Interior Design for Small Spaces, from Observer Living expo

I attended the Observer Living 2009 event held at the Puck Building last Thursday 5/14/09 and greatly enjoyed the panelist session on Interior Design for Small Spaces. Interior Design is not my forte but I did take some good notes on pointers shared by panelists including Simon Doonan and Jonathan Adler.

* Best item to brighten up an apartment: Pillows, pillows, pillows.

* Get things off tables and onto walls via wall racks.

* Use screens to separate space. This creates segments in your apartment and makes it look bigger. Instead of backing your furniture to the wall, you can use furniture as separators.

* Splurge on throw carpets, sofa and mattress. These are the main items for an apartment. You can save on others. A throw carpet is probably the single most impactful item to make a statement.

* The easiest "green" activity to do are to (i) use flourescent bulbs (ii) remove your shoes when inside the apartment. Removing shoes leaves all the toxic and unhealthy particles outside.