Thank you for giving me permission to paint my walls!! Everyone thinks I shouldn't paint them because my room is tiny, but it has large windows! I'm so going for it!
@Frank Thinnes Thanks for the advice! My windows are facing South-East and I'm going for a greyish mint/sage (think H&M's tag on their Conscious brand - if you're familiar). So, it's not dark per se, but more of a medium tone. I can't wait!
My bathroom is pretty small both in space and ceiling (like almost 6ft tall), but I had the guts to paint it Camellia Leaf! It's so cute, even made the mirrors stand out (their frames are gold and textured, and different sized). Now I want to paint the faucet gold too! 😂😂
Agree on the darker color. The hale navy in the back of your videos makes that wall recede, thus making your space deeper and larger. Also the dark color becomes part of the room's "artwork".
Haha thanks! Ok so house tour. We just had the ceilings repainted from the flood a couple of weeks ago. So now I think we are ready to go. Coming very soon, I promise!
Nick Lewis You should punk everyone and start out with every single “over it” you’ve mentioned in the last year. I want to see the EAT sign in the kitchen, a TV one inch from the ceiling over a fireplace, a 3x5 rug under the glass coffee table…
I wholly agree about dark colours. We put up this beautiful dark navy blue wallpaper with a copper pattern in the pretty small, windowless hallway of our old apartment (the wallpaper was called 'Samphire', by Farrow & Ball). And, with some matching warm teak furniture, and good warm lighting the space was elevated from shadowy white to elegant yet cozy. And never for a second did we think that the space felt smaller. As you say, lighting is important - we went with a pendant and a table lamp that both had a wide spread, and dimmable, warm light sources so it was easy to adapt.
I definitely agree with the dark walls in a small space...when you mentioned the rule about painting small spaces white, I was like oh that’s kinda boring, and when you said you disagree with that rule I’m like heck yes thank you 😂👌🏽
One of the simplest ways to make furniture feel proportional in a small space is to avoid sofas and chairs with big bulky arms. You can still have ample seating, but you don't need that extra cushion taking up valuable inches. (regarding the 3:00 mark...ish)
@@mamabee2151 maybe a chaise lounge style? Ya know, with one arm on one side. It would then allow openness on one side and a comfort nook on the other. Just make sure it would fit on where you want that open side.
Great video, as usual! What helped my tiny apartment feel bigger is hanging art with visual depth. Open landscapes, oceans, mountains and wide valleys will trick your eyes into thinking they can see further than they actually can in your little space.
Hope you enjoy the video everyone! Everyone defines a "small space" differently, depending on where you live or what you're used to. No matter what you call it, I hope you find these tips useful. It was also really hard to get photos of really, really small spaces that demonstrate my points, but I think you still get what I mean! Oh and metric people - 500sqft is about 46.5m - I forgot to add that in! 😅
@@NerdNest0 You must not be a subscriber, or you would know Nick does not pretend to be right about everything. I think you’re taking it a little too seriously.
I love all your videos, Nick! I have a request tho…all the designers give tips on small spaces, but what about us folks that have large spaces?! I am clueless on how to decorate our new home. Going from a 1,600sq ft townhome to a 5,000 sq ft open concept new construction home this coming July. We are buying all new furniture, except for the basement and guest room (we already have that). I know I need area rugs and window treatments galore - should they all match? So many questions! If you already have a video can you pls direct me? Thank you!!!
'Clutter' can feel fascinating with interesting pieces that negate the view of clutter and instead feel warm and comfortable with lots to converse about with guests. Totally becoming a maximalist with my antique, vintage and Indigenous eclectic taste:)
Thank you Nick, sentimental is the perfect word! I also throw in some MCM and kitch for nostalgic reasons. And you did say one doesn't have to be a minimalist :) Just waiting now for it to be safe to have guests again...
Yes yes yes! Dark colors make the walls melt away, but look out for those high contrast edges when that dark wall meets the ceiling. Paint that sucker too! It looks gorgeous!
Woohoo, finally! If you could consider covering awkward spaces such as a sloped roof bedroom in the future that would be great, especially in older heritage homes. Sending well wishes from a fellow local :)
The mirror tip is great. In my childhood bedroom my father switched out my closet doors for sliding mirror doors and it made my room not only look bigger but a whole lot better 😭😭😭
I can’t handle white boxes anymore, those all white rooms with minimalistic decor... not even hospitals are all white anymore. Dark colors give so much comfort .
@@jai.cee. moving back to my parents' place, I decided to go with dark colors for my room. immediately got criticism about it. I never regret the decision to follow what i believe.
I really appreciate how your videos are straight to the point and concise! You explain everything well enough so it’s easy to understand, but keep the pace moving so I don’t lose interest. I love your videos!!
I moved my living room into my bedroom, comfy feel for guests and more room for me and sleeping. Also best way to not overload my living room with 'stuff', and I am done with white flats. Navy walls in living room.
Strategically placed mirror is important! My husband and I hung a mirror up in our 400sqft studio and only later realized that someone standing at the front door can see into the bathroom/closet area 🤦🏻♀️ whoops!
Thank you for this video. I live in a 450 sq ft apartment. A lot of interior design videos have tips have tips that are clearly meant for more roomy homes, so it's nice to see a video that works for little spaces.
