Top 12 'Square-Foot-Stretching' Smart Home Devices to install for Making Your Tiny Apartment Feel Huge This Year
Living in a compact apartment in a bustling city has its perks, but abundant square footage usually isn't one of them. That feeling of the walls closing in? We've all been there. For years, the go-to advice for small spaces has been about mirrors, light-coloured paint, and multi-functional furniture. While that's all still true, we're living in a new era of home design—one where technology is our greatest ally in the battle for space.
Smart home technology is no longer just about convenience or futuristic bragging rights. It's a powerful, practical tool for decluttering, automating, and optimizing every inch of your home. By replacing bulky, single-purpose items with sleek, multi-functional, and often invisible solutions, you can create an environment that feels more open, organized, and exponentially larger than its measurements suggest. It’s not about adding more gadgets; it’s about making smarter choices that give you back your space and your sanity.
So, if you're ready to transform your tiny apartment from cramped to clever, you're in the right place. We've curated the ultimate list of "square-foot-stretching" smart home devices that will make your home feel huge this year. Let's dive in and reclaim your space.
1. Smart Lighting: Paint Your Walls with Light
The oldest trick in the "make a room look bigger" book is to use light. Smart lighting, like Philips Hue or Nanoleaf systems, takes this concept and puts it on steroids. These aren't just bulbs you can turn on with your phone; they are tools for architectural illusion. You can change not only the brightness but also the colour and temperature of your lights to completely alter the perception of a room.
By creating "zones" of light, you can visually separate one area of a studio apartment from another—a warm, cozy glow for the "living room" area and a bright, cool light for your "office" nook. This segmentation creates the impression of multiple rooms. Furthermore, by replacing bulky floor and table lamps with strategically placed smart LED strips under cabinets, behind TVs, or along baseboards, you free up precious floor and surface space while adding a layer of sophisticated, indirect light that makes the room feel taller and wider.
Pro-Tip: Use a technique called "wall-washing." Aim your smart spotlights or place an LED strip to cast light evenly down a wall. This draws the eye upward, eliminates shadows in corners, and makes the entire space feel more expansive and open. Schedule your lights to brighten gradually in the morning, mimicking the sunrise to make your space feel naturally airy and large from the moment you wake up.
2. Smart Displays: The Ultimate Command Center
Counter space is prime real estate in a small apartment. A smart display, like the Google Nest Hub or Amazon Echo Show, is the ultimate decluttering device. Think about all the single-purpose gadgets it can replace: your alarm clock, kitchen timer, radio, Bluetooth speaker, digital photo frame, and the pile of sticky notes on your fridge. It consolidates all these functions into one sleek, compact screen.
In the kitchen, it's a hands-free recipe book and a video call screen. In the living room, it's a central hub to control all your other smart devices, a digital photo album that cycles through your favourite memories, and a surprisingly robust speaker for music. By centralizing control and information, a smart display eliminates the need for a dozen other small, clutter-creating objects, instantly making your surfaces feel cleaner and more spacious.
Pro-Tip: Mount your smart display under a kitchen cabinet using a simple third-party mount. This gets it completely off your countertop while keeping it at the perfect height for viewing recipes or controlling your home, giving you back 100% of that valuable prep space.
3. Robot Vacuums: Your Invisible Cleaning Crew
Nothing makes a small space feel smaller than a cluttered floor. A robot vacuum and mop combo, from brands like Roborock or iRobot, is a non-negotiable for tiny apartment living. Its primary benefit is obvious: it keeps your floors spotless without you lifting a finger. But its secondary, space-saving benefit is just as crucial.
Because a robot vacuum automates your floor cleaning, it encourages a "clear floor" policy. You're more likely to keep shoes, bags, and other clutter off the ground so the little guy can do its job. This habit alone dramatically increases the visible floor area, which is the number one factor in making a room feel large. Plus, you get to ditch your bulky, upright vacuum and all its attachments, which are notoriously difficult to store in an apartment with limited closet space. The slim robot dock is all you need.
Pro-Tip: Look for a model with a self-emptying base. While the base is a bit larger, it's a worthy trade-off. It can typically be tucked away under a console table and means you only have to think about vacuuming once a month, making it a truly "set it and forget it" solution for a perpetually clean and open-feeling home.
