Top 10 Apartment Decorating Don'ts

Do read our expert don'ts for the very best advice on how to spruce up your small space.

(Continued from Page 4) By Anne Krueger
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Designer Grace Seilaff created rooms within a room through careful furniture placement.

5. Don't resign yourself to living in a bowling alley.

Many apartments are large rectangles that include dining and living room spaces in one long line, creating that universal bowling alley look. The way to cure this malady is to divide each space through functionality into boxes, which are actually easier for the human mind to integrate, says designer Mark McCauley, ASID. How to break up the space? "Use a large plant at the point of demarcation, large artwork or a bookcase or curio," he says. These items will divide the space into two halves, each having a separate function: dining room for eating; living room for conversation and TV watching.

Curves can also take the edges off a boxy room, says Libby Langdon, a small-space consultant on HGTV's Small Space, Big Style. Think round tables, chairs and other furnishings, she says.