I really appreciate that these videos are broad enough to help renters and people with eclectic design preferences. I am in both those groups, and it's great to get relevant tips I can use to achieve the fantasy themed goth apartment of my dreams 😊
Yes to the colour! I painted my small bedroom in a deep, deep green (PPG Paints Garden Gate) - not too warm or saturated because in the daytime, there's a building across the way that reflects a lot of yellowish light into that room, and at night the lighting is warm, so warmer greens looked too yellow and classroom-chalkboard - and I love it. I left the ceiling and window trim white, but everything else - wardrobe doors, skirting boards, back of the bedroom door, framing on the doors - is all painted out in the same dark colour. I'm a light sleeper and it's so comforting to go into this deep dark space at night, but also it's just more *interesting* than it was when I moved in and the walls and curtains were all cream. It was very blah. I am a bit tired of "white with a pop of colour" as the recommended default for smaller spaces, neutrals, like, let me have more than a "pop" of joy - and also I'm finding that as long as the colours are harmonious and talk to each other well, a space can be so much more than just neutrals and still be restful and calming. I wonder if zen maximalism could ever be a thing XD
Agreed! I waffled for almost a year and then bit the bullet and we painted our skinny row home living room BM Essex Green (matte walls and ceiling; semi-gloss trim, ceiling medallions and doors), we have a giant south facing window and let me tell you it's a mooooood and I LOVE it -- and it definitely wouldn't have been the same effect if I had only painted one wall or left the ceiling white #justdoit
My own little tip, I don’t know if it’s right or not, but with my small room is colour scheme, if everything looks just coherent, it looks put together, when I changed my wardrobe nobs to match the navy in my room it no longer felt crammed in the corner, but part of the room
900 sq ft house. We fit 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 4 adults and one kid in here! Perfect video for me! We did use a color called Sweet Tea in our livingroom. It made it into a cozy personalized room instead of a small square.
reminded me of our old flat which i had painted in a cheerful lake blue with yellow accents on some of the more awkward beams(?) and corners after five years of boring beige. not to everyone's tastes but it brightened my mood considerably!
I love blue and yellow together. When I remodeled my laundry room, I painted the walls yellow and the cabinets blue. I found a great stripe fabric with both colors for curtains. I think laundry rooms should be bright and cheery to make the task less of a chore. Also I put really good LED pot lights in so I can see any stains before they go in the washer.
Yes! Thank you! The response has been so good and honestly, filming all of them has been super fun! It sort of challenges me creatively to make them interesting and to take all my photos and videos for the spots!
I live in a 20m2 (215 sq ft) studio. So I just stuffed all my furniture in it to make it fit. Loving most of the tips and will definitely apply some of them to make the best of this situation!
That is a tight squeeze! I hope you find the tips helpful - it was hard to find good photos of spaces that are that size, but I hope you get value from the video.
I am not a fan of mirrored closet doors but did find some sliding closet doors that have frosted glass insets and find that it is really nice to have the reflective value of the glass - it also seems to add nicely to my contemporary look
A other original Vancouverite here. My 475 sq ft European flat with 2 rooms (kitchen and bedroom, and wide hallway) has high ceilings which make it feel roomier. I also face north on a narrow street. I use mirrors to good effect, and small scale rustic furniture mixed with Billy bookcases with the height extenders as a pantry in the hall. I don’t love clutter (I am relatively minimalist) but I love warmth (huge chandeliers and old wool rugs) My wall colour is technically a yellow but reads brown paper bag/ cappuccino. The building across the street painted its formerly yellow exterior to a bright white with black trim and it has entirely changed the tone of the light that is bounced in here. Regardless, I still love my cappuccino walls. I would love more videos on storage in a small space, and more style tips. Where does one keep the broom? The cat litter? The serving dishes? The vacuum? My nonstop issue re: small spaces (in Europe, meaning no closets, no, friends, not one) is that the things of everyday life are on display. I don’t love a cluttered look but dammit I want a basil on my windowsill without feeling utterly cramped. And space for an apron or tea towel to hang without me tearing out my hair first.
I’ve been working with small spaces for 40 years and I agree with you. Painting a small room white does NOT make it look bigger. The human eye cannot be fooled into believing that a wall is farther away than it is. Also, using dark colours in small, dark spaces definitely makes them more interesting and any light, natural or artificial , becomes an interesting focal point of the room. You can’t paint light into a room.
You have some great tips in this one Nick! I touched on a few of these in my “How to make a small space look large” video too! You gave some really interesting new ideas! Loved it!
Love your channel Garrett, really like your style, it's different from others youtubers, I live in Europe and your style it's something that I can relate.
With regards to the dark colors in a small space (2:00), I heard a similar concept with half-bath colors once. "This bathroom is always going to be small, even if it's bright white. Why not play into that to create a cozy environment?" That basic sentiment changed the game for my design mentality.
I live in a 600 sq. ft raised rancher or apartment as they called it when I bought this mid century modern place. I just painted the living room a brownish, maroonish, pinkish color. Try and picture that. I have seen this color in art deco style places and loved it and said I'm sick of these white walls. Cool color it actually changes color depending on what I pair with it. Brown curtains go with it, red curtains go with it, pink goes with this color and that is my contrasting alcove color leading into the bedrooms & bathroom. Turned out really great. It works. Love the saturation.
The greatest small space I ever had was a 9 x 8 bedroom in a share. It had very little natural light, so instead of forcing it to be something it wasn’t, I painted it with Benjamin Moore flat Aura, in Iron Mountain. It was the richest most luxurious warm black. I also used wood shutters instead of textile drapery-so the light cast dramatic shadows. Tossed in unbleached linens, white cotton and cashmere, hardwood, and camel wool…. it was so gorgeous and cozy.
I’d love a video on wallpaper as an alternative to pure paint. I have a small kitchen in a Scandi-boho style, but the area around the dishwasher splashes those cream walls (teen kids & coffee 🙄). So I’m considering a busy Scandi midcentury or a Morris pattern to distract the eye from any stain I can’t wipe off. Same thing with a boring stairwell in cream and oak - I considered an art wall but it’s narrow and over 20ft high. Wallpaper would make a statement w the rest of the house mutedly scandi-boho (and I’m Swedish so have access to scandi-trad midcentury patterns)
Good idea - I have a similar issue near my stove (it's in the corner for some unknown reason!) and that side wall seems to constantly have splatters, even though I don't feel like I am a messy cook!
The stairway would be a good place for wallpaper. In the kitchen, the only thing that could be problematic is if the wallpaper starts to curl or peel off from too much dampness. A high gloss paint might be easier to clean. Or consider a tile backsplash in a busy pattern.
