Property360Digest E-MAGAZINE Issue#4 | Page 44

TIPS Make smaller units look and feel much bigger By Gunaprasath Bupalan Spending a little money on your ID is necessary because you would want to live in comfort instead of feeling claustrophobic or uncomfortable in your own home. O ver the last 5 years or so, we have seen the rise of smaller unit sizes in the high-rise category. Mainly dwelling amongst the serviced apartments, SOHOs, SOVOs and all the other SO SOs. As much as I personally thought that it was just a phase and who would consider buying such units of 400sq ft and 600sq ft, it came to my surprise that upon the launching of such units, they have been snapped up like hot cakes – mainly due to the price factor being really affordable (visually), not taking into consideration whether there is a potential rise in profit margin, or how difficult it may be to sell it later in the coming years. Since the demand was there, many developers also got on the bandwagon and we now see lots of high-rise developments of this nature in the market. Make use of hidden storage and multi- purpose items. This column is not intended to discourage the purchase of such units, but it is to help those who have already bought smaller units and find it a little cramped up – here are some tips to make smaller spaces look a lot bigger without the need to break walls. Hang shelves near the ceiling to draw the eye upward. Paint or wallpaper the ceiling to make the room look taller. Follow the cantaloupe rule. Use light colours on the walls and the floor. Choose statement furniture that fills the room. Anything that draws the eye upwards makes a room feel bigger. While darker colours make a room seem cosy, they also absorb light instead of reflecting it, making the space feel smaller. Opt for lighter coloured flooring as well as wall colors to make the room feel airy. Pull furniture away from the wall to create the illusion of spaciousness. Pushing furniture up against the wall makes everything look and feel cramped. Even just few inches in between the wall and your bigger items can make the space look more open. To make use of those few inches, you can DIY a console table to slip behind it. PROPERTY360DIGEST 44 Get a coffee table/desk that have hidden components for you to store things. A high shelve could be stored with a line-up of books or DVDs or a collection of CDs. Only problem would be that there may be much dust that collects here. Decorative accents smaller than a cantaloupe crowd a room. Instead, go for fewer decorations that are bigger. In small living rooms, one large couch instead of multiple small pieces actually decreases the look of clutter and makes a room feel bigger. Use stripes to elongate the space. Just like vertical stripes on clothing, a striped rug will make your room appear longer. Orient the stripes to go the length of the room that is the longest for optimal effect. Colour code your shelves to create the look of structure.