West Village Apartment Decor - Space Saving Tips

It only took one (sneak) peek at Leandra Medine's new office space for us to see that the folks at Homepolish — the interior geniuses responsible for the streamlined makeover — know what they're doing. Whether it's a total renovation or culling the perfect finishing touches, designer work by the hour to create a balanced space that just works.

Just because you have a small apartment, that doesn't mean you have to go ultra-minimalist or stick to snooze-worthy color schemes. “The trick is to identify your primary needs, whether it’s clothing storage or room for entertaining," Homepolish Designer Morgan Coletta says.

For Veliz Perez, a corporate law attorney, her 475-square-foot, one-bedroom in the West Village was big on charm but tight on space. “Her biggest problem was definitely lack of storage space.” Coletta says. “She’s a stylish girl with lots of clothes, but nowhere to hang anything except for a tiny three-foot-wide closet.” Short of storing everything in vacuum pack bags, what’s a girl to do? Luckily, Coletta has had plenty of experience solving small space woes all over NYC, and had some clever tricks up her sleeve.

Perez, who describes her budget as “Target meets Chanel,” was open to investing in a few big-ticket statement items, but wanted to keep other costs in check. “I don't think you need to spend a fortune to have a nicely decorated apartment,” she says.

After deciding on an overall design scheme, a mix of “Jonathan Adler goes to Nantucket” they tackled the living room first. To create extra clothing storage, Coletta found a roomy, oak armoire from Wayfair and repainted it in a soft, dreamy lavender so it would blend in with the other living room furniture, and added new hardware from Martha Stewart. Perez didn't want to part with her ultra-comfy black couch, so Coletta added matching, custom-made Roman shades to the living room windows, and other optical details, like a black and white accent pillow and framed zebra print above the couch.

To create the illusion of more space, Coletta added a lucite coffee table and accent chairs in the living room, which double as extra seating for dinner parties. “They're high-style items that didn't cost a fortune.” Coletta says.

The bedroom was easily the biggest challenge to redesign. At a mere 85 inches wide, at first they weren't sure if Perez’s queen-sized mattress she brought from California would even fit. “I was unwilling to part with it” she says. Coletta custom designed headboards for either side of the bed, and a high bed frame to create room for extra storage underneath (cleverly hidden from view with a cute bedskirt).

Veliz’s favorite part of her new space? “Walking in the door!”