Love the eloquent fast pace video full of information. Thanks for the advice, I've been decorating my new home and found them super helpful. I even put your video on the background when I'm doing other things. A real USP vs most interior design videos full of regurgitated info or gimmicky animated special effects.
I definitely agree with letting your living spaces breathe. In order to create the most functionality and efficiency out of your living spaces, choosing the right and proportional furniture is key. Love the video!
My mother’s bedroom is about 8x9 with a west facing window. I painted it Knoxville Gray including sliding closet doors. Ceiling, baseboard, and room door are white. Compare to the listing photo of the same room in rental white, now the bedroom feels rich, larger, calm, and way more designer-looking.
I used to share a 250sqft basement studio with my husband... I wish I had this video back then! Small space was an understatement we basically lived in the equivalent of two Costco parking spaces. What really helped us in our studio apartment was using tall shelving as a room divider. It helped create a more private bedroom area and a more public kitchen area, so it was less awkward having guests visit.
One way to think about the light vs dark small space is that while light can "open a space up", dark can make the space appear deeper/more "unknown" as if there is more to the room than there is - almost making it feel bigger.
I'm disappointed you didn't show any small spaces or give us ideas on furniture or furniture placement. I have a small Livingroom and need to buy new furniture so this would have been the perfect video for me. I have been watching you for ideas.
i’m moving into a studio above a 2 car garage on my family’s property in the few next coming months and i have been given free liberty to do with it whatever i want including a fully renovated kitchen and bathroom and this was so so helpful
Getting the right size rug was a game changer for me! After moving, I was using the rug I had in my living room and it was too small but there were other more important things to buy. After getting a larger rug the space felt so much bigger! Should've listened to you earlier ha
I live in a small older house that’s not particularly open concept (think separate living room and eat in kitchen with a big wall between them). It’s a rental so I’m limited a bit there as well. And the floors of many rooms are a sort of tan/brown carpet while somebody decided to paint all the walls in the house Sherwin Williams Useful Gray. So I’m stuck trying to tie gray and brown together. Luckily in my living room I have some large windows even though the room isn’t big so I decided to lean into cozy. I got a nice vintage style oriental rug with jewel toned colors in it, bought a taupe colored sofa to try to marry the walls and carpet, added a few more jewel tones accents in throw blankets and pillows (but not too much; an apartment sized sofa covered in pillows means no one can sit on it) and added some black metal and medium wood tone accents. I reused a vintage hand-me-down gold corduroy chair and ottoman my mom gave me and an antique rocking chair I had refinished with black chalk paint years ago. I have enjoyed collecting art (mostly signed/numbered prints) since I was a teen so I pulled a lot of pieces with similar jewel tones to put on the wall. I love the room. It feels comfy and homey and inviting when I walk through the door. And I’ve actually gotten a lot of compliments from people, even the repair guy who came to fix some previously botched drywall repairs. Not that I really care what he thinks about my house, but it’s nice to be validated.
Sad, but my leaning mirror on the dining room to kitchen wall is like my best friend, my dance partner, my source of critiques and compliments 😂😂😂 I know, I know.....I said sad already right??
I live alone in a 700sq ft apt. Since the size is small, I avoid bringing in more display furnitures. I painted everything white for a simple reason, to be able to spot dirts easily and then clean them up immediately. Instead of putting furnitures on my rug, I actually sat on my rug. I do agree on the lightings, they are crucial and I don't mean just lamps, for different purposes and I do invest in candles (both led and real one) too. Lights create space and ambience which I considered a necessity. I thoroughly clean my apartment only once a month and it took less than a day.
Yes to dark colors!!! Thank you! When I was moving to my tiny apartment and renovating it, I wanted to go with some bold and darker colors, but my family and contractors who helped with design were like no no, it will be terrible. So I backed out, went with boring light grey, and regretted it ever since.
Small Space Nostalgia : I just spent a night in a Cimarron NM hotel room that was the exact footprint of my first studio apartment in Tucson AZ. I moved the bed into the dining area, divided the space with a bookcase and brought 2 Butterfly chairs in with a steamer trunk, so you entered into my entertaining space and not my bedroom.
I live in Tucson. Will be downsizing from my mobile home in the next year. May I ask the intersection or area that your single apartment in Tucson was in?
This is suchhhh a helpful video! Also would you ever do a video on English farmhouse style? It’s not tacky like the US styles you hate 😉 but would love to hear what you think because I want to decorate in english farmhouse style (I grew up on a farm in England)
Yes Nick 🥰😍 this video is perfect for me! I will move in my own apartment 18qm in November and really don’t want to clutter it too much but still want it to have my personal touch!
I definitely need to introduce some colour into my flat. I wish there was more choice of furniture for small spaces. My flat is a pretty typical size for a UK flat. When I was sofa shopping it seemed the majority of sofas were way too large for most UK flats and even houses! My choice seemed to be Ikea or really expensive sofa companies who seem to like more compact designs for some reason.
So I've been binging your videos while I pack up my old apartment to move into a new one and I just wanted to say I've been loving your stuff it's super informal! Would you consider doing more coverage of apartment spaces do's and don'ts and perhaps showing more lived in examples? Or maybe if you like the idea of, having a reaction series to other RUclipsrs putting together their space and what you think their doing right or having an advice series where people submit pictures of their space and you cover what improvements they can make for their particular issues. I feel like you would do both of these in a really kind and informal way but it's totally up to you if you like the idea!
This was perfect timing! I am moving to a smaller space in a month and been thinking about how to not make it feel claustrophobic lol also, I would love to see a video from you talking about how to pair furniture with darker floors? I’m so curious, and I find there’s not a lot of information out there!
