You might weep at the lack of space there is in a room in the process of decorating it. But what if I told you there are easy and affordable ways to make a small room look bigger? Well, there are a few tips and tricks to fool the eye.
These easy secrets gathered from professionals are guaranteed to leave you in awe by the difference they make in making a room look bigger, and of course, without breaking the bank. Let’s jump right in…
1. Choose lighter colors for the room
Changing the color scheme in your room holds so much power. Instead of painting a room dark, choose lighter colors – they trick the eye into seeing a room as more spacious.
Think of it the way you think of clothes. Dark colors, especially black, make people look more slimmed down. On the contrary, light colors do not. The same goes for living spaces; the lighter the color scheme you choose, the more spacious and big a room appears to be.
2. Let more natural light in
If you have dark, heavy curtains, or blinds, make sure to open them during the daytime to pour some sunlight into the room, or switch them to lighter shades altogether. The concept behind this is the same as the one behind painting your room in light colors. The lighter, the bigger a room appears. And, brighter translates to lighter.
Combine both – light paint and curtains – and watch your room transform into a much bigger space. There are even more ways to brighten up a room; add mirrors or glass objects. If you aren’t looking to spend some money, you can arrange the furniture at an angle that faces the light. This allows the furniture to reflect the light (works better if your furniture is light in color).
3. Add decorative pieces
Another eye trick to make a room look bigger is to give the eye something special and big to focus on – unfocusing on how small the room is. So, the best answer here is to add some statement pieces. Because as the name suggests, these pieces make a STATEMENT. The engagement and attraction they add will give people something to look at and won’t notice the room’s size.
#4 Declutter the room
This sure isn’t a trick and you’ve heard of it a hundred times. But, I can’t stress the difference decluttering a room makes enough. Decluttering a room will make it look a hundred times more spacious and open. You probably don’t even know how much space you have until you do it.
Not only this, but clutter makes a room feel uncomfortable to stay in and hard to walk around in. All you need to do is to scan the room very well and gather all the things you don’t need. Think of something decorative to make out of them, donate them for a good cause, or just throw them away if they’re too old or damaged.
#5 Change your furniture’s arrangement
This step is super easy, yet, incredibly effective. Changing a room’s layout alone is a makeover. Simply look at the furniture and research layouts that make a room look more spacious. There are a lot of tips from scaling down furniture putting rugs in certain areas.
#6 RUGS