Decorating ideas for your small Chicago apartment

Creating a comfortable home in a rental can be quite challenging, considering we’re not all living in generous penthouses. There are a few tricks we can resort to, to maximize space and decorate in style.

Coffee tables, armchairs, stools and other small furniture pieces can be easily used to adorn and personalize your apartment, without having to dig too deep in your pockets.

When starting from scratch, it’s very important to have a clear idea about how you want your place to look like before heading out to browse the stores. At this time, Pinterest is your best friend. When looking for new design, pictures can be enlightening. Once you find something that catches your eye, you may start looking for something similar around the city. Luckily for you, Chicago has got so many great stores to shop for furniture that you won’t have any trouble finding exactly what you want.

Coffee tables stopped being plain and colorless a long time ago, now they come in so many shapes, textures and styles that they can instantly transform any space you put them in. Just have a look at how effective and trendy this end table made of a tree stump can be. Absolutely gorgeous!

Image via Pinterest

Praha in North Center is a great place to find unique, antique-looking and stylish items at reasonable prices. You can be a little bit dazzled at first by the large mix of home goods on display but if you want my advice take a breath and dig in. You won’t be sorry. They’ve got some real gems hidden in their cute store, lots of large and small furniture pieces, all fabulous in their own way, from comfy chairs and adorable accent tables to art and vintage trinkets, lamps, mirrors and other cool vintage home décor.

Image by G Travels via Flickr

As the name suggests, Affordable Portables is also a good option when you’re hunting for bargains. They have an extensive collection of reasonably priced items, ranging from bedroom furniture to desks, wall units, bookcases, sofas, futons, cocktail tables, and much more.

Image via Apartment Therapy

The RoomPlace is one of those places you never get tired of coming back to. Whether you’re looking for inspiration for rearranging your living room or just want to find some accent pieces, their showroom is the best start. The shop features a large variety of furniture for the entire home, including loveseats, recliners, ottomans, sofas and occasional tables. My favorite is their medieval style Ellery collection which combines metal, glass and wood for the most stunning visual effect.