I moved into a brand new build apartment in February this year. I had a brick panel wall installed to the living room wall to add texture to my space. I needed to break up all the white. I found a gray and orange 8 x 10 rug with a geometric design for $100 off Amazon and it’s wool. The price for the same rug on other sites was $500. I painted my bedroom Caribbean Teal and I absolutely love my 800 sq ft space. I also added a pretty rug under the dining room table/ office desk 😂 to elevate it. He is right rugs make a huge difference. Especially since I only have carpet in my bedroom.
If you live in a small space and know you're going to be in a small space for a time to come, but want a higher end look check out RH baby and child and RH teen...great pieces almost shrunken versions of RH and at a bit lower price point. They also have excellent sales. I did a desk dresser and armoire--all of which do not look like children sized pieces and got them on sale for around the same price as any other standard furniture store would sell. Also the variety is really well everything from classic to contemporary pieces.
I couldn't agree more with point 1. I have now seen twice that painting a small space in a dark colour actually makes it look larger. Dark, but larger. Once a teenager wanted to paint his small bedroom dark green. There were lots of natural light. I couldn't believe it when it actually looked a lot larger than when it was white. I just renovated a small bathroom in charcoal wall tiles. It looks a lot bigger than before, but because there isn't a lot of natural light, point 3 becomes very relevant. The last point on mirrors is also very helpful. I have been contemplating adding more mirrors to the bathroom, but just felt it would be too much. You just confirmed it. Love your show from South Africa.
I did paint the walls white, but decorated the window with wide dark Prussian blue curtains. In a small room they look almost like an accent wall. I also think you can strategically place plants. We are naturally drawn to look at them, and seeing them against different backgrounds gives you this feeling of variety.
I rent a 400 square-foot Studio with Southern Exposure and big open windows. I'm afraid of the wiring in the house so will not change the lighting but have amazing lamps and I love my furniture which is antique 40's and small in scale. I don't own anything I don't love/use. I'm getting ready to paint the entire place and have been agonizing over the color. It's boring white currently and I'm trying to find a color that isn't white but also not overpowering. I might just check out the Hellofresh 👍
I live in NYC and I'm a renter, so obviously this video was 100% made for me (and our adorable thimble-sized apartment). LOL!!! Thanks for making this, Nick!
thank you for another great video! Could you in one of the upcoming videos tell us how one can incorporate an office space (desk-chair-monitor?) in a small space? I think over the past year it became a pressing issue for many of us
Rug video please. You're one of the people I'm watching to try and get my ooga booga man brain to understand design. I like the idea of a rug in the living room and in the bedroom but no idea what are the do's and don'ts.
Thank you!! The rug under the furniture really works. I recently swapped my bedroom and office/workroom around (it made more sense to spend more time in a larger room with more light) and my bedroom rug was just a bit to big. Now it looks great!
The fiance and I are creating a small sitting space in our new home. This has definitely given me some ideas about how to handle it! Just because it's a small space doesn't mean it's any less of a room or any less home-y.
Thank you for giving me permission to paint my walls!! Everyone thinks I shouldn't paint them because my room is tiny, but it has large windows! I'm so going for it!
@Frank Thinnes Thanks for the advice! My windows are facing South-East and I'm going for a greyish mint/sage (think H&M's tag on their Conscious brand - if you're familiar). So, it's not dark per se, but more of a medium tone. I can't wait!
Go for it! White is great but you don't have to do white!
My bathroom is pretty small both in space and ceiling (like almost 6ft tall), but I had the guts to paint it Camellia Leaf! It's so cute, even made the mirrors stand out (their frames are gold and textured, and different sized). Now I want to paint the faucet gold too! 😂😂
DO IT
@@QueenSelene88 That sounds lovely!!
Agree on the darker color. The hale navy in the back of your videos makes that wall recede, thus making your space deeper and larger. Also the dark color becomes part of the room's "artwork".
We want house tour
We want house tour
We want house tour
We want house tour
If possible 🥺🙂🙂
Haha thanks! Ok so house tour. We just had the ceilings repainted from the flood a couple of weeks ago. So now I think we are ready to go. Coming very soon, I promise!
@@Nick_Lewis Yippee! Can hardly wait.
Fun! Looking forward to it 🙂
Nick Lewis You should punk everyone and start out with every single “over it” you’ve mentioned in the last year. I want to see the EAT sign in the kitchen, a TV one inch from the ceiling over a fireplace, a 3x5 rug under the glass coffee table…
Omg yes
We need more videos on this topic, Nick. As a European living in a tiny European apartment, I find these decor tips really useful. Thank you.
I wholly agree about dark colours. We put up this beautiful dark navy blue wallpaper with a copper pattern in the pretty small, windowless hallway of our old apartment (the wallpaper was called 'Samphire', by Farrow & Ball). And, with some matching warm teak furniture, and good warm lighting the space was elevated from shadowy white to elegant yet cozy. And never for a second did we think that the space felt smaller. As you say, lighting is important - we went with a pendant and a table lamp that both had a wide spread, and dimmable, warm light sources so it was easy to adapt.
I definitely agree with the dark walls in a small space...when you mentioned the rule about painting small spaces white, I was like oh that’s kinda boring, and when you said you disagree with that rule I’m like heck yes thank you 😂👌🏽
Heck yes! White has a place but you don't have to do white!
One of the simplest ways to make furniture feel proportional in a small space is to avoid sofas and chairs with big bulky arms. You can still have ample seating, but you don't need that extra cushion taking up valuable inches. (regarding the 3:00 mark...ish)
Good tip!
But what if you want to be comfortable and cozy ?
@@mamabee2151 Pick one haha
@@mamabee2151 maybe a chaise lounge style? Ya know, with one arm on one side. It would then allow openness on one side and a comfort nook on the other. Just make sure it would fit on where you want that open side.
Great video, as usual! What helped my tiny apartment feel bigger is hanging art with visual depth. Open landscapes, oceans, mountains and wide valleys will trick your eyes into thinking they can see further than they actually can in your little space.
