Studio apartment (36 sq. m) needs low-budget renovation. Decor tips to make it big ( furniture & accesories)?

Question

It's a low-ceiling house with three compartments( living room-dining room, bedrrom and kitchen). I want to renovate it to make it look big and look elegant. I've plenty of books, computer table and kitchen appliances (gas range and microwave). Any tips on colors and texture of curtains, paint and black wooden furniture for dining set. I go for minimalist Zen look. Please tell me where to look for ideas on the Internet

Answer 1

For some great ideas on designing, especially if you know what style you're going for, you should visit HGTV's Designer's Portolio:

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/designers_portfolio_main/
-- It gives you the option of searching by room and style.

The HGTV Web site also gives you options to look at design ideas from their TV shows. With your low budget, you may want to check out some of the design plans from "Design on a Dime," a popular HGTV show in which all projects are done with a budget of less than $1,000:

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/episode_archive/0,1783,HGTV_9056_147,00.html

This pages lists every episode aired. After clicking on the heading you like, find the link on the page under the subheading "IN THIS EPISODE" for a "how-to" list of projects in the room. You might want to check out

For some ideas of a "Classic-Meets-Zen Dining Room," see this Design on a Dime project plan page:
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_design_dining_room/article/0,1793,HGTV_3369_2862047,00.html

Other than that, you may just want to browse the HGTV Web site to see what you can find. It's chock full of great ideas. You might also want to check the site for the TV show ReDesign.

For another great resource check out the Sherwin-Williams paint color visualizer for some paint scheme ideas, which can be tested out on mock rooms:
http://sherlink.sherwin.com/swapp/color_visualizer/index.jsp

Good luck on the redecorating. Happy designing.

Answer 2

I recently saw Nate the cutey pie designer on Oprah.

He bought a small apartment of 500 square feet in New York I think.

The first thing he did was to paint walls, ceiling and hardwood floors all white. This way it had no visual limits.

He kept it simple in terms of furniture (very few pieces) and fabulous large wall art.

In his case he opened up a 6 or 8 foot wall space between the living room and bedroom for a beautiful french door.
This way a beautifully made up bedroom became an extension of the living area.

All furnishings were keep light and neutral. Very Zen as you are interested in.


Google the Oprah show and see if you can find any pictures of it. It was beautiful and simple.

Remember in a small space go to the ceiling with your book shelves and storage. Paint them the wall color and they will blend in instead of jump out. Some of The books can be coved with an accent color to work with the room.

I would use cream on the walls and ceilings then spray all paintable furniture with a warm honey color. Try to avoid lots of different furniture colors. They confuse the eye. Very soft sheers in a soft cream or honey color on the windows.

This will allow you to use bright funky print throw pillows and art as accents.

Good Luck.

Answer 3

Go to the HGTV website or watch Small Spaces on HGTV. There are some great Zen ideas, and small space ideas there. It is amazing what I have seem them do with small condos and apartments.

Answer 4

You can try
http://www.bigmodern.com