example. When only one person lives in an apartment, often there are many unnecessary doors, and rooms can connect nicely without them.
"Small rooms appear larger to the eye when the walls and ceilings are painted in a light shade," said Ludger Kueper, director of a paint quality institute in Frankfurt. White, light colours such as yellow or sky blue paint give the impression of height. "The ceiling should never be painted a dark colour because that would give the occupant the feeling that it was about to fall on them."
In small apartments, window treatments should match the colour of the walls, otherwise they can make the room look even smaller," said Jung. Fancy window treatments should be avoided because they tend to make rooms look small as well. The drape or other window treatment selected should cover only the window itself. Pillows and other colourful accessories can be used as accents without making the space appear small. Drexel recommends a uniform floor covering, such as parquet or cork with the exception of the bath and kitchen.
As anyone living in a small apartment knows, sleeper sofas save a lot of space. However, having to combine sitting and sleeping functions in one piece of furniture is always a compromise. Jung said when buying a sleeper sofa, always pay close attention to the sleep comfort it offers. Otherwise, it could cause back pain.
It's also important to carefully consider dining space. The best choice often is a fold-out table that offers enough space to dine comfortably every day. Extended, the table offers enough space for guests. Fold-up chairs are a suitable seating solution, and they can be easily stored. The table can also function as a work space.
"In very small apartments the furniture must be very finely constructed," advises Drexel. Closets that fit along the wall offer storage space, but their fronts should be as transparent as possible. Installing custom-built or walk-through closets also should be considered. A lot of small or a lot of open storage spaces in a small room can cause it to look unsettled.
A large mirror is another way of making a small space look bigger. Jung suggests putting them on the front of closet doors so they not only help make the room look bigger, they also help the apartment occupant check his or her own appearance.
