In 1845, Henry David Thoreau famously left a world made busy by the industrial revolution. He moved into a 150 square foot cabin by Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. His quest: to live simply and deliberately. In a sense, this is the idea that inspired the tiny house movement—a movement in which people choose to live in houses that range from 100 to 400 square feet.
But don’t mistake simplicity for drabness or lifelessness. Elegance can live in very small packages, and we’re here to prove it with our big décor tips for very tiny homes.
Less Is More
Tiny house dwellers have to be minimalists almost by necessity. There isn’t much space in 400 square feet, after all. Fortunately, decorating a space doesn’t just mean filling it with stuff. When decorating with a minimalist aesthetic, focus on empty space punctuated by one or two small focal points, like a plant or a piece of wall art. This will keep the space from looking crowded and chaotic.
Make Small Spaces Feel Bigger
Tiny shouldn’t mean cramped. When you make the most of the space you have, you can make it feel bigger than it is. A minimalist aesthetic will already help with this. From here, you can try a few visual tricks, like choosing low-sitting furniture, maximizing the natural light with light, airy window treatments, and using painting tricks like light colors and cool palettes.
Hack Your Storage
Even as a minimalist, you’ll still need to keep your things somewhere, so half the tiny home décor battle relates to storage space. You’ll need to be creative to keep your house organized. Here are a few storage hacks to get you started:
- Hanging rack for pots and pans
- Storage built into stairs or chairs
- Shelves in the wall
- Floating shelves or wall spice racks
- Space under beds
- Pull-out storage shelves
Additionally, choosing vertical, stackable storage tricks the eye into looking up, making the space feel bigger.
