Hello World! Welcome Friends! It’s no surprise that tiny living is on the rise, given outrageous housing costs, with rates rising year after year well in excess of inflation. However, such arrangements can leave you cramped. Conversely, perhaps you have a standard-sized home with tiny rooms and wish to add the illusion of depth. How can you make a small space look bigger?
Interior designers have tricks up their sleeves, but it’s nothing that the average person can’t accomplish with the right know-how. Are you ready to learn how to transform your abode, making it appear more open and spacious? Here are five tips to help you make a room look bigger.
1. Carefully Coordinate Your Color Scheme
The colors you choose can maximize the appearance of your space, creating the illusion of depth and height. You might have heard that lighter colors are the way to go. Shades like creme, pastel blues and yellows by reflecting available light instead of absorbing it. However, sticking with the same ecru throughout your home as if it were a rental isn’t the only way to make a room look bigger.
Another trick is to paint the furthest wall from the entrance a darker, contrasting shade. Doing so draws the eye toward that direction, making it appear further away than in reality. You can coordinate the look with subtle splashes of the same hue throughout your decor, perhaps with accent pillows or throws.
Are your ceilings impossibly low? Although this trick won’t keep your 6-foot-8-inch partner from having to duck under doorways, you can create an illusion of height with vertical lines. Consider a unique paint scheme or use wallpaper. Borders make rooms look lower — however, installing them along your baseboards instead of ringing the ceiling reverses the trend.
2. Choose Your Flooring With Space in Mind
Light colors reign supreme again, but there’s no need to spend every weekend shampooing white shag or mopping up obnoxiously ivory tile. You can find light-colored flooring with subtle patterns that disguise the dirt until cleaning day rolls around again. Some interior designers even suggest coordinating your tile with your hair color to keep your bathroom looking tidier between spruce-ups.
Choose something that you love and use it throughout your home. Doing so creates a seamless appearance that makes every room look bigger.
Another tip? Look for large stones and tiles if you choose that route. Smaller patterns can shrink a space, making it appear more cluttered. In general, larger, asymmetrical patterns make a room look bigger more than checkerboards, although playing with contrast can sometimes create a unique visual appearance.
3. Light It Up
Perhaps the most hassle-free way to make a small room look bigger is to take down those heavy curtains, exposing the outside view. Doing so opens the space to the world, creating an illusion of vastness.
If privacy is a concern, opt for a 1-way film that obscures outsiders’ view while keeping yours uncluttered. This stuff does double duty, protecting your furnishings and floors from UV rays, which can fade wood and fabric. It can even cause skin damage if you sit by the window long and often enough.
Of course, the sun will set eventually, so direct interior illumination to make your room look bigger. Track lighting is fabulous for this purpose, casting light into shadowy corners and brightening the entire space. Upright corner lamps with similar use can also create an illusion of depth.
4. Uncluttered Is Best
While you don’t have to adopt a minimalist mindset, it can help you make a small room look bigger. That’s because clutter overwhelms your visual field with stimuli, making you feel like you’re looking at a neverending to-do list. Plus, physical objects take up space, and the more you place in a small room, the less open area for people to move.
What if you adore decor, though? There’s nothing wrong with creating a stylish abode but do so with more Marie Kondo in mind than cottagecore. Perhaps select one striking piece per room that draws the eye without detracting from the overall aesthetic?
The same rule that applies to flooring goes for your decor — bigger is better. Numerous tiny objects break up the visual field, making your room seem even more clustered. If you collect Hummel figurines, perhaps you should invest in a singular stylish storage case instead of multiple shelves.
5. Take Some Tips From Feng Shui
You can make even the tiniest room look spacious if you have enough windows — and the sun is up. However, what if your basement apartment isn’t flush with wall-to-wall outdoor views, to put it mildly?
There’s another way. Mirrors also create the illusion of making your room bigger, doubling the visual space. They’re also frequently used in feng shui to direct energy. Even if you don’t believe in it, you probably have a few areas of your life where you could use a bit more chi.
However, there are a few rules to using mirrors effectively. It’s good feng shui to hang them on stair landings or the ends of dark hallways to open up such spaces, redirecting the flow of energy. It also helps reflect light, making these areas appear roomier.
Where should you avoid hanging mirrors? The following placements are inadvisable, according to feng shui experts:
- Across from a door: This directs the energy out of the home or room.
- Above your bed or couch: This can direct too much energy to spaces where you relax. However, mirrors in the living room are fabulous for giving the illusion of more people.
- Across from your toilet: Doing so is said to trap negative energy. Besides, who wants to stare at themselves in their most private moment?
How to Make a Room Look Bigger
Tiny living may be all the rage, but a small space can make you feel claustrophobic. Making your room look bigger helps you breathe easier. The above tricks can enhance your enjoyment of your home.
Click the links below for any posts you have missed:
The Benefits of Indoor Plants In the Classroom
Moving to the Windy City: A Comprehensive Guide to Living in Chicago
5 Easy Steps to Repair a Storm Door
A Comparison of New Build Homes and Older Houses: Which One Is Right For You?
How to Create a Cohesive Theme and Color Scheme for Your Kitchen Decor with Corian Countertops
Benefits of Porcelain Tile for Exterior Use
I’d love for you to join my email list! You’ll receive a notification straight to your inbox which will include links to my latest home project posts! Simply enter your address below.
Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day/night depending on where you are in the world! Go with God and remember to be kind to one another!
Toodles,
Clutter is a space killer, I appreciate you including this in your article. Sometimes clutter can be hard to control, especially in smaller living spaces. It’s best to think about items you actually need and items that can go into short or even long term storage options. Thanks again for the post!