Hope you enjoy the video everyone! Everyone defines a "small space" differently, depending on where you live or what you're used to. No matter what you call it, I hope you find these tips useful. It was also really hard to get photos of really, really small spaces that demonstrate my points, but I think you still get what I mean! Oh and metric people - 500sqft is about 46.5m - I forgot to add that in! 😅
As I was watching I was wondering where you get all these great photo examples! They’re really helpful.
White is never boring You are definitely wrong. Don’t pretend you are right about everything.
@@NerdNest0 You must not be a subscriber, or you would know Nick does not pretend to be right about everything. I think you’re taking it a little too seriously.
You’re the best!
I love all your videos, Nick! I have a request tho…all the designers give tips on small spaces, but what about us folks that have large spaces?! I am clueless on how to decorate our new home. Going from a 1,600sq ft townhome to a 5,000 sq ft open concept new construction home this coming July. We are buying all new furniture, except for the basement and guest room (we already have that). I know I need area rugs and window treatments galore - should they all match? So many questions! If you already have a video can you pls direct me? Thank you!!!
'Clutter' can feel fascinating with interesting pieces that negate the view of clutter and instead feel warm and comfortable with lots to converse about with guests. Totally becoming a maximalist with my antique, vintage and Indigenous eclectic taste:)
Totally true - as I said you don't have to be a minimalist in a small space. Good reminder that sentimental pieces that you love aren't clutter.
Yeah, agree Frances H, go for it...
Thank you Nick, sentimental is the perfect word! I also throw in some MCM and kitch for nostalgic reasons. And you did say one doesn't have to be a minimalist :) Just waiting now for it to be safe to have guests again...
Have you seen photos of the Eames House? If you like MCM and don't mind clutter, you'd love it.
Yes yes yes! Dark colors make the walls melt away, but look out for those high contrast edges when that dark wall meets the ceiling. Paint that sucker too! It looks gorgeous!
Hello Tara, you have got a really beautiful smile, always wear that smile.
Woohoo, finally! If you could consider covering awkward spaces such as a sloped roof bedroom in the future that would be great, especially in older heritage homes. Sending well wishes from a fellow local :)
Agree, a good topic
So true! I have an "L" shaped living room that could do with some advice.
Great idea! Julie Khuu has a series over on her channel on awkward spaces. I haven't seen any of the videos yet, but those might be helpful!
I follow Julie Khuu as well, already watched her video but curious to hear your input! ^^
Yes please! We have a bedroom like that. ♥️
The mirror tip is great. In my childhood bedroom my father switched out my closet doors for sliding mirror doors and it made my room not only look bigger but a whole lot better 😭😭😭
I can’t handle white boxes anymore, those all white rooms with minimalistic decor... not even hospitals are all white anymore. Dark colors give so much comfort .
Same. I despise white walls.
@@jai.cee. moving back to my parents' place, I decided to go with dark colors for my room. immediately got criticism about it. I never regret the decision to follow what i believe.
They tend to remind me of hospitals as well.
Hospital walls in my country are not white.
We just moved from a 400 sq ft studio apartment to a 700 sq ft., all these tips are so great!! Thanks Nick!!
I really appreciate how your videos are straight to the point and concise! You explain everything well enough so it’s easy to understand, but keep the pace moving so I don’t lose interest. I love your videos!!
Finally! Someone is here to confirm that it is ok for my small bedroom to be dark! :) I just love a dark/moody/cozy/intimate feel in the bedroom!
I moved my living room into my bedroom, comfy feel for guests and more room for me and sleeping. Also best way to not overload my living room with 'stuff', and I am done with white flats. Navy walls in living room.
Strategically placed mirror is important! My husband and I hung a mirror up in our 400sqft studio and only later realized that someone standing at the front door can see into the bathroom/closet area 🤦🏻♀️ whoops!
Yes I did something similar back in an old rental and moved it right away hahah
Thank you for this video. I live in a 450 sq ft apartment. A lot of interior design videos have tips have tips that are clearly meant for more roomy homes, so it's nice to see a video that works for little spaces.
I absolutely love that your videos are so consise and to the point, but equally I feel so sad then they finish, as they go like a flash 😊🧡
Hello beautiful how are you?
Yes! Soo many make videos thinking they r being so funny and taking forever to just get to the points! Super annoying.
I really appreciate that these videos are broad enough to help renters and people with eclectic design preferences.
I am in both those groups, and it's great to get relevant tips I can use to achieve the fantasy themed goth apartment of my dreams 😊
Nick's videos are my version of "Chicken Soup for the Soul"... his voice and content is so relaxing
Mine too. Always interesting, practical, and useful, with a touch of humour.
Yes to the colour! I painted my small bedroom in a deep, deep green (PPG Paints Garden Gate) - not too warm or saturated because in the daytime, there's a building across the way that reflects a lot of yellowish light into that room, and at night the lighting is warm, so warmer greens looked too yellow and classroom-chalkboard - and I love it. I left the ceiling and window trim white, but everything else - wardrobe doors, skirting boards, back of the bedroom door, framing on the doors - is all painted out in the same dark colour. I'm a light sleeper and it's so comforting to go into this deep dark space at night, but also it's just more *interesting* than it was when I moved in and the walls and curtains were all cream. It was very blah.
I am a bit tired of "white with a pop of colour" as the recommended default for smaller spaces, neutrals, like, let me have more than a "pop" of joy - and also I'm finding that as long as the colours are harmonious and talk to each other well, a space can be so much more than just neutrals and still be restful and calming. I wonder if zen maximalism could ever be a thing XD
Agreed! I waffled for almost a year and then bit the bullet and we painted our skinny row home living room BM Essex Green (matte walls and ceiling; semi-gloss trim, ceiling medallions and doors), we have a giant south facing window and let me tell you it's a mooooood and I LOVE it -- and it definitely wouldn't have been the same effect if I had only painted one wall or left the ceiling white #justdoit
Hello Karyn, you have got a really beautiful smile, always wear that smile.