4. Smart Blinds & Curtains: Automate the Sunshine
Natural light is a small apartment's best friend. The more you have, the bigger and more inviting your space will feel. Smart blinds or curtain motors (like those from IKEA, SwitchBot, or Lutron) allow you to harness natural light effortlessly. You can schedule them to open automatically at sunrise and close at sunset, ensuring your apartment is flooded with light during the day without you ever having to touch them.
This automation is more than a convenience. It guarantees you're making the most of available daylight, even on days you're out of the house or forget to open the blinds. The ability to control them with your voice or an app also means you can place furniture in front of windows without worrying about blocking access to the cords. This gives you more flexibility in your layout, a critical advantage when every inch counts. As we often discuss on the Goh Ling Yong blog, smart integration should solve real-world design problems, and this is a perfect example.
Pro-Tip: Pair your smart blinds with a smart thermostat. Create an automation where the blinds close automatically on hot afternoons to block solar heat, reducing your AC costs. This synergy between devices is where a smart home truly shines.
5. Ultra-Short Throw Projectors: The Disappearing TV
The big black rectangle of a television is often the most visually dominant—and space-hogging—element in a small living room. It dictates your furniture arrangement and creates a "visual hole" on your wall when turned off. An ultra-short throw (UST) projector is a revolutionary alternative.
Unlike traditional projectors that need to be mounted on the ceiling or placed at the back of the room, a UST projector, like the Samsung Premiere or Formovie Theater, sits on a console just inches from the wall and projects a stunningly bright and sharp 4K image of 100 inches or more. When you're done watching, you turn it off, and your massive screen simply vanishes, leaving you with a clean, open wall. This frees your space from the tyranny of the TV, allowing for a more flexible and minimalist living area.
Pro-Tip: Pair your UST projector with an ambient light-rejecting (ALR) screen. This specialized screen material ensures a vibrant, high-contrast image even in a brightly lit room, making it a truly viable replacement for a traditional television.
6. Smart Soundbars: Cinematic Sound, Minimalist Form
To go with that disappearing screen, you need audio. But a full 5.1 surround sound system with speakers, stands, and wires is a space-wasting nightmare in a small apartment. A smart soundbar, such as the Sonos Arc or Bose Smart Soundbar, is the elegant solution.
These devices pack incredible, room-filling audio technology—including Dolby Atmos for 3D sound—into a single, slim bar that sits discreetly under your screen. But they do more than just play movie audio. They also function as high-end music streaming speakers and come with built-in voice assistants like Alexa or Google Assistant. This 3-in-1 functionality declutters your entertainment setup, eliminating the need for separate speakers, wires, and smart hubs.
Pro-Tip: Choose a soundbar that is part of a larger ecosystem (like Sonos). This allows you to start with just the soundbar and, if you move to a larger space later, you can add wireless rear speakers and a subwoofer without running a single wire across the room.
7. Digital Art Displays & TVs: The Chameleon Wall
Visual clutter can be just as impactful as physical clutter. A wall filled with mismatched frames can make a room feel busy and small. A digital art frame like a Meural, or even better, a TV that doubles as one like Samsung's "The Frame," solves this beautifully.
When you're not watching TV, The Frame displays a piece of high-resolution artwork or a personal photo, complete with a matte effect and a customizable bezel that makes it look exactly like a framed piece of art. Instead of a black void on your wall, you have a dynamic art piece that can be changed to match your mood, the season, or your decor. This multi-functionality is the essence of smart space-saving—one object, two distinct and valuable purposes.
Pro-Tip: Use the art mode to create a sense of depth. Choose artwork that features landscapes or has a strong vanishing point. This optical illusion can make the wall seem like it's receding, subtly adding to the perception of space in the room.
8. Smart Air Purifiers: Breathe Easy, Live Larger
A stuffy, dusty room always feels smaller and more claustrophobic. A modern smart air purifier does more than just clean the air; it contributes to a feeling of freshness and openness. Many new models, like those from Dyson or Coway, are designed as sleek, vertical towers that have a tiny physical footprint but a huge impact on your environment.
These devices run quietly in the background, automatically adjusting their fan speed based on the air quality they detect. The result is a home that feels and smells cleaner and more expansive. Some models even double as powerful cooling fans, allowing you to replace two bulky appliances with one. Cleaner air has a proven psychological benefit, making your home a more pleasant and comfortable sanctuary—a feeling that is essential when your living space is limited.
