Not small, just cosy

Use of warm colours like blue and green for the walls and ceilings ensure a more intimate feel than white. The use of mirrors also helps, suggests Mala Ashok

We all feel today’s rooms are too small and indeed some of the rooms that modern day apartments come with are very small. Rather than get frustrated about the size (or lack thereof) of these rooms, the trick is to use the smallness of the rooms to our advantage. Most flats have one bedroom which is reasonably large but the other bedroom or two happen to be really small. Instead of fighting this fact, let us examine what we can do about it. Most people tend to use decorating tools like mirrors, which make the room appear bigger. This is a good idea but not necessarily the best one.

Work instead to bring an element of cosiness to the room. Most experts would advise you to place flowers in a corner of the room to bring character to it. Real flowers are the best; but you could bring about the same effect with the use of silk flowers whose care is simpler.

What does the word ‘cosy’ bring to mind? To most of us, it says snug, friendly, warm and intimate. These can be achieved with the intelligent use of colours. Warm colours such as blues and greens for the walls and ceilings make for a more intimate feel than white. If you are sure, the room is going to be used as a girl’s room; you could even paint the walls pink.

Because we are talking of a small room, it will need to be well lit from more than one source. Try to avoid glaring fluorescent lamps which have a tendency to make small rooms seem harsh. Bedside lamps on small tables or floor lamps are just right. It is important to furnish the room with objects that enhance the intimate feel. In the West, decorators suggest a rug which covers almost the entire floor. This is not practical in our environment where dust is such a major player. The maintenance would be a nightmare and almost impossible.

Since the room is small, anyway the bed is likely to cover most of the floor, so you could have a small bedside rug beside the bed. This will most likely be small so that rolling it up and cleaning the floor will not be difficult. Naamdaahs, small Persian rugs, or handloom carpets will work well and serve to brighten the room.

Choosing the right bed

The bed is the most important item in the room –  both functionally and aesthetically. Thus, it is very important how you choose it. It should be large enough to sleep in comfortably yet leave enough space to move around the room. If the room is very small, options such as bunk beds and foldable beds should be considered. To avoid furniture taking up too much space, the room should have a large in-built wardrobe with mirror. This will eliminate the need for a dresser.

If the bed is the most important item of furniture in your room, the bedding which dresses your bed is what decorates this piece, again both functional and aesthetic. Your bedding should complement your taste and colour scheme. Not all of us have the luxury of buying matching bedding and curtains. We can all, however, avoid sheets and bedcovers that clash with the rest of the room.

While white bed sheets are the safest colour choice to prevent colour clashes, dark coloured bedding makes for a much cosier atmosphere in the room. Last but certainly not the least, clutter causes stress and more so in a small room. So, pare down the objects in the room to a bare minimum.