small space dwellers
bright colors work in small spaces




oh wow do I love this small space located in the beautifully designed home of Williams-Sonoma Home creative director Monelle Totah. (seen in Elle Decor 8/09) I actually had blogged Monelle's bedroom last summer {kind of my prelude to the small space dwellers series itself.} I also had the pleasure of meeting and working with her earlier this year. I also might have told her I would move in to her home if she didn't mind because it's so pretty! :) I wanted to share her room in the small space dwellers series because there are some fantastic and easy small space ideas and solutions going on that anyone can use. Let's take a look at some of them below. 

1 :: Bright colors
Forget the idea of using only a neutral palette in a small space for fear that it will feel "too much". The opposite is true - using bright colors actually makes a small space shine and open. By layering tons of great colors, your space will feel dimensional and stylin. Monelle used colorful and large-scale artwork and pop of colored accents to create this look and it works. 

2 :: Large-scale pieces work in small spaces
I often point out that if you create balance and harmony in your small space then it works - and this is true for large-scale furniture and decor. In this corner, Monelle went big with her artwork and dresser, even the chair is on the large side but it feels cohesive and balanced. Yes!

3 :: Colorize your decor
I personally love this look and, once again, it creates balance and harmony. By simply stacking accents - in this case the stack of blue books on the dresser - is great small space tip.

4 :: Design your lighting
I love that Monelle chose to hang a gorgeous chandelier in this small space. Don't be afraid to create and design your own lighting - in fact - less light often makes small spaces appear smaller. 

5 :: Furniture with legs
Yep, another great small space solution. Use furniture with legs so the eye can continue to move through to the wall. This definitely opens up a room and everything feels bigger and brighter.

Check out more rooms in the SMALL SPACE DWELLERS series right here.

:: Image - and shots of her entire apartment - via Elle Decor  ::


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3 Responses to "small space dwellers
bright colors work in small spaces

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StarletStarlet said... 8/25/2010

OOOH I heart those artwork. They also work because the colorful palette is somewhat muted, no?

And that's a killer chandelier! Thanks for sharing~

Courtney said... 8/25/2010

loving this room. I saw the photo a week or so ago and fell in love with the art and colors. Wish I knew who the art was done by.

http://designsketchbook.blogspot.com/

loving. living. small. said... 8/25/2010

I know, I wish I knew the designer. I am interviewing Monelle for A SMALL CHAT - I'll ask her.

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