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 9) By Anne Krueger
PHOTO

In this San Francisco apartment designed by Ron Marvin, all manner of items can be stored out of sight in the vintage suitcases. Photograph by Richard Jung.

10. Don't confuse clutter with personality.

Sure, we want our apartments to be full of artwork and special things that speak to and define us. But clutter is just very unattractive and distracting, says Texas designer Dawn Burns-Pratt, ASID. And there's no reason for it: "Today there are coffee tables, ottoman pieces and other double-duty items that offer a lot of hidden storage," she says. Consider decorative boxes, magazine racks and chests.

Designer Alice Fakier, this year's Design Star runner-up and host of Ask Alice on HGTV.com, has an easy solution for curbing clutter: "Don't hide it, get rid of it. Clutter takes up space in your decor and life. I say, give it to charity."

Anne Krueger, a writer based in Knoxville, Tenn., has written for In Style, This Old House, Martha Stewart Living and The New York Times.