5 Renovation Ideas to Make Your Apartment Feel Bigger

The best renovation ideas to make your apartment feel bigger are opening up the floor plan, using continuous flooring, adding floor-to-ceiling storage, improving light and swapping hinged doors for sliding ones. Each idea adds light, removes visual breaks or frees up floor space. In Sydney strata buildings, many of these changes need approval first, so check your building’s rules before you start.

Key Takeaways

• Start with layout and storage, then lighting and paint, when you choose renovation ideas to make your apartment feel bigger.
• NSW strata rules split work into cosmetic, minor and major renovations, and each level has its own approval.
• Removing or altering a wall needs a structural engineer’s advice and strata approval.
• Installing hard flooring generally needs minor renovation approval, with acoustic documentation.
• Before you decide to move instead, compare the full renovation budget with the costs of selling and buying.

What Approvals Do You Need Before You Start?

Before you act on any of the renovation ideas to make your apartment feel bigger, find out which level of approval applies. Under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW).

Work falls into three levels:

• Cosmetic work. Simple jobs such as painting. These generally do not need owners corporation approval.
• Minor renovations. These need owners corporation approval. Installing hard flooring is a common example. Recessed lighting and wiring changes can also need approval.
• Major renovations. These need an owners corporation special resolution, which is a higher level of owner support. Work that affects the structure or the outside of the building usually sits here.

Your strata manager can confirm which level applies to your plan. A licensed builder and strata approval are also not the full picture for every project. Some work in Class 2 buildings (the building class that covers most apartment blocks) needs registered practitioners and regulated designs, depending on the scope and any exemptions. Ask your builder and certifier what applies to your apartment. You can check a builder’s licence on the Service NSW licence check, and the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW) sets licensing rules for most residential building work.

Open Up the Floor Plan

An open layout is one of the renovation ideas to make your apartment feel bigger with the most visible impact, because it lets natural light travel deeper into the space.

If you want to remove or alter a wall, a structural engineer must first confirm what the wall does. In a strata building, a wall may hold up the floor above or form part of common property, so never assume it is non-structural. Strata approval is needed before work starts, and the level depends on the scope. Cosmetic work such as painting a wall is treated differently.

Use Continuous Flooring

Continuous flooring is a simple way to put these renovation ideas to make your apartment feel bigger into practice, because the eye does not stop at each doorway.

• Keep one look through the main spaces. Use the same style in living areas, hallways and bedrooms. In wet areas such as bathrooms and laundries, choose suitable waterproof materials in a matching tone.
• Plan for approval. Installing hard flooring generally needs minor renovation approval, with acoustic documentation showing how noise will be controlled. Checking your by-laws is not enough on its own.
• Pick light tones. Lighter floors reflect more natural light.

Add Floor-to-Ceiling Storage

Floor-to-ceiling storage clears clutter and uses wall height that is otherwise wasted, which makes it one of the most practical renovation ideas to make your apartment feel bigger. A cluttered room always looks smaller than it is.

You may need more storage if surfaces are always cluttered, cupboards are overstuffed, boxes pile up in living areas, or chairs and corners are doing double duty as storage.

Related storage upgrades:

• Recessed wall niches and shelving in living areas or the bathroom, which add storage without using floor space
• Pull-out pantries and tall cabinets in the kitchen, ideal for narrow layouts
• Mirror cabinets in the bathroom, which hide toiletries and clear the vanity
• Raised floor platforms with built-in drawers, or floating vanities, which turn dead space into storage
• Smart furniture such as a storage ottoman, a lift-top coffee table, a storage bed, a fold-down desk or modular bookcases

Improve Light and Colour

Better light is among the renovation ideas to make your apartment feel bigger that people notice first, because bright rooms feel more open.

• Layer your lighting. Combine ceiling, task and soft lamp lighting, and swap old fixtures for modern ones. Recessed lighting and wiring changes can need strata approval, and the work itself must be done by a licensed electrician.
• Be careful with larger windows. Enlarging an opening can affect the outside of the building or its structure, and may need major renovation approval. If you want more light, ask your strata manager early, or start with lighter colours and mirrors.

