About Me

Hi, I'm Ava

Small spaces, big style — and a lot of trial and error

I’ve decorated more small apartments than I can count, and I’m still figuring some of it out as I go. This site is everything I’ve learned about making a small space feel like home — without a renovation budget, and without needing a landlord’s permission for every little change.

Most decorating advice assumes you own the walls, have a truck for furniture runs, and a few thousand dollars to spend getting a room “right.” That’s just not how most of us actually live. So everything here starts from a different set of assumptions: you’re probably renting, you’re probably working with less space than you’d like, and you want changes that actually make a difference — not just ones that photograph well.

If you rent, live small, or just don’t want to spend a fortune to make your place feel finished, you’re in the right spot.

How This Started

When I moved into my first apartment, I owned a mattress, three boxes, and no real idea what to do with an 11×13 living room. Every decorating guide I found assumed a bigger space, a bigger budget, or both. So I started doing the opposite of what most advice said — buying less, but buying smarter, and paying attention to which changes actually made a room feel bigger instead of just looking nice in a photo.

A few apartments later, I had a running list of tricks that actually worked — the rug sizing rule, the curtain height trick, the mirror placement that does more than decoration ever could. Decor With Ava started as that list, written down so I wouldn’t forget it, and it turned into a place for anyone else figuring out the same thing: how to make a small, rented space feel like it was never small to begin with.

“Decor With Ava started as a list I wrote down so I wouldn’t forget what actually worked.”

What I Share Here

Everything on this site is built around one idea: decorating that actually works in a small, rented, real-life space.

My Approach

I don’t believe decorating should require a renovation budget, a landlord’s permission, or a showroom-sized living room. Everything here is built around three things: it has to be attainable, not aspirational — real budgets, not vague “affordable” claims. It has to actually work in a small space, not a photo shot wide enough to hide how small it really is. And it has to be something you can undo, since most of us are renting, not owning.

Say Hi

Have a question, a small space you’re stuck on, or just want to say hello? I read every message myself — reach out here.

Miss Ava

Hi, I’m Ava — decorating small apartments on a real budget, one rental-friendly fix at a time. This is where I share room-by-room ideas, storage tricks, and budget finds that don’t require a landlord’s permission. Grab a coffee, have a look around, and let’s make your space feel like yours.

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