How to make your small room look Bigger
If you’re living in an apartment, townhouse, or one of those trendy tall + skinny houses, you may be feeling a little claustrophobic. When the walls start to close in on you, here are some tips you can use to make your space feel bigger:
Incorporate lots of light.
Letting in as much natural light as possible can help illuminate your room, so consider using sheer curtains and drapes. You also have to make sure you choose furniture and wall colors which won’t absorb all the light and darken the room. Try to stick with earth tones like beige and white, or at least the lighter shades of more playful colors. When possible, opt for clear vinyl or glass materials, especially with items like your end tables, lamps, and coffee table.
Your seating can also affect the amount of light in the room. Try to choose low seating with legs. This way, light can pass underneath your sofas and chairs, but high chair backs won’t get in the way of your line of sight. One great option might be this couch, or this sectional.
Use a lot of the same color.
And by the same color, we don’t literally mean make everything the exact same shade of turquoise. But if you can choose window shades and larger pieces of furniture that are at different shades of the same color, they can visually blend together well and create the impression that your room is more spacious.
As you choose colors, think beyond the room you’re currently decorating. Is there a doorway that opens to another nearby room? Try to coordinate colors with the adjacent room’s walls so the spaces look like they flow together and add to one another.
Elongate your walls and furniture.
Think tall and wide! Try to create lots of floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall, and other long lines in your room. Incorporate floor-to-ceiling cabinets or shelving units to create the look. As a bonus, you’ll get lots of extra storage space. You can also lay out a striped rug on your floor to make your room feel wider. You can even paint your trim and ceiling the same color as your walls to add a few inches to your floor-to-ceiling look.
When choosing furniture, try to find tables, buffet tables, and sofas with a lot of length. For example, this straight-backed couch adds width to a sitting room. Even take your wall art into consideration—if you have a small painting you just love, try setting it in a nice, thick frame to make its borders wider and taller. In your bathroom, hang your shower curtain from the ceiling, and use some extra chains or decorative rope to make sure the bottom of the curtain still reaches the floor.
Just be sure you don’t go overboard with your elongating… When your seating or art is pressed up against walls, it looks tight and crowded. Also, be sure you keep enough space around furniture that you have a clear pathway throughout and between rooms.
Use mirrors creatively.
Full-length mirrors or wall mirrors may not be your style, but you have to admit—the reflections do open up a room! If you don't want to use mirrors as your decor, think of other places you can incorporate them. Line the back of your shelving units or bookcases with mirrors, or use the reflective surfaces on the doors of your cabinets.
Choose multi-functional and transforming furniture.
When you’re lacking space, make your furniture work twice as hard with half the space. Pick a dining table with removable leaves, an ottoman with a lid that flips over to create a coffee table, and poufs that can be used as end tables and extra seating.
Don’t allow clutter to exist (or look like it exists).
Even if there are objects you use all the time, they can look like clutter when you have too many small things lying around in the open. Make it a habit to put things away right after you've used them, and make sure everything has a spot. You may want to invest in some decorative bins or baskets which keep these things out of sight, but still all in one convenient place. You can also buy consoles and tables with drawers and cabinets instead of open shelves.
Also, instead of buying a bunch of knick knacks to decorate your shelves and walls, just invest prettier versions of the necessities you’ll have to buy anyone. For example, get an attractive, patterned dish to hold your keys and change instead of just dropping your keys on the counter. Look for a cute wall container to hold your mail. And buy some fashionable shelves you can use to hold the spices in your kitchen.
Need help picking the perfect seating or poufs as you decorate? Visit one of our three showrooms located right here in the Bay Area, or check out our options online at mysofacreation.com.