Small Apartment Living: Keep This Particular Detail in Mind During Your Next Furniture Shopping Adventure
Expose your space with exposed furniture legs to ensure a comfy, yet clutter-free, environment at home
There will always be a steady supply of home décor magazines and interior design shows that aim to inspire what a home can and should be — by and large, by larger standards.
In a somewhat backhanded way, such efforts to enlighten and to compel can, however, put a damper on what you may feel is achievable or acceptable in your limited, and perhaps awkward, small apartment space.
Dear studio and one-bedroom dwellers: Scrutinize such media sources, creatively and critically. And imagine what you can and should do with an emphasis on a furniture selection that’s sure to make a positive visual and spatial impact on your space.
Exposed Legs Create the Illusion of More Space
For studio units, in particular, with everything going on in and around, essentially, one room, solving the puzzle of form and function can be tricky. And ironically, it’s the clutter that you don’t need — information overload and concentrated considerations.
Identifying the essentials, starting with the bed and the desk, is only one half of the battle towards putting the space together. And to factor in a matter of cost and durability only distracts you from the other critical factors at play in your space.
How well your furniture can perform, together, in the space is one such aspect. Importantly, it’s all about how the smallest of details can add up in one given space — namely, exposed furniture legs.
While their job is primarily structural, it comes as no surprise that furniture legs are often an afterthought. Not only are they below large masses of material — a mattress or a top for a bed frame or a dining table, respectively, for instance — but also you.
Because you spend more time sleeping and sitting on your furniture, as opposed to looking at them, design features such as legs can frankly go unnoticed. And in turn, they become underappreciated parts of the whole.
Whether your tight space even allows for a couch, a coffee table, and a desk to coexist in one area, it’s important to consider their cumulative visual impact on the flow of your space. To that end, furniture legs matter quite a bit to it.
Take a moment to visualize how they would all appear as a collection with different legs — square, round, tapered, slender, and so on. Shapes aside, image those without any legs at all; for example, a platform bed, hunkered on the floor, or a coffee table, fixed to the carpet with its base flush with it.
It can yet be a challenge to source each and every piece with the same leg shape, in the same material, and of the same style. Especially, if they’re originating from different brands, stores, and lines. But opting for exposed legs, regardless of their design, is already a tremendous start to creating more openness in your space.
To, literally, further ground the issue: Couches, chairs, and beds, in particular, that feature a skirt underneath them simply read as heavy and solid. By adding more material to the overall mass results in a look that appears heavier and more bloated in the space, even if they’re a breeze to lift and move.
Nevertheless, seeing is believing. But there’s nothing inherently wrong with extra fabric to add a touch of old-fashion elegance, but it doesn’t do favours for a small space.
Without interrupting or occupying the floor space, exposed legs not only allow the furniture to tread lightly on the floor but also create the illusion of more room, as such. It’s an elegant and clever touch.
What’s more, with full range underneath your furniture, you’ll have an easier time cleaning the floors. Plus, you’ll be able to better select and fit an area rug underneath your pieces to tie them all together, adding warmth and personality to a tight space.
Above all, the best part is when it comes to the beautiful golden hour. After sunrise and before sunset, you’ll be able to enjoy the rich hues and dynamic shadows around your furniture, thanks to the free space that exposed legs afford.
Have a leg up with your furniture picks for an airy and contemporary apartment.
Related: Welcome Home: Here Are Your Keys to Picking Investment Furniture Pieces
