Tiny budget, Tiny apartment, Giant clutter/space issue.... help? ^_^?

Question

Okay, I'm in a very small apartment, Think studio, with a tiny room attached for a bed and the bathroom.. ~.~, Married to a media loving husband, so in our one room, 2 computers, tv, many game systems, keyboard, and tons of dvds/cds........ we have a wall of bookshelves, with nothing but books/ and cds etc... and barely room for a couch......

I want a nice looking place and to decorate for christmas o.O;; but how can i decorate over so much media and clutter? without spending too much money? (im poor...)

i want to hide the bookshelves, at least, i can ignore the media area......... the bookshelves eat up the whole room......
any ideas how to hide them a bit? o.O;; does adding a curtain rod with drapes over them sound too tacky? is it possible to "decorate" for christmas over the clutter and media things? (our furniture is far from nice) ..... lol does tinsel over a cluttered bookshelf sound bad? a snowman on a cluttered comp. desk?

would love ideas, ^_^

Answer 1

Hello Kawaiimiyo -- Flimsy shelves look cheap, attract/ collect dust & can fall over. Belongings become clutter. Cabinets can b nice & cheap! If U have/ need shelves, attach to wall & cover w/ fire- insect- water-proof enclosure material. Enjoy Furniture, not give U head-ache. Rotating shelves save space & let U see all that is there.

Answer 2

First things first.. Get control over the clutter.. When I got married my husband loved to buy CD's/DVD's etc... So, we got rid of the jewel cases and bought case logics storage books.. They hold 200 cd's/dvd's etc.. and look nice/tidy in a bookcase ! We have 4 books two for cd's, one for DVD'S,one for video games. So, in 4 books we have 800 slots for storage and you can buy replacement pages ! So This saves a TON of storage space and we got rid of all the "racks"

Also, putting a curtain over the book shelves isn't a bad idea.... Or even a small "cafe" sized tension rod and having a small curtain on each bookshelf "hide" all the books/such....

It might not be a bad idea to go through all your books,cd's and media and declutter and sell your used cd's, dvd's etc... If you have an ipod or other device you can burn your cd's to computer /i pod/mp3 and burn cd's of favorite tunes.. We've been doing that and getting rid of the regular cd's...

Also, try using if you haven't already underbed storage space to store... books, cd's, dvd's-out of season clothing... etc... You can even put your bed on "lifts" for about $20 to give an extra 7-10 inches underneath....

I wouldn't get too crazy with the decorating or it will just look like more clutter... Get a small table top tree with some mini ornaments/lights... Maybe hang some white lights around the perimeter of the room... tinsel is just a bit much and a pain to clean up.... good luck

Answer 3

The curtain idea would totally work...but try to stick to light neutral colors throughout to simplify, using a heavy (quality) fabric, and create a clean backdrop for all that tinsel.

I'd also take a walk through IKEA. The modeled displays have tons of ideas for how to create harmony out of clutter, especially for tight spaces. A few inexpensive things come to mind that might help- underbed flat storage containers would be great for holding seldomly used media, etc and they are cheap. Also, look into magazine storage containers or bins that would instantly make the clutter go away, even if they are made of white cardboard, which ikea offers. It may even help to look into furniture at garage sales that doubles as storage...chests that double as seating, coffee tables that hold books/media.

Basically, maximize on space through furnishings that do double duty and declutter by sticking to a neutral color palette...good luck.

Answer 4

all and sundry has their own selection of canines, small, medium or great, me i admire all of them and my innovations interior the breeds i admire are Min.Schnauzers Newfoundlands Akita Malamutes Rhodesian Ridgebacks great Pyrenees Rotti's those are my fave breeds, and that i do have a small canines as properly, i admire my Schnauzers, this is the sole small breed i might own.... i'm not against any breed, and it does make me mad while somebody talks down approximately any breed, somewhat while they don't understand the breed. Love all of them.... actual::There merely are enormous canines fanatics and then some people who basically love the small or medium breeds....its not discrimination, its the breed they love and prefer... like the Irish Wolfhound, huge huge canines, and that i've got seen proprietors with them and additionally own a Jack Russell as properly...its basically a decision... And the enormous breeds may well be so candy, and get blamed for undesirable issues, this gives the breed a bad call...yet you hardly ever hear, oh no that Boston Terrier merely ripped off the associates leg....small canines, small bites nonetheless harm LOL

Answer 5

In tight spaces there are a few rules one MUST live by.