I didn't know about mirrors and I never would've placed a mirror anywhere but my bathroom and in my walk in closet. Duly noted 👌
My own little tip, I don’t know if it’s right or not, but with my small room is colour scheme, if everything looks just coherent, it looks put together, when I changed my wardrobe nobs to match the navy in my room it no longer felt crammed in the corner, but part of the room
900 sq ft house. We fit 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 4 adults and one kid in here! Perfect video for me!
We did use a color called Sweet Tea in our livingroom. It made it into a cozy personalized room instead of a small square.
Love this! I feel like this is a lot more applicable for most people nowadays!
Thanks Levi! Love your channel too!
Agree! Not a lot of interior design is geared toward smaller spaces but I just love a cozy apartment that feels like everything has a place.
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reminded me of our old flat which i had painted in a cheerful lake blue with yellow accents on some of the more awkward beams(?) and corners after five years of boring beige. not to everyone's tastes but it brightened my mood considerably!
I love blue and yellow together. When I remodeled my laundry room, I painted the walls yellow and the cabinets blue. I found a great stripe fabric with both colors for curtains. I think laundry rooms should be bright and cheery to make the task less of a chore. Also I put really good LED pot lights in so I can see any stains before they go in the washer.
You got a sponsor!!!!!! Yessssss!!!! Congratulations Love!!!🤗🤗🤗
Yes! Thank you! The response has been so good and honestly, filming all of them has been super fun! It sort of challenges me creatively to make them interesting and to take all my photos and videos for the spots!
@@Nick_Lewis You did great, and made it relatable, with adding it into this video. I'm excited for all the new sponsors your channel will attract!❤
I live in a 20m2 (215 sq ft) studio. So I just stuffed all my furniture in it to make it fit. Loving most of the tips and will definitely apply some of them to make the best of this situation!
That is a tight squeeze! I hope you find the tips helpful - it was hard to find good photos of spaces that are that size, but I hope you get value from the video.
Small rug is a major pet peeve of mine
I am not a fan of mirrored closet doors but did find some sliding closet doors that have frosted glass insets and find that it is really nice to have the reflective value of the glass - it also seems to add nicely to my contemporary look
Yes glass is another great way to make a space bigger!
A other original Vancouverite here.
My 475 sq ft European flat with 2 rooms (kitchen and bedroom, and wide hallway) has high ceilings which make it feel roomier. I also face north on a narrow street. I use mirrors to good effect, and small scale rustic furniture mixed with Billy bookcases with the height extenders as a pantry in the hall. I don’t love clutter (I am relatively minimalist) but I love warmth (huge chandeliers and old wool rugs)
My wall colour is technically a yellow but reads brown paper bag/ cappuccino.
The building across the street painted its formerly yellow exterior to a bright white with black trim and it has entirely changed the tone of the light that is bounced in here.
Regardless, I still love my cappuccino walls.
I would love more videos on storage in a small space, and more style tips.
Where does one keep the broom? The cat litter? The serving dishes? The vacuum?
My nonstop issue re: small spaces (in Europe, meaning no closets, no, friends, not one) is that the things of everyday life are on display. I don’t love a cluttered look but dammit I want a basil on my windowsill without feeling utterly cramped. And space for an apron or tea towel to hang without me tearing out my hair first.
I just noticed how much detail you include in your descriptions! Thank you for all the helpful links, suggestions, and info!
I’ve been working with small spaces for 40 years and I agree with you. Painting a small room white does NOT make it look bigger. The human eye cannot be fooled into believing that a wall is farther away than it is.
Also, using dark colours in small, dark spaces definitely makes them more interesting and any light, natural or artificial , becomes an interesting focal point of the room. You can’t paint light into a room.
You have some great tips in this one Nick! I touched on a few of these in my “How to make a small space look large” video too! You gave some really interesting new ideas! Loved it!
Love your channel Garrett, really like your style, it's different from others youtubers, I live in Europe and your style it's something that I can relate.
Thanks Garrett! I'll check out your video!
Love your channel also Garrett!! Great tips as usual Nick.
With regards to the dark colors in a small space (2:00), I heard a similar concept with half-bath colors once. "This bathroom is always going to be small, even if it's bright white. Why not play into that to create a cozy environment?" That basic sentiment changed the game for my design mentality.
Yes I love a small, moody powder room for example!
I designed a 2x9 foot wet room that had 75% of walls black painted or tiled including the ceiling. I got rave reviews for that room.
I live in a 600 sq. ft raised rancher or apartment as they called it when I bought this mid century modern place. I just painted the living room a brownish, maroonish, pinkish color. Try and picture that. I have seen this color in art deco style places and loved it and said I'm sick of these white walls. Cool color it actually changes color depending on what I pair with it. Brown curtains go with it, red curtains go with it, pink goes with this color and that is my contrasting alcove color leading into the bedrooms & bathroom. Turned out really great. It works. Love the saturation.
I painted my living room navy and I live it . I had a mustard color for 10 years and was a much needed change
The greatest small space I ever had was a 9 x 8 bedroom in a share. It had very little natural light, so instead of forcing it to be something it wasn’t, I painted it with Benjamin Moore flat Aura, in Iron Mountain. It was the richest most luxurious warm black. I also used wood shutters instead of textile drapery-so the light cast dramatic shadows.
Tossed in unbleached linens, white cotton and cashmere, hardwood, and camel wool…. it was so gorgeous and cozy.
Please explore this topic more in the future... THANK YOU! Really love how much content your succinct videos tend to have.
I’d love a video on wallpaper as an alternative to pure paint.
I have a small kitchen in a Scandi-boho style, but the area around the dishwasher splashes those cream walls (teen kids & coffee 🙄). So I’m considering a busy Scandi midcentury or a Morris pattern to distract the eye from any stain I can’t wipe off.
Same thing with a boring stairwell in cream and oak - I considered an art wall but it’s narrow and over 20ft high. Wallpaper would make a statement w the rest of the house mutedly scandi-boho (and I’m Swedish so have access to scandi-trad midcentury patterns)
Good idea - I have a similar issue near my stove (it's in the corner for some unknown reason!) and that side wall seems to constantly have splatters, even though I don't feel like I am a messy cook!
