Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
A dream apartment for city dwellers has three or four bedrooms, a large kitchen, bath and balcony and is perhaps located in the heart of Juffair or snuggly situated in Seef.
The reality is, hardly anyone's budget is vast enough to afford such space, and in large expensive areas, sometimes there's hardly enough money to cover the rent for a basic, smaller apartment.
Furniture that is too big and insufficient or poorly used storage space can make an apartment quickly look like a junk store.
"Before moving in, tenants should consider what they want to do with the rooms," said interior decorator Anne Jung. A student's requirements differ from those of a manager who uses the space just to have a place to stay during the work week.
When shopping for furniture, always take along a diagram of the apartment and the exact measurements of the rooms. In the large areas of furniture stores, many pieces of furniture appear really small. But they actually could completely fill up the rooms of an apartment.
In small apartments, window treatments should match the colour of the walls, otherwise they can make the room look even smaller, said Miss Jung. Fancy window treatments should be avoided because they tend to make rooms look small as well. The drape or other window treatment selected should cover only the window itself.
