A designer rated my 1-bedroom apartment. Here’s how he’d make the open-plan living space brighter

In July of this year, I moved into a one-bedroom flat in Glasgow, Scotland.

Mikhaila Friel in her new Glasgow residence.

Since July, my boyfriend and I have rented a one-bedroom flat in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. The apartment is on the first story of a building in the Merchant City district, which is popular for shopping, restaurants, and pubs.

The flat was fully furnished, but we added a few personal touches.

My apartment’s combined living and kitchen space in Glasgow.

Although the apartment is fully furnished, we added a few personal touches by purchasing a few items for the open-plan living and kitchen space. We acquired, for instance, a bookcase, a television, some plants, an ottoman, and a beanbag, in addition to two bar stools and a few kitchen equipment.

I enlisted Jordan Samson, a popular interior designer on TikTok, to help us make the area appear larger and brighter.

Jordan Samson is a designer of interiors who uploads movies to TikTok.

Jordan Samson/TikTok

Even after adding some of our own furnishings, I thought that more might be done to improve the appearance of the flat. Specifically, I desired to make the living and kitchen space appear larger and cozier.

I also desired for it to appear livelier, as Glasgow can be dark and dismal and lack natural sunlight at times.

I asked Jordan Samson, an interior designer with over 55,000 followers on TikTok, for assistance. I gave Samson photographs of the living room and kitchen, and he responded with his finest advice.

Samson proposes adding a rug to the living room to “anchor” it.

A directional arrow indicating where a rug could be placed in the living space.

Samson stated that a rug in the living room would be a perfect choice for a room with an open floor plan.

He stated, “This will anchor the area and define the living room.”

Samson advised that the rug should be a light, neutral hue to maintain the “light and airy” atmosphere created by the room’s other furnishings.

Samson claims that I’ve improperly organized my bookshelf.

The bookcase in the living room of Mikhaila.

Samson stated that my open bookshelf unit “creates visual clutter” and effectively reduces the size of the living area. He suggested I explore a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf with a combination of open and closed storage, such as Ikea’s £130 (about $140) Billy/Oxberg bookcase.

“This will attract the attention upward, decrease visual clutter, and still allow you to showcase some decorative and personal items,” he said.

Since I just acquired my present bookshelf (also from Ikea), I have no plans to replace it in the near future.

Samson stated that there are ways to make it more visually appealing without purchasing a replacement. To produce a balanced appearance, he instructed me to alternate between horizontal and vertical piles of books and to put the bigger objects first, followed by the smaller ones.

Removing the plants from the window sill would maximize the natural light available.

The windows in the living room of Mikhaila.

Samson stated that while he enjoys plants on windowsills in general, he does not advocate it for my open-plan living room and kitchen because there are only two windows at one end of the space.

Instead, he recommends relocating the larger plant or replacing it with a smaller one to maximize natural light.

In addition, he proposes replacing the curtains with floor-length ones, which he says will extend the walls and make the ceiling appear higher.

Finally, Samson proposes adding wallpaper or a mirror to the kitchen to help define the space.

Kitchen region.

My kitchen features an integrated refrigerator and freezer, multiple storage cabinets, and a long unit that we use as a makeshift breakfast bar with additional bar stools.

Samson suggested utilizing peel-and-stick wallpaper to create a feature wall in order to distinguish the space from the living area. Alternately, he proposes installing a large mirror with a thin frame to make the surrounding area appear larger.