New urbanism is the growing movement embraced by architects, planners, and developers to create residential communities in the midst of cities, where individuals are within walking distance from all of their needs. The resurgence of city living is a reaction to urban sprawl. The majority of Americans live in suburban communities that have been developed over the past 50 years, but now people are moving back into the city. 1 As a result of new urbanism, many city dwellers call what were once industrial spaces home.

Karen McAloon, host of the HGTV network's Design Remix, shares current urban living trends and provides guidelines on how to make the most out of a downtown loft or apartment. McAloon has been a professional designer for 12 years, working specifically in the San Francisco and the Bay area with young urban professionals, artists and musicians. She is proficient in both landscape and interior design. "Most loft spaces and city apartments are blank canvases. Taking risks and getting ultra personal with design is crucial to obtain an outstanding look," said McAloon.

According to McAloon, "Anything goes in downtown loft or apartment spaces and the 'new style' is personal style. Today's urbanites are hip, tuned in, savvy and the mainstream is not for them." When decorating a downtown space, go for bright, bold and unexpected design.

The new catalogs for hip, unique shopping are Web sites like ebay.com, craigslist.com, ApartmentTherapy.com and designsponge.blogspot.com. "Get personal and local with your design," said McAloon.

The current color palette for urban living is earth tones. Soft earthy greens, muted mustard yellows and mossy rock browns are all colors that people are using in downtown lofts or apartments because they bring nature into these spaces.

"The rule for color in small spaces is to balance it out. If you use a deeper hue on the wall, anchor it with bright white trim, curtains and accents. For lighter colored walls, balance the room with darker colors on chairs, rugs and art. This contrast between hues will allow the brighter colors to pop," said McAloon.

If there is color that you find overwhelming on the walls of a room, tone it down with opposite or lighter color accessories in your room.

One of the benefits of smaller urban spaces is that there is less to clean on the weekends. Although these spaces can be tight, there are things you can do to make the most out of a space. "Optimize space in a room by selecting European style furniture with narrow backs and sides and avoid rolled arm pieces. They take up twice as much space as they give for seating," said McAloon.

Loft spaces with large wall space can seem noticeably vacant, but there are solutions to this décor dilemma. "If the floor space in a room is small, put huge, bold art on the walls. This will make the room itself seem bigger by drawing eyes to the larger walls and art," said McAloon.

According to McAloon, "The right flooring can soften and add color to balance out a room. One designer trick is to have carpet bound and add a ½ inch carpet pad directly to the underside of it. With bound carpet you can put any size carpet anywhere!"

STAINMASTER® carpet is available in a number of fashionable colors, textures, and patterns that can be bound or surged. "When you have great flooring in a space, it's like walking into a super posh hotel suite. The moment your foot hits, you know it's going to be good," said McAloon.