First, if you dont need it right now... get rid of it ....or hide it away.

Second, utilize your vertical spaces. Floor to ceiling for maximizing space. Think of all that space that is wasted when all the furnishings are squatty little floor space stealers. Think UP. You want to stick to narrow width, very tall shelving. Even if you have to secure the shelving to the wall.... you should do it. Some people stack their mismatched items, screw them together, and paint them to make unique shelving that will climb higher. Think tall. When the eye moves up... it takes the focus off of how small the room is.

Third, trick the eye. Paint the room with horizontal stripes. This makes the room appear to be wider. (Same concept as wearing horizontal stripes on your own body. If your big they make you look even bigger... that is why I dont wear them...lol. ) Also, stick to light colors. You do not want to appear to be living in a damp dark cave.... brighten it up.. .as MUCH natural light as possible. Keep window treatments light and airy such as ceiling to floor sheers. ( Remember: Go tall)

In your small place, you will have to get into the habit of being VERY organized. A cheap way to do this is to go onto Craigslist.com and find cheap metal shelving that is very tall. Make it as tall as possible. The metal shelves that screw together can go as high as you want. And yesssss... you can use adhesive velcro to attach fabric to the front of these shelves to hide the clutter. Just pick fabric that adds a certain design element to the room. Preferably the fabric will be the same color as the walls so that it will not 'stick out' too much. Your trying to hide this aspect of the room... not draw attention to it.

For the holidays... you can add fabric or change the fabric completely to add to the holiday theme of your room.

Also, for your bedroom.... put your bed up high. Either very high or just raised a bit..... this will add tons of storage. You can get the long flat plastic boxes to put under the bed. Stack as many as you can and utilize these to store blankets, pictures, extra video equippment, DVD's/games, supplies for wrapping gifts such as the long rolls of paper, personal memorabelia, extra clothes..... you name it ... this is a really cool trick for hiding clutter. Then add another piece of fabric like a bed skirt to hide the underneath part of your bed. To get into your bed, either have a small set of shelves or add a long fabric covered bench with a hinged lid. Add some batting, ( the long flat kind used to make comforters *see your local craft dept) cover it with fabric, staple it all down.... and then you have even MORE storage. This will give you a place to sit..... and a nice big step to get up into bed. What a cool loft bed you will have!!!

Use the inside of the closet door to add hooks or a shoe organizer to add even more storage.

If you need furniture..... try Craigslist.com or Freecycle.com. Many times... all it takes is the gas money to go pick items up. People will just GIVE you stuff that they don't have a use for anymore. If you can do a little sanding and afford to buy a small can of paint... you can have all matching furniture with very little effort. Just go buy new matching knobs for the fronts of these things and no one will ever know that they don't 'really' match.

For a Christmas tree... try going with a medium sized tree. This way you dont need as much width for the tree and can just put the tree up on a small table top. Drape Christmasy type fabric over the table top then set the tree on top of it. I have done this before and it looks quite nice. Then... under the fabric and around the table... You will have plenty of room to stack presents.

Hope this helps.... Merry Christmas!!! :o)

Answer 6

In addition to the ideas already shared with you, I hope these might help. I lived in a tiny 422 square foot, 2 bedroom apt. (it is true!) while in college with my husband and our toddler. We used a sheet (curtain rod idea you already have) to hide our built in bookshelf. They are 2.77 at walmart for a flat twin sheet.

I think for decorating, you might want to stick to a theme, like snowmen cut out of batting with flannel scarfs or snowflakes etc. This way the theme can go throughout your apt instead of each item competing with a different one (a christmas village, a reindeer, bells etc...) You can cover furniture with burgandy, green or white sheets cheaply too. You can dye white sheets any color with RIT dye cheaply too.
A gingerbread house theme could be done by getting pvc pipe (4 inch wide kind) and wrapping it with red ribbon and framing your door with it for a candy cane entry. Get red and white plastic plates and staple them together. Then cover them with colored plastic wrap and tie the ends off for candy decorations to hang. Make hersheys kisses to hang by cutting the top portion of a gallon milk jug off and covering with foil. Make your own kiss labels have christmas greetings. I could go on but I need to go to bed, so ....best of luck and don't stress about it---have fun with it.

Answer 7

u can




build some shelves or stands (the ones which are fixed on the wall) where u cAN keep your dvd and all dati computer can be sold or make a new store room