Small apartment design ideas on a budget

charlotte brown: i feel like thesmall size really adds to the charm of the apartment. it didn't matter how small theapartment was, you really can make the space a home andvery warm and inviting. i'm charlotte brown. i'm a photographerand illustrator. i live on the upper westside, and this is my 300-square-foot apartment. my style is not modern.

i'm very traditional in style. so when the doors opened, iwas love at first sight. and i knew the potential thatthis apartment had, and how i could utilize the space tocreate three rooms in one. i wanted a kitchen, a livingroom, and a bedroom. i really love the fact thatit is over 100 years old. and after looking for probablyeight months for an apartment, this space definitely worked formy budget, and for what i wanted to create.

my style is traditional. i love french country homes. i have very expensive tastesand a very small budget, so each item i found i reallyhad to save for. the first item i purchased forthe apartment before i even had it was the bed. one of the main elements toliving in a small space is that every item you havehas to be storage. and i was able to do thatby adding a bed skirt.

i also keep my cameraequipment and clothing under my bed. i have a lot of art books thati've collected over time. so i use the pieces of coralto make it more decorative than just books on a shelf. i had seen in a lot ofdecorating magazines everyone had the collage of frames, soi definitely wanted to bring that element intomy apartment. i didn't want it to look toocluttered, and this is the

only way i could really addcolor to the space. so i used postcards. i used some of myown photography. i used shadow boxes, and myold christmas ornaments. and in my kitchen area, ibrought in the kitchen island. and what i loved about it isthat it gave me storage on one side, and it blocked off therest of the kitchen from the other room. so i could have moreseating, and also i

could have more storage. one of the things i didwas i bought a big piece of wrapping paper. i was able to measureit out, cut it. the piece of paper cost $5. i used mod podge glue and i justcreated my own backslash. i just recently learned thati'm one of the five million people that has apink bathroom. so the way i triedto decorate the

bathroom was through florals. i added flowers to the bathroom,flower prints, and i kept the shower curtain veryneutral, so it wouldn't overpower the space. i've had 13 people in thisapartment, so i've been able to really utilize the space. i've had a christmas party. i've had pot luck dinners. my friends are all inawe of my space.

we all live in about thesame square footage-- some have roommates,some don't. and i definitely lucked out withthe fact that i'm able to live on my own, with mybudget, at my age. i really love the small space. i was able to really add mypersonality into it and my creativity. it's really taught me that itdoesn't matter what size it is, it can still be a home.

and my landlady said to me thatshe really loves what i've done with the space,and that i'm never allowed to leave. -are you a socialmedia darling? do you like to hangout onfacebook, twitter, pinterest or even tumblr? if so, you can check us outat all those places. or, of coure, you can just clicksubscribe right here to see what we got going on.