The stairway would be a good place for wallpaper. In the kitchen, the only thing that could be problematic is if the wallpaper starts to curl or peel off from too much dampness. A high gloss paint might be easier to clean. Or consider a tile backsplash in a busy pattern.
I love your voice- it's very calming!
Thanks Karyn!
Yes. I put his videos on for the calming tone. Canadian chill ... go figure! 😂 🇨🇦
Hello Karyn, you have got a really beautiful smile, always wear that smile.
@@user-io7pn4vl1g Thanks Marco!
@@karynm3365 you are welcome, and always remember a day without a smile is like a day been wasted! I am Marco lives in Oklahoma. How about you?
I recently moved from 2000+ sqft to about 1500, with a greatly different floorplan. Your tips are great
Thanks! Going to smaller space is always a challenge!
Please please do a dedicated rug video!
Love the eloquent fast pace video full of information. Thanks for the advice, I've been decorating my new home and found them super helpful. I even put your video on the background when I'm doing other things. A real USP vs most interior design videos full of regurgitated info or gimmicky animated special effects.
I definitely agree with letting your living spaces breathe. In order to create the most functionality and efficiency out of your living spaces, choosing the right and proportional furniture is key. Love the video!
My mother’s bedroom is about 8x9 with a west facing window. I painted it Knoxville Gray including sliding closet doors. Ceiling, baseboard, and room door are white. Compare to the listing photo of the same room in rental white, now the bedroom feels rich, larger, calm, and way more designer-looking.
Thanks for the video, Nick! We're about to move into an apartment that's a bit smaller than our current one, so these tips arrived at the right time!
Good timing!
I used to share a 250sqft basement studio with my husband... I wish I had this video back then! Small space was an understatement we basically lived in the equivalent of two Costco parking spaces. What really helped us in our studio apartment was using tall shelving as a room divider. It helped create a more private bedroom area and a more public kitchen area, so it was less awkward having guests visit.
One way to think about the light vs dark small space is that while light can "open a space up", dark can make the space appear deeper/more "unknown" as if there is more to the room than there is - almost making it feel bigger.
I'm disappointed you didn't show any small spaces or give us ideas on furniture or furniture placement. I have a small Livingroom and need to buy new furniture so this would have been the perfect video for me. I have been watching you for ideas.
i’m moving into a studio above a 2 car garage on my family’s property in the few next coming months and i have been given free liberty to do with it whatever i want including a fully renovated kitchen and bathroom and this was so so helpful
Getting the right size rug was a game changer for me! After moving, I was using the rug I had in my living room and it was too small but there were other more important things to buy. After getting a larger rug the space felt so much bigger! Should've listened to you earlier ha
I live in a small older house that’s not particularly open concept (think separate living room and eat in kitchen with a big wall between them). It’s a rental so I’m limited a bit there as well. And the floors of many rooms are a sort of tan/brown carpet while somebody decided to paint all the walls in the house Sherwin Williams Useful Gray. So I’m stuck trying to tie gray and brown together. Luckily in my living room I have some large windows even though the room isn’t big so I decided to lean into cozy. I got a nice vintage style oriental rug with jewel toned colors in it, bought a taupe colored sofa to try to marry the walls and carpet, added a few more jewel tones accents in throw blankets and pillows (but not too much; an apartment sized sofa covered in pillows means no one can sit on it) and added some black metal and medium wood tone accents. I reused a vintage hand-me-down gold corduroy chair and ottoman my mom gave me and an antique rocking chair I had refinished with black chalk paint years ago. I have enjoyed collecting art (mostly signed/numbered prints) since I was a teen so I pulled a lot of pieces with similar jewel tones to put on the wall. I love the room. It feels comfy and homey and inviting when I walk through the door. And I’ve actually gotten a lot of compliments from people, even the repair guy who came to fix some previously botched drywall repairs. Not that I really care what he thinks about my house, but it’s nice to be validated.
Sad, but my leaning mirror on the dining room to kitchen wall is like my best friend, my dance partner, my source of critiques and compliments 😂😂😂 I know, I know.....I said sad already right??
For sure ‘best friend’ indeed and it’s my most complimented. Opens up my studio apartment for sure. Mirror is so damn huge😂
I live alone in a 700sq ft apt. Since the size is small, I avoid bringing in more display furnitures. I painted everything white for a simple reason, to be able to spot dirts easily and then clean them up immediately. Instead of putting furnitures on my rug, I actually sat on my rug. I do agree on the lightings, they are crucial and I don't mean just lamps, for different purposes and I do invest in candles (both led and real one) too. Lights create space and ambience which I considered a necessity. I thoroughly clean my apartment only once a month and it took less than a day.
The only design you tuber that I would watch a sponsor from! Take my money Hello Fresh as long as I can watch Nick forever! 💖
Chiming in to say that we really do need a dedicated rug video!
Agree, mirrors really change the perception of the room size. Especially in a tight dining room.
“You don’t want the space to feel like a fun house” 😂
Thank you Nick. Most of us do live in small spaces. We need more!
I love the subtle Grindr bongo message sent noise effect. 😂
As someone moving into a 650 sqft apartment, this video came timely :)
The next best thing would be your video on how to do minimalism!
Yes to dark colors!!! Thank you! When I was moving to my tiny apartment and renovating it, I wanted to go with some bold and darker colors, but my family and contractors who helped with design were like no no, it will be terrible. So I backed out, went with boring light grey, and regretted it ever since.
Small Space Nostalgia : I just spent a night in a Cimarron NM hotel room that was the exact footprint of my first studio apartment in Tucson AZ. I moved the bed into the dining area, divided the space with a bookcase and brought 2 Butterfly chairs in with a steamer trunk, so you entered into my entertaining space and not my bedroom.
