Decorating Tricks to Make a Small Space Look Larger

Lots of people live in a small home, a small room, or just a small space. Some people live in a small apartment because that's all they can afford, and they're grateful for it. Some people live in a small apartment or home because they're tired of taking care of a larger place and want to "downsize."
Others just don't want a large home. Small is beautiful! And easy, and practical, too!
But no matter what your reason for living in a small space, you'll undoubtedly have to make some compromises in your decorating, get really organized, and make some adjustments to your lifestyle in order to make everything fit and not feel cramped.
If you're looking for a cozy, intimate space, you're in luck. By using soft, snuggly upholstered pieces, dark, warm tones, and dramatic lighting, your tiny corner can become a wonderful private space.
But if you really feel the need to stretch out in your small space, you can make some decorating changes to make the area look and feel larger without moving any walls! With color, furniture arranging, and interesting lighting, your space won't feel so cramped.
See if some of our tips will work for your small space.
Clear Out the Clutter
There's nothing that makes a small space feel cramped more than having too much stuff. Work out ways to get collections out of view, organized behind doors, table skirts, or on shelves. With things neatly arranged and out of sight, the space that is in view will feel orderly and open.
Open the Way
With furniture and accessories blocking the view into a room and out to open spaces, a room will look cramped. By moving furniture out and away from walkways, you'll open up the space and make it feel larger. You can also choose short pieces of furniture like an ottoman, an armless, open chair, or a low table, and place large, tall pieces along a wall rather than out in the open space. If you can see the floor, the room will look larger.
Chooser Soft, Light Hues
Whereas dark, warm colors make a space feel cozy and intimate, light, cool colors make a space feel open and airy. For optimum effect, select soft tones of blues and greens.
Use a Monochromatic Color Scheme
Choose colors that are in the same color family and use tone-on-tone woven upholstery fabrics, textured wall finishes, delicate tonal drapery fabrics. Cool colors and delicate warm colors on most surfaces give the room a more open look.
Coordinate Wall and Furniture Colors
Contrasting colors tend to break up a space. Pieces of furniture are less interrupting and tend to blend with the space if they're colored to match the wall color

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4 Tips on Making Your New Neighborhood Work for You

It’s tempting to rent an apartment based just on the square footage and rent. But you’re not going to just sit in your apartment every night and weekend. So, before you move into a new apartment, though, make sure the surrounding neighborhood or community suits your needs.
Check out the After Hours Transportation:. Of course everyone thinks about their work commute. But make sure that you’re conveniently situated for safe, convenient transportation to other places you like to visit, whether that’s the beach or your sister’s home. Whether you’re expecting to use the New York City subway or drive LA’s freeways, check out your transportation routes in advance Where’s the Community Spirit? Some neighborhoods enjoy long-established traditions such as a Halloween parade, block parties, or summer outdoor concert series. Contact the block association, local paper, or local merchants association to find out what your new neighborhood has to offer—and find out how to get involved, too. After all, if you move into your new apartment in September, you might not realize that there’s Christmas caroling or a New Year’s Eve street party in December, or a free community swim in July. Finding Pet-and-Child-Friendly Places. It’s wonderful to have neighbors who can pitch in if you’re in a crunch. If you are a single parent, check out the parent networks by visiting the playgrounds, the schools, the after school programs. Or, if you own a dog, you might want to find out whether there is a dog run, an organized group of dog-.lovers in your new area. Find Your Fellow Hobbyist. Make sure you can indulge in your favorite hobbies or activities close to home. If you love to cook, is there a farmer’s market or gourmet food shop nearby? If you’re a tennis player, cyclist, or marathoner, is there a place nearby where you can pick up a game of tennis, bike, or run a few miles, and meet other runners? If group knitting or tutoring school kids are your passion, make sure there’s someplace convenient where you can indulge yourself. For apartments in New Jersey go to Raritan Crossing. They are pet friendly apartments and New Brunswick NJ apartments. Rentals near Metropark and apartments in Middlesex county. For apartments in central NJ this is the place for you with Apartments in Middlesex County NJ. Raritan Crossing has apartments near metropark, apartments near Rutgers and apartments near Robert Wood Johnson

