How to Furnish a Small Condo and Keep it Bright and Open

Unlike living in a standard-sized home, a small condo requires a different approach when choosing furnishing and lighting.

If you’ve ever entered a model condo, you’ve more than likely felt impressed at ‘how big it feels.’ Decorators work hard to choose the right pieces to help create that feeling.

When decorating a small condo, take what you’ve learned about decorating a large home and essentially toss it out the window.

Here are some essential tips on how to decorate a small condo:

Keep Your Furniture Open at the Base

When shopping for couches and chairs, choose only those with legs on them. Furniture that comes to the floor or has a skirt on it that goes to the floor will create a closed-in feeling. Don’t waste your time hunting for the wrong furniture; choose opened bottom pieces.

Also, be sure to select furniture that’s scaled to fit. For example, standard-size sofas are 42 to 46 inches deep, too big for small condos. Sofas for smaller condos typically measure 36 inches deep, and you should gear your choices to that size.

Choose Floating TV Stands and Cabinets to Keep Items off the Floor

You’ll have open-bottomed furniture; however, if you clutter up the limited floor area with bulky cabinets and closed-bottom end-tables, you’ll take away size from your already limited-sized space.

For example, choose a floating TV stand so you’ll have storage for your TV paraphernalia. Your TV set can easily be wall-mounted above the stand. With the floor clear below the stand, you’ve added to that open feeling.

Remember, the objective is to see as much of the floor as you can. That includes opening under the tables, the sofas, and chairs. Being able to see most of the floor creates a clean flowing sense of openness and allows the light to flow through the room, thus adding to the brightness of the space.

Choose Non-Bulky Lighting that You Can See Through

If you’re planning to add a ceiling light fixture above your Dining Table, choose one that’s light in color and weight, but most importantly, one that you’re able to see through no matter where you’re standing in the space. You add to the openness by not having a bulky piece that blocks any other part of the room with a visually clear light.

Also, don’t choose table lamps without large lampshades. Lampshades can close in a space. Many modern lamps can brighten a room without overpowering the space.

You don’t have to position lamps on either side of a sofa. If there’s enough overhead lighting, place a lamp as an added accent to a credenza or one of your floating cabinets.

Suggested pieces for a small apartment:

If your condo bedroom is small, check out how you can maximize space…

"Hey There! Thanks for stopping by today. I'm Barbara Cipak, Owner of Funkthishouse; a place where you can safely rebel against neutral decor. My nutty passion is finding funky, and interesting products for the home or office. I'm a home decor rebel who blames her decades in the real estate industry for my love of color! Since leaving neutral behind, I've built Funkthishouse.com, a place where souls once trapped in neutral-decor-world roam free and funk'n love it. Visit FAQs for more about Funkthishouse and the whole funky story.

The products featured are suggested from companies I've established an affiliated relationship with including ShopStyle, Etsy/Awin, Amazon, Shareasale/Awin, eBay, Viglink, and in return, earn a commission for qualified purchases.

***Barbara Cipak is an Independent Associate participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com Amazon UK, Endless.com, MYHABIT.com, SmallParts.com, Wireless.com- Amazon, the Amazon logo, MYHABIT, and the MYHABIT logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.***

Funkthishouse Terms of Use/Privacy Policy/Cookies