Pro-Tip: Place your air purifier in a location with good circulation, but don't be afraid to let it be seen. Today's models are often beautifully designed and can look like a piece of modern sculpture, adding to your decor rather than detracting from it.
9. Smart Under-Cabinet Lighting: Create Depth and Ditch the Lamps
In small kitchens and workspaces, every inch of the counter is precious. Desk lamps and other countertop lighting fixtures eat up that space. Smart LED strips installed under your cabinets are a brilliant and affordable solution that adds functionality and the illusion of space.
This type of task lighting illuminates your work surfaces directly, making cooking or working easier and safer. More importantly, it creates a visual effect of depth. By lighting the backsplash and counter, you draw the eye deeper into the space and make your kitchen or office nook feel larger and more professionally designed. Controlled by voice, app, or a simple motion sensor, it's a practical upgrade with a huge aesthetic payoff.
Pro-Tip: Use a smart plug or a dedicated smart LED strip that allows you to dim the lights. At night, you can set them to a low, 10% glow to serve as a perfect nightlight that doesn't require a separate, plug-in device.
10. Smart Plugs: The Great Cord Concealer
At first glance, a smart plug doesn't seem like a space-saving device. But its true power lies in liberation. Smart plugs, like those from Kasa TP-Link or Wyze, can turn any "dumb" appliance into a smart one, which means you no longer need physical access to its switch.
Have a floor lamp with an awkward switch tucked behind the sofa? A fan whose controls are hard to reach? Plug it into a smart plug, and you can now control it with your voice or phone. This allows you to place furniture and lighting exactly where you want it for the best aesthetic and flow, rather than being constrained by where you can reach a switch. This freedom helps you create a more open, less cluttered layout and better-managed cables.
Pro-Tip: Use smart plugs to create a "shutdown" routine. With one voice command like, "Hey Google, good night," you can have all non-essential electronics (lamps, fans, TV) turn off at once. This saves energy and adds a touch of seamless luxury to your small-space living.
11. Wall-Mounted Smart Gardens: A Living, Vertical Footprint
Bringing greenery into an apartment makes it feel more alive and open, but plants in pots can quickly clutter up floors, windowsills, and surfaces. A wall-mounted smart garden (from brands like Click & Grow or Gardyn) is the perfect solution.
These self-contained, vertical hydroponic systems allow you to grow herbs, vegetables, or flowers on your wall, taking up zero floor space. They come with automated watering and built-in LED grow lights, making them virtually foolproof. A living wall not only provides you with fresh produce but also acts as a beautiful, dynamic piece of decor that draws the eye upward, enhancing the sense of height and space in your room.
Pro-Tip: Install your smart garden in the kitchen. It provides easy access to fresh herbs for cooking and turns a blank wall into a functional and beautiful focal point, instantly elevating the entire space.
12. Smart Thermostats: Sleek, Minimalist Comfort
While a smart thermostat like the Google Nest or Ecobee is primarily about energy savings and comfort, don't underestimate its aesthetic impact. Old, beige, clunky thermostats are an eyesore that adds to the visual noise in a room. A smart thermostat replaces it with a sleek, minimalist circle or square that looks more like a piece of modern art.
This small upgrade contributes to a clean, decluttered wall aesthetic. It’s a detail, but in a small space, the details matter. Every element that is streamlined and simplified helps create an overall feeling of calm and order. As our lead designer, Goh Ling Yong, always says, "A truly smart home is one where technology becomes so integrated and elegant that it disappears." The smart thermostat is a perfect embodiment of that principle.
Pro-Tip: Use your smart thermostat's remote sensors. Place a sensor in your bedroom to ensure the temperature is perfect for sleeping, even if the main unit is in the hallway. This level of customized comfort makes your small space feel infinitely more luxurious.
Your Small Space is Full of Potential
Living in a smaller apartment doesn't mean you have to live with limitations. By being strategic and embracing the right technology, you can create a home that is not only highly functional and efficient but also feels open, airy, and expansive.
These 12 devices are more than just gadgets; they are solutions. They help you declutter, automate, and reclaim your valuable square footage. They prove that the size of your home is less important than the intelligence with which you live in it.
Now we want to hear from you! What's your go-to smart device for maximizing a small space? Do you have a clever tech trick that makes your apartment feel huge? Share your tips and experiences in the comments below!
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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