Financial Requirements

Financial Requirements and What to Bring on Your Apartment Search In order to rent an apartment, you will be asked to complete an application, by your prospective landlord. You may also be required to pay between $50-$200 for credit reports and/or application fees. Landlords want to see evidence of steady income and good credit.
Financial Requirements - Most landlords require that the prospective tenant have an income equal to 40-45 times the monthly rent in annual salary (combined income is used for roommates). You and your roommate will need to have all of your income verification paperwork readily available upon application for an apartment. If you are a full time student or do not meet all the financial requirements, most landlords will require a lease co-signer or guarantor. A guarantor is an individual, typically a family member, who lives in the U.S., preferably in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut. Guarantors are asked to disclose detailed financial information and have a credit report run on them as part of the approval process. The guarantor's income needs to be at least 75 times the monthly rent and they will also need to submit the paperwork listed below.
Funds - When the landlord approves your apartment application, be prepared to pay the first month's rent and the security deposit upon lease signing. Most landlords require that these funds be paid in the form of separate certified checks or money orders. Landlords will not accept personal checks or credit cards. An additional certified check or money order will be required at the time of lease signing to pay the broker's fee, if applicable. Necessary Documents - Bring the following items with you when you start looking for apartments: Letter from your current employer stating your salary or from a CPA if you are a freelance worker or a business owner First two pages of last year's tax return Most recent bank statement(s), bank account numbers and credit card numbers Most recent pay stub(s) Names, addresses and phone numbers of previous landlords Names, addresses and phone numbers of personal and business references Photo I.D. such as driver's license or passport
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Don't Overpay for Rent

On my post warning against overpaying on rent, James poses this question:Is it better to rent an apartment or buy a manufactured home? I found a good location where they are selling a 2 bedroom manufactured home for $170K. The mortgage calculator says, for a no downpayment for 30 years at 6.12% interest, I pay $1,032.39 monthly.Today, Im renting a studio at $1,000 a month. So I thought would the mobile home be better? I mean in 3 years, I would have paid out 36,000 (more if the rent goes up). That money goes away. But I buy that mobile home, I can sell it in 3 years for a super discounted deal, say, 80,000. I would not be only be able to regain the 36,000 but also would have made money.First, I think you’re getting too exotic by thinking about saving money by purchasing a mobile home and reselling it, recouping some of the equity and thus paying out less in rent. It’s certainly a very interesting decision and analysis but ultimately I think your assumptions are going to be your undoing on this one.If all your assumptions go through, that you can purchase the mobile home and resell it at the stated prices, it sounds like your plan will work. Your assumptions, however, are very difficult to support and I am clearly not qualified to give you an advice on that. All I know is that there is a social stigma associated with mobile homes and I have no experience selling one, either first hand or anecdotally. What I do know is that you’ll have to put that mobile home somewhere and generally mobile home parks charge some sort of land usage fee that you didn’t figure into your calculation. You also have closing costs and selling costs that you haven’t factored into your equation which may make the decision less financially attractive. Then again, your extra low price of $80k may have accounted for all of this in its fudge factor, who knows.All that being said, I go back to the beginning where I said this is probably making it too complicated and potentially putting yourself in a bad spot, especially if you experience difficulty selling it and have on your hands a depreciating asset that you can’t sell. Would I do this? Probably not. I don’t like committing myself to debt larger than my fist unless it’s a pretty sure thing and I don’t think your trade off necessarily is. It’s definitely an interesting question though.Anyone else care to weigh in?I’ve always seen renting as “temporary” and buy as permanent. So the two years I spent renting in the Baltimore, MD area, I hardly ever took any time to decorate the place and I tried to pay as little as possible. From my point of view, because it was temporary, not actually mine, and something whose cost I wanted to reduce as little as possible, it made no sense for me to pay more than the average rent in the area or even spend money on decorating it. Now, I didn’t pick the absolute cheapest rent (though I had a roommate and am fairly certain I was paying a pretty good price for rent) but I was pretty close to it and I did very little upkeep outside of vacuuming. As the saying goes, who washes a rental car?Now, I don’t entirely agree with the idea that renting is “throwing your money away,” as many homebuying proponents espouse, but I do see it merely as an expense that should be reduced to as little as reasonably possible. The reason why it’s not throwing your money away is because the housing market has always been difficult to predict, though the trends were always pointing up in the long run as they are even now, and because a house isn’t always a winning proposition even if the value goes up. You’re throwing a lot of money away in interest payments (a small part of which you get back), you’re throwing a lot of money away in maintenance, and you’re throwing a lot of money away in taxes, insurance, etc - all of which are not concerns (though they’re integrated into your rent price) for a renter (I bring these up in the Devil’s Advocate post Rent Forever, Don’t Buy A Home).So, when friends of mine talk about how they can get this awesome apartment with all these incredible amenities for the low low price of something like a thousand dollars per person, I wonder to myself why they would pay so much for rent when cheaper options, though with fewer amenities, exist. Granted, part of this is in perception, some people like to rent in nicer areas with great amenities and are willing to pay that price, I certainly would pay a higher price for a nicer area (from a crime, convenience perspective, etc. within reason); but sometimes the numbers are exorbitant - I know people paying at least twice what I paid in rent!Are you the stingy renter like me? What are your thoughts? Or are you on the other side, willing to spend the money for a really nice place, please share your perspective!For apartments in New Jersey go to Raritan Crossing. They are pet friendly apartments and New Brunswick NJ apartments. Rentals near Metropark and apartments in Middlesex county. For apartments in central NJ this is the place for you with Apartments in Middlesex County NJ. Raritan Crossing has apartments near metropark, apartments near Rutgers and apartments near Robert Wood Johnson

Finances

Even in the best of times, changing apartments can be stressful; if the economic future looks murky, moving can be downright nervewracking. But the more information you have about your financial situation, the easier it will be to move without breaking your budget.
Here are some things you can do to feel comfortable when you sign the lease for your new apartment.
Credit Matters First, your ability to rent is going to hinge on your credit report. Most apartment complexes will access your credit report before offering you a lease (and charge you a small fee when they do). Mostly they're looking for proof that you don't walk away from debts.
To make sure that the information on your credit report is accurate, go to AnnualCreditReport.com and request a free copy. There are three bureaus that keep credit reports (Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian) and what shows up on one may not be on the other two; you can get one free report from each bureau each year. You can also buy additional copies.
Closely related to your credit report is your credit score. The company that calculates credit scores, Fair Isaac, will sell you that information or allow you to calculate an estimation The three bureaus also each calculate their own scores in-house. Suffice to say that higher is better, and that credit scores are based on information accumulated over time; so ignore any offers from companies to "clean up" your credit score-they'll just cost you more money.
Debt It is highly unlikely that having debt will cost you an apartment. Paying down or avoiding debt, however, will be easier if you can keep your housing costs down to a third or less of your monthly bills. Anything more than that and you will be, as Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies puts it, "moderately cost burdened."
Deposits and Fees When you're looking at paying the rent on a new place, don't forget to estimate utilities and factor in the security deposit. While you should be able to get your security deposit back when you move out (assuming you haven't trashed the place), that's a sum that won't be in your bank account, that can be equal to a month's rent or more.
Some areas may require you to pay a broker's fee (New Yorkers, this means you, unfortunately), and if you have a pet, you may have to pay an additional fee or deposit. These fees might take an apartment from affordable to stretching your budget.
Let's Make a Deal When you've found a place you like, see if you can't negotiate a better deal. For example, could you get a lower monthly rent if you're willing to sign a longer lease? Some apartment complexes will refuse to negotiate point-blank; others might be more flexible. It will depend on the management structure of your complex.
If you can negotiate, be polite and don't take it personally if you don't make headway. Hopefully your apartment will already be well within your means, and any deals you can strike will just be icing on the cake.
For apartments in New Jersey go to Raritan Crossing. They are pet friendly apartments and New Brunswick NJ apartments. Rentals near Metropark and apartments in Middlesex county. For apartments in central NJ this is the place for you with Apartments in Middlesex County NJ. Raritan Crossing has apartments near metropark, apartments near Rutgers and apartments near Robert Wood Johnson.