Top 10 Apartment Decorating Don'ts

A little paint, throughout the whole apartment or just on one wall, can make a world of difference in terms of how you feel about your space. It can really warm up the cold box, says Jeanie Engelbach, who has taught budget decorating tricks to New Yorkers and whose colorful apartment has been featured on HGTV's Small Space, Big Style.

The fact is, most people aren't afraid of color — they're so afraid of not getting their security deposit back that they're willing to live with white walls, she says. "If white is the color scheme, at least use a superior quality of paint," she suggests. But her heart is with color. "I enthusiastically embrace color because paint can always be re-covered," she says. Case in point: She has repainted her 850-square-foot Greenwich Village apartment numerous times (she's lived there for more than 12 years) and has effectively used color to divide the space into functional areas.

There are other ways to add color without the commitment of painting, says designer Ron Marvin, mini-space expert on HGTV's Small Space, Big Style. We're talking everything from couches to bed linens, dishes to lampshades. "Add a punctuation point of color to your room with pillows on your bed, sofa and chairs. Or change out the knobs on the kitchen cabinets and go with something colorful," he says.