Small Spaces
What to Cut First When a Room Is Too Small
I kept a coffee table for three years that I disliked the whole time, because getting rid of it felt like admitting the living room had lost. It took moving to
Read the article →Archive
Author · Priya Raghunathan
I write Decorating Our Space from a rented flat in Portland where two rooms get real light and one never will. I measure a room before I decide anything in it, and when a change did not hold, the article says so.
How to Order Your Decorating Budget So the Money Actually Shows
I once spent 400 dollars on throw pillows before I owned a real couch. The order you spend money in matters more…
Installing Curtain Rods So They Do Not Come Down Later
A rod came down in my dining room eighteen months after I installed it, in the middle of dinner with guests at…
How Many Different Materials a Single Room Can Handle
I counted once, after a friend asked why her new dining room felt busy despite every piece being something she liked. Eight…
How to Pick a Dining Table Size for the Room You Actually Have
I bought my first dining table for a room I had only seen in photos before moving in. It seated six comfortably…
One Big Piece or Several Small Ones
A single large piece and a cluster of smaller frames solve different problems. The size of the wall is not the only…
Dividing One Open Room Into Zones Without Walls
My apartment has one long room holding the kitchen, dining table, and living room with no walls between them. For months it…
How I Choose Colors That Flow From Room to Room
I once stood in my own hallway and realized the paint colors on either side had nothing to do with each other.…
Vertical Storage When the Floor Is Already Full
My kitchen has eleven inches of counter space next to the stove. I measured it once out of frustration, because it seemed…
How to Figure Out Your Own Decorating Style Without Guessing
I do not believe taste arrives as a sudden realization. It gets built from evidence you collect about your own choices, if…