Our living spaces are not always as big as we would like them to be, but that doesn't mean you can’t use your creativity and style to dress up even the smallest of spaces in your home, condo, or flat. Making ample use of wall art, room specific home decor, and a number of home goods can do the trick without spending a lot of money.

Forget about going all white for the small space

You don't have to be an interior designer to add a bit of personality and character to any room in your home, and the small space needn’t be minimalistic and all-white. Whether you're looking to improve the ambience of your living room or the master bedroom, or even the bathroom, you’re only limited by your imagination. As long as you choose the number and size of your home goods carefully, whilst not choosing too dark a color for your walls, any small space can be personalized.

Thinking about themes and being inspired by mood boards

When you walk into a room, what do you want it to say to you? No, walls don't speak, but what's on them can. Color, tone and well-placed whimsical or classic wall art (don't overdo it, mind you) allows you to give any room a personality of its own. You can do this throughout the home space, and you can gain inspiration upon room themes and decor approaches from the awe-inspiring website that is Pinterest.

Use uplighters to heighten, clever fittings for storage and key items to tie color themes together

Uplighters or wrought iron wall scones can help to give a room a classic feel, whilst adding a much needed illusion of room height. A strategically placed wall cubby or floating shelves can help to keep clutter off the floor. A vase in a corner arranged with colorful seasonal silk flowers or twigs, or even feathers can serve as a focal point that ties in all the colors in a room. You can finish this all off by using various square beveled mirrors creatively to make a smaller space look not only larger, but more comfortable, inviting, and warm.

Using home goods for small spaces

What exactly is meant by home goods? Basically, anything that you can use in your home.  We're not talking about dust collectors, but items that not only serve as a point of interest or design, but that offer other uses, especially when you have a small floorplan. For example, a stack of large to small wicker baskets can serve not only as storage, but add a pop of rustic interest to any room. If you don't have a lot of closet space, wall hooks and shelving can go a long way toward removing clutter.

Keeping it all cohesive

When using home goods, home decor, or wall art to give your small space a facelift, remember to keep it cohesive. You can give each room a theme of its own or use a general theme throughout the house. After you've decided on a theme, it’s time to focus upon selecting the type of decor that can perform double duty when possible.

Pay attention to colors and textures when looking for wall decor or home goods to enhance any space. If you're going for a country appeal, for example, you wouldn't necessarily want to choose an ultra-sleek or modern looking mirror or a piece of abstract wall art. Or, if you're going for that ultra-modern, sleek and chic look, you wouldn't necessarily want to use an antique wooden rooster in the room.

Here's the bottom line. Choose your color palette and theme (if any) first. It can be anything: Artsy, Western, Old English, country, farm, the ocean, or even medieval if you want. The point is to use your creativity and imagination while making sure that your home decor choices based on your theme and color palette makes sense.

A few tips for super tiny spaces

When decorating a small space, a piece of wall art (or two) strategically placed can add a lot of warmth and personality to any room; however you should choose relatively small sized art so as not to dwarf the room.

In tiny spaces, you also want to try and keep as much clutter off the floor as possible, so use what you have. If you want something for the floor in a corner, do something appropriate that doesn't take up a lot of room and provides another purpose if possible.

Use floating shelves to show off family photos, artwork, or favorite mementos.

Paint is a great equalizer. If you can't paint the walls because you're letting your apartment, paint your wooden furniture to go with that new bedspread or rug.

In your kitchen, opt for open storage. Metal shelving units have grown quite popular and are an excellent way to save space while providing ample (and easy to get to) storage for your dishware, cooking supplies, and espresso machine.