Ihab Abdel Moneim on city living

Forget Feng Shui, Turkey’s décor-savvy Ihab Abdel Moneim gives us the rundown on the making the most of your small, modern city-home. Simple, clean-cut modern furniture is now in vogue. Steel furnishings give cramped kitchens a sleek finish and give your home a lofty, uncluttered feel – but beware: all that metal can come to look unfriendly and robotic. Turn your glossy house into a home with modern, on-trend accessories.    Don’t go overboard buying miniatures and intricate collectibles. They take up space and are barely visible. Chandeliers were once a sign of decadence, but today they add an unwelcome, stuffy gaudiness to the room. Moneim recommends giving "bang to your buck" with simple but iconic pieces of art. A few, well-chosen statement pieces is all you need for an understated, minimalist glamour in your home. Suburban pastels are out: darker accessories, in sombre colours like black, red, and brown make complement the shiny surfaces. Make sure you choose pieces that are in keeping with the tone of your home. Paintings may be lightly coloured but ensure you choose unobtrusive, abstract designs and limit yourself to a colour scheme of only two colours in the entire room. Widen walls with vertically-lined wallpaper and bolt on some shelves for storage rather than narrowing the space in the room with wardrobes and cupboards. Multi-purpose furniture such as sofa beds are useful for maximising floorspace. Whilst paintings, vases and sculptures add character to your home, use mirrors in corridors to give an impression of abundant space. Gardens and patio furniture shouldn’t be hidden away either - large windows or glass walls will let natural light in and make your home appear larger. Long ceiling-to-floor curtains make rooms more spacious. Flooring is crucial – light colours like white and eggshell make the space look wider. For big rooms, you can use a rug, but choose matching rugs if you need them to complement the centrepiece.