Colours that reflect light

• Light neutrals. Off-white, cream and light grey keep small spaces open. See more apartment design ideas.
• Soft pastels. Sage green, pale blue or blush pink feel calm and suit bathrooms and compact areas.
• One colour family. Shades of the same colour across walls, furniture and decor add depth without breaking up the room. Repainting tired cabinets can make a kitchen look new.
• Matching curtains. Curtains close to your wall colour remove visual breaks.
• Deep shades as an accent. Navy or forest green on one wall adds depth with less risk than painting the whole room.

Swap Hinged Doors for Sliding or Pocket Doors

Sliding and pocket doors save the swing space of a hinged door, so they belong on any list of renovation ideas to make your apartment feel bigger. That space gives you better furniture placement and a more functional layout. A pocket door needs a cavity built into a wall, so treat it as a wall alteration and check the wall type first.

Small Details That Support the Five Ideas

Once the main changes are planned, a few details help the space work day to day, which supports your renovation ideas to make your apartment feel bigger.

• Fixtures and hardware. Restoring vintage taps and door knobs keeps the character of an older apartment. Quality new hardware is a simple upgrade if restoration is not possible.
• Efficient fittings. Look for the Energy Rating label on appliances and use LED lighting to reduce running costs. Water-saving taps and dual-flush toilets cut water use.
• Bathroom updates. A cosmetic refresh, such as new taps or paint, does not mean new waterproofing. Work that disturbs the wet area, such as replacing tiles, moving fixtures or changing the shower base, needs waterproofing that meets Australian Standard AS 3740, because a leak affects the neighbours below.
• Balcony. Outdoor furniture, potted plants and soft lighting turn a small balcony into an extra room. Check your by-laws before fixing anything to the balcony or the outside of the building.

Is It Better to Renovate Your Apartment Than to Move?

It depends on your situation. Compare the full renovation budget with the costs of selling and buying another property, such as stamp duty, agent fees and moving costs. If you stay, these renovation ideas to make your apartment feel bigger let you customize your current home without uprooting your life.

Planning to sell? Read how to prepare your old apartment for sale. Working on a tighter budget? Our renovation budget guide explains where to spend first.

How Do the Five Ideas Compare?

These renovation ideas to make your apartment feel bigger differ in disruption and approvals. Use this table to decide where to start. Your strata manager can confirm the exact approval level for your building.

Ready to Plan Your Apartment Renovation?

To put these renovation ideas to make your apartment feel bigger into a workable plan, start with the scope. At TIG, the journey begins with a Discovery Call about your home and goals. If the project is a suitable fit, an Onsite Strategy visit follows. We then clarify the scope and walk you through a tailored plan before any contract and construction. Book a consultation with Trade Industries Group to discuss your apartment, your renovation goals and the next steps for assessing the scope. You can also read about our apartment renovations in Sydney.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the cheapest way to make a small apartment feel bigger?

Painting in light, consistent colours and improving lighting are lower-cost renovation ideas to make your apartment feel bigger. Decluttering with storage helps too. Wall changes and custom joinery usually involve more cost and more approvals, so plan them around your budget.

2. Do I need strata approval to renovate my apartment in Sydney?

Often yes. Cosmetic work such as painting generally does not need approval. Minor renovations, such as installing hard flooring, need owners corporation approval. Major renovations need a special resolution. Check with your strata manager before starting any of these renovation ideas to make your apartment feel bigger.

3. How do I know if a wall in my apartment is load-bearing?

Only a qualified professional, such as a structural engineer, can confirm it. Building plans help, but do not assume a wall is non-structural. This is the safest first step in any plan to make your apartment feel bigger.

4. Which flooring makes a small apartment look bigger?

Using the same style of flooring through the main spaces removes visual breaks, and light tones reflect more natural light. Choose suitable waterproof materials in wet areas. Hard flooring generally needs minor renovation approval with acoustic documentation, so apply before you buy.

5. Is it worth renovating a small apartment before selling?

It can be, but the return depends on your building and the market. A better layout, light and storage may improve buyer appeal. Renovation ideas to make your apartment feel bigger are most useful when they fix a real layout or storage problem.