Decorating in small spaces

Having recently escaped college, I've lived in my share of closets. (That's closet sized rooms, not the metaphorical "closet.") Each one proposed a unique set of problems. Here are a few tricks I've learned in my adventures through miniature apartments.

If you're allowed to paint, use light and airy wall colors. Cool tones, like blues and greens, will open up the space. Then make it pop with bold accent colors. You could also play up the small size and make it feel more intimate with a warm red or brown wall color, just don't go too dark.
Keep it simple. Clutter can suffocate a room. Keep small things in stacked decorative boxes.
If you have a large piece of furniture, make it the focal point and pair down everything else. You don't want a king sized bed and overstuffed chairs in a 12x12 room, but too many small pieces of furniture will make the room look cluttered. There is a happy medium.Many retro designers would cover an entire wall in mirrored panels (a la my mirrored sliding closet doors) but I think that's a bit of an eyesore. The modern answer - find a large mirror in a fabulous frame or several small ones and position them opposite a window. (Try Craigslist for large mirrors.)
Utilize your wall space. Floating shelves take up less space than bulky cabinets.
Make one wall a focal point. Paint it a darker color and use one large piece of artwork instead of several small ones. Large framed prints are relatively inexpensive or you can buy a blank canvas and make your own modern art!Use a thin coffee table that doubles as storage. (This one is actually a media console from CB2 but makes a great coffee table.) I've also used two glass accent tables in front of my couch in lieu of a coffee table. It's great because you can move them around easily.Hang extra long curtains right below the ceiling to give the illusion of higher ceilings. I also position mine further out to each size of the window to make it appear larger. I have the 70's tall and thin windows in my bedroom and this trick makes them seem normal size. You could even hang sheer curtains across the length of the wall with a curtain wire from IKEA.Today's post was an answer to a design question posted by Katy. If anyone else has any design dilemmas that need solving, I'd be glad to help!