I live in Tucson. Will be downsizing from my mobile home in the next year. May I ask the intersection or area that your single apartment in Tucson was in?
Yassss. I have a small home. The main living area is light colors. But all my tiny rooms are dark. And it’s so interesting and unexpected. Love it
This is suchhhh a helpful video! Also would you ever do a video on English farmhouse style? It’s not tacky like the US styles you hate 😉 but would love to hear what you think because I want to decorate in english farmhouse style (I grew up on a farm in England)
You have a great delivery. Everything is clear and it doesn't feel condescending.
We painted our bedroom this really rich dark purple and it looks so beautiful. I'll always have a dark bedroom now. 💜
Yes Nick 🥰😍 this video is perfect for me! I will move in my own apartment 18qm in November and really don’t want to clutter it too much but still want it to have my personal touch!
I definitely need to introduce some colour into my flat. I wish there was more choice of furniture for small spaces. My flat is a pretty typical size for a UK flat. When I was sofa shopping it seemed the majority of sofas were way too large for most UK flats and even houses! My choice seemed to be Ikea or really expensive sofa companies who seem to like more compact designs for some reason.
Mirrors are my favorite decor piece! I love how beautiful the frames can be and how they make a statement while being functional!
So I've been binging your videos while I pack up my old apartment to move into a new one and I just wanted to say I've been loving your stuff it's super informal!
Would you consider doing more coverage of apartment spaces do's and don'ts and perhaps showing more lived in examples? Or maybe if you like the idea of, having a reaction series to other RUclipsrs putting together their space and what you think their doing right or having an advice series where people submit pictures of their space and you cover what improvements they can make for their particular issues. I feel like you would do both of these in a really kind and informal way but it's totally up to you if you like the idea!
This was perfect timing! I am moving to a smaller space in a month and been thinking about how to not make it feel claustrophobic lol also, I would love to see a video from you talking about how to pair furniture with darker floors? I’m so curious, and I find there’s not a lot of information out there!
“Postage-size” rugs. 🤣😆
This guy has such sensible advice. Thanks
Love all your advice, and really liked hearing you say to go for darker colors instead of always just whites! 💖
I moved into a brand new build apartment in February this year. I had a brick panel wall installed to the living room wall to add texture to my space. I needed to break up all the white. I found a gray and orange 8 x 10 rug with a geometric design for $100 off Amazon and it’s wool. The price for the same rug on other sites was $500. I painted my bedroom Caribbean Teal and I absolutely love my 800 sq ft space. I also added a pretty rug under the dining room table/ office desk 😂 to elevate it. He is right rugs make a huge difference. Especially since I only have carpet in my bedroom.
If you live in a small space and know you're going to be in a small space for a time to come, but want a higher end look check out RH baby and child and RH teen...great pieces almost shrunken versions of RH and at a bit lower price point. They also have excellent sales. I did a desk dresser and armoire--all of which do not look like children sized pieces and got them on sale for around the same price as any other standard furniture store would sell. Also the variety is really well everything from classic to contemporary pieces.
Perfect timing! 👍We are just renovating a small apartement for our son...
Oh good!
Nick! Thanks 🙏 for mentioning that mirrors should not face one another. I bet you helped a few folks out there with that comment. Bless you
Yes! I’ve been wanting to play with dark colors! Especially hale navy, thinking of doing my exterior in hale navy
I couldn't agree more with point 1. I have now seen twice that painting a small space in a dark colour actually makes it look larger. Dark, but larger. Once a teenager wanted to paint his small bedroom dark green. There were lots of natural light. I couldn't believe it when it actually looked a lot larger than when it was white. I just renovated a small bathroom in charcoal wall tiles. It looks a lot bigger than before, but because there isn't a lot of natural light, point 3 becomes very relevant.
The last point on mirrors is also very helpful. I have been contemplating adding more mirrors to the bathroom, but just felt it would be too much. You just confirmed it. Love your show from South Africa.
I did paint the walls white, but decorated the window with wide dark Prussian blue curtains. In a small room they look almost like an accent wall.
I also think you can strategically place plants. We are naturally drawn to look at them, and seeing them against different backgrounds gives you this feeling of variety.
I rent a 400 square-foot Studio with Southern Exposure and big open windows. I'm afraid of the wiring in the house so will not change the lighting but have amazing lamps and I love my furniture which is antique 40's and small in scale. I don't own anything I don't love/use. I'm getting ready to paint the entire place and have been agonizing over the color. It's boring white currently and I'm trying to find a color that isn't white but also not overpowering.
I might just check out the Hellofresh 👍
I'm glad this video validated my rug choices in my 29 square metre apartment. 😆
Thank you! Pleease do more of these for us small space city dwellers! :)
I live in NYC and I'm a renter, so obviously this video was 100% made for me (and our adorable thimble-sized apartment). LOL!!! Thanks for making this, Nick!
thank you for another great video! Could you in one of the upcoming videos tell us how one can incorporate an office space (desk-chair-monitor?) in a small space? I think over the past year it became a pressing issue for many of us
Very good tips, Nick. And thank you for making note of the product names, so helpful.
Rug video please. You're one of the people I'm watching to try and get my ooga booga man brain to understand design.
I like the idea of a rug in the living room and in the bedroom but no idea what are the do's and don'ts.
Ahh yes, I love that you're not afraid of dark colors!
Nick, love your space (behind you)! Looks clean yet cozy 🥰 Thanks for all the great content, too!
Information is spot on. Choice of examples great. Note: My Southern heritage means I hear and listen slowly. I watched this twice!
Thank you!! The rug under the furniture really works.
I recently swapped my bedroom and office/workroom around (it made more sense to spend more time in a larger room with more light) and my bedroom rug was just a bit to big.
Now it looks great!
The fiance and I are creating a small sitting space in our new home. This has definitely given me some ideas about how to handle it! Just because it's a small space doesn't mean it's any less of a room or any less home-y.
Yesssss dark colored walls 😍