Lemondrop

Dealing with too many roommates and too few rooms is just a fact of life on a budget. But there are ways to squeeze more footage from your tiny-ass living space than you are currently. After you've bunked the beds and junked the stuff you don't need, try these less-is-more options for making your pad look palatial.

1. Think high
Long curtains create the illusion of high ceilings when, in reality, they're at a head-smackingly low elevations. Ditto for shelving systems with multiple levels that draw your eye upward.

2. Display creativity
Instead of cluttering tables, put knickknacks and photos on deep window ledges. You can also hang photos (or color copies of them) that you've placed inside clean glass bottles or glued to the outside of discarded cans above sinks or from window frames for a rustic, DIY look that frees up counter space.

3. Reflect well
Here's a trick restaurateurs use for opening up a miniscule dining room: Put a large mirror on at least one wall. Double the space for way less than half a month's rent.

Click here for more ways to maximize a shoebox-size apartment.

4. Separate the space
If you've got one measly room, make it seem multifaceted by using glass dividers or rugs to define distinct spaces.

5. Store smart
Like a great blush/lip-stain combo, your storage pieces should pull double duty. Rolling plastic storage containers can double as kitchen island; a cool vintage trunk as a coffee table. And for stuff you don't need to access often, pick up some transparent containers you can slide under your bed. (Use risers to add height if necessary.)

6. Make function follow form
Some of the items you're hiding away like a bastard child in your closet and cupboards might actually look pretty cool as decor. Your guitar, grandma's cool copper pots, and funky wine crates all make eye-catching accents for your walls.

7. Take a recess
OK, this idea is a little bit of an investment, and maybe not an option if you're a renter. But if you can tinker with your walls a bit, recessed lighting and inset bookshelves do a hell of a job clearing space on your walls, tables, and floors.