Studio apartments can be difficult to decorate because everything is basically all in one big (or not so big) room. Sometimes this small space has to accommodate several different activities: sleeping, entertaining, cooking and an office area.

Here are ten tips for decorating a small studio apartment:

1. Provide enough storage. Try to find furnishings for your apartment that will do “double duty.” You can even find chairs and ottomans that have storage areas inside of them. Just lift up the top and there you will find space for blankets, pillows or other items.

2. Use containers to hide clutter. Buy wicker baskets or old steamer trunks to store out-of-season clothing, linens and towels. They will look great and contain all of those small items that make a room look cluttered.

3. Use mirrors to reflect the light. A large mirror or several small mirrors placed strategically can make a small space feel lighter and larger. If you like a more modern style of decorating, furniture and tables with metal or glass can visually expand the space.

4. Don’t block the light. Covering every window with blinds and draperies can make a small room feel dark and crowded. Leave windows bare or only cover with sheer draperies to let the light shine through. Light always makes a space seem larger.

5. Place furniture in “rooms.” Try to create specific areas for specific activities. Put a bed and dresser in one area for the bedroom and a sofa and coffee table in another area. Having your apartment furnishings put any-old-way can make it cluttered and uninviting. You might have to leave out the bed and use a sleeper sofa if your apartment is super-small.

6. Create a focus. If you are lucky enough to have a fireplace, accentuate it. Even if you don’t have a natural focal point, create one. Painting just one wall a different color will draw the attention into the room an make it seem bigger. Put a large credenza or entertainment center on that wall and decorate it with beautiful accessories.

7. Use dividers for larger apartments. You can find beautiful dividers in both thrift shops and high end furniture stores. Use them to enclose various areas of your space. I saw an episode on HGTV where they used four beautiful wooden dividers to make a separate bedroom. It not only provided a private sleeping area, but also created another “wall” on which to place furniture.

8. Keep clutter at bay. When you have a small area, clutter is not an option. Too many knick-knacks and too much furniture crowds everything together too much. Keep your necessary items, such as extra bed linens put away in a dresser or wicker baskets. Kitchen counters should be kept clean with everything in the cupboards…if possible.

9. Another trick for a small space is to buy furniture with legs and that are higher off of the floor. Your eye will look “under” these pieces of furniture and add visual space. Furniture that is blocky and low to the ground makes a room appear more crowded.

10. Paint with lighter colors. You don’t have to use white, but using paint colors that are lighter in color expands a space more than dark colors.

Decorating a studio apartment can be a challenging task, but using the above tips can help you get started in the right direction.

Discover Decorating Simple, simple decorating on a budget at DecoratingSimple.com and pick up your free report.

Source: Home Management

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I found this today while doing some research on park models. I would love to buy this park model cabin myself as it is located just a few miles from where I live. I am unable to, so thought I would share it with everyone. Maybe this is exactly what you are looking for.

Here are a few of the details quoted from the site:

We are selling our Breckenridge Park Model Log Cabin. We originally bought this beautiful cabin to act as our home while we rebuilt our house. Plans changed and now we need to sell it. Cabin is in perfect, unused condition. It would make a wonderful, spacious home in either a park community, on your land, or as a guest house!

Here are the Specs:

• Breckenridge Copper Lodge 1240 SEDL-T
• Dimensions are 12′ wide x 40′ long x 14.5′ high
• Loft space is 25′ long x 50″ high
• Total approx living space is 780 sq ft. between main floor and loft area.
• Listed at $52,000

The cabin will have be to towed from our property located in North Healdsburg. In Sonoma County in Northern California.

Sale will be cash only, no owner financing available.

Visit the Park Model Log Cabin For Sale site and get the full details and many more pictures.

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For Growing Numbers of Americans, the “Summer Cottage” is a “Park Model” at an RV Resort

It’s already past the 100-degree mark in Phoenix, where Mike McConville works as a self-employed cabinetmaker.

But triple digit heat is of little concern to McConville and his family. When the weather gets hot, the McConvilles head up to Munds Park, an RV resort near Flagstaff where they own a 400-square foot recreational park trailer or “park model.”

“It’s our home away from home, and it’s a lot cooler up there,” said McConville, 57, who purchased his park model last year.

Marion Steinbrenner is similarly unconcerned with the approach of summer. After spending the winter at an RV resort in Florida, she’ll be spending the next few months at Peters Pond RV Resort on Cape Cod, where she owns a park model.

Still relatively unknown to most consumers, recreational park trailers or “park models” are 400-square foot movable resort cottages that are designed exclusively for part-time recreational use.

Typically upscale in appearance, they often include hardwood floors, bay windows and lofts as well as cherry, oak or maple cabinetry. They also are very affordable, with prices starting in the $30,000 range.

And because park models are technically classified as recreational vehicles, they can be set up on leased or purchased sites in campgrounds and RV parks and used as weekend retreats or seasonal vacation dwellings. That’s precisely what’s happening at many RV resorts across the country.

Munds Park near Flagstaff has sold more than 200 park models during the past two years. “We have 41 lots left, but they’re going fast,” said Cindi Eagleton, the park’s manager. Munds Park leases its campsites for $2,700 per season, which runs from April until November.

Eagleton said the people who purchase park models at Munds Resort are all over the map, demographically. “A lot of them have grandkids and they like that this park is open to kids,” she said. “But we’re also seeing a lot of younger people because it’s affordable. That’s a big change from years past.”

Demand for affordable vacation retreat cottages is so strong that many campgrounds and RV resorts are converting existing campsites for park model use or are adding new sections to accommodate park model owners and renters. While parks making these additions are too numerous to mention here, they are located in vacation destinations all over the country. They include:

• Guadalupe River RV Resort, Kerrville, Texas: This resort in the Texas Hill Country is adding 40 park models to its resort this year, which already 35 parks models, some of which are available for rent while others are privately owned. “We had 150 inquiries as soon as we put them on our website,” said park owner Don Temple. “Most of these folks are families in their 40s and 50s. They are looking for a nice vacation home on the river and don’t want to spend their life’s savings to do so.”
• Camp Holiday, Boulder Junction, Wisconsin: This RV resort in northern Wisconsin has designated an entire section for park model owners. “We don’t have it filled with park models yet, but we have the space,” said Cathy Schneider, one of the park’s owners. “The people who own park models are a good blend of people. We have retired people. But most of our seasonal people are still working. A lot of them live within a two-hour radius of here. They can come every weekend or spend their vacation time here.”
• Birchwood Resort, Kabetogama, Minn.: This resort, located 20 miles southeast of International Falls next to Voyageurs National Park, just started renting sites for park model use this year. The sites can be rented for $3,250 to $4,000 for the entire summer. “I like the look of park models,” said park owner Mark Krupowicz. “They’re attractive. They’re like cabins.”
• Castle RV Park, Castle Rock, Colo.: This 370-acre park, located in a forested location in the mountains between Denver and Colorado Springs, is developing a new section that will accommodate about 200 cabin-style park models. The park model cabins will range from the high $30,000 to about $80,000, while the monthly lease fee will be $650, said Ian Steyn, the park’s developer.
• Of Course RV Resort, Red Lodge, Mont.: This 190-acre park, which is being built around an 18-hole golf course, is located near Yellowstone National Park. Developer Jeanne Rizzotto is selling 99-year leases on 500 sites at the park, which will be used to accommodate park models as well as towable and motorized RVs. Rizzotto is also planning to develop similar resorts in Arizona and Colorado.

For more information on parks that may have park models for sale, check with Kampgrounds of America (KOA), Leisure Systems Inc., parent company of the Yogi Bear Jellystone Park chain, Salt Springs, Fla.-based Elite Resorts of America as well as Chicago-based Equity LifeStyle Properties and Queensbury, N.Y.-based Morgan RV Resorts, which both own numerous parks with park models across the country. Parks with park models can also be located by running a Google search.

For more information about the growth of the park model business, please contact William Garpow, executive director of the Recreational Park Trailer Industry Association (RPTIA) at (770) 251-2672 or visit the association’s website at www.rptia.com.

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