Apartment Therapy: The Doctor Is In

Using a landing strip also means when you're rushing out in the morning, you know where everything is. This is especially important when you have kids, because when they can get to something, they will grab it. Ideally, a front hall should have a side table, a wastepaper basket, a mirror, a light and coat hooks.

Spaces feel smaller when they are dark. Lighting is really important, and most people have homes that are underlit. There should be at least three points of light in every room. Mirrors are also great for reflecting light and allowing your eye to travel through the wall, making your space feel larger.

Color is important. Using a different color in every room allows you to walk through a space and feel transitions, both visually and emotionally. The shift in color can be as bold or as subtle as you prefer.

Sometimes the best solution in a small space is not having furniture. Most furniture is made for larger spaces, so when it's used, precious extra inches are lost. If your budget allows, custom cabinetry is really nice. You could save money on furniture and instead invest in plywood and hire a handyman to build a bed or cabinets.

What are common mistakes people make in small spaces?

The most common things I see are:

(a) people trying to pack too much in and (b) not realizing how the sense of size can easily be manipulated with a few interior design tricks.

Many people consider their home small when they've moved from a bigger home or if they've added a partner or a child to the equation. In these cases, it never helps to try to fit in everything. Space needs to breathe: It needs to be open and airy in order to feel good and comfortable. Paring down and simplifying are essential elements in a move to a smaller space. Don't think of it as punishment; think of it as the creation of new opportunities.

People often look at small spaces and give up hope, but they shouldn't. The feeling of a space is created by how the eye moves around a room. If you can change the eye patterns, you can really make your space feel a lot bigger. The biggest tricks here are more lighting, indirect or below eye level when standing; light, bright walls and trim; a dark floor or a dark rug on a light floor to ground the space and provide a contrast to the light walls; having 10 percent of empty space in any closet, shelf, cabinet or room. This creates an airy and open feel that is essential in enlarging mental and visual boundaries.

Do you have any tips for renters decorating temporary spaces?

Don't treat them as temporary! Too many people treat rentals as temporary and say they are waiting for the day they make their home. Start today. But if your landlord doesn't allow you to make many big changes, there's still a lot you can do. . . . Start investing in good furniture that you love and will keep for a long time. These are building blocks. If you can, paint. It's the cheapest way to impact your home. The colors and style you choose are important parts of self-expression and establishing your own home. Keep everything clean, including the windows. Any home or apartment can be totally transformed by a deep cleaning.

What was your biggest design mistake, and how did you deal with it?

The worst one was early on and a great lesson for me. I didn't measure the room I was working on closely enough and ordered a few pieces of furniture that ended up being way too big and looking ridiculous when they arrived. Luckily, I called the manufacturer immediately and was able to return the pieces. But ever since then I always measure very carefully before placing a furniture order.

What's next for Apartment Therapy?

AT's mission is to help people at home, so we're expanding into more cities in the next two years (eight to 10 total). We just had the soft launch of AT in Boston and Washington, D.C., on our New York site, so we're covered in the Northeast. Next, we're looking at Seattle, Austin, Toronto and, possibly, Portland.

In addition, we'll be launching our "home" pages in 2008, which will be our readers' personal pages. They will be able to upload their own House Tours, write their own posts, organize their favorite posts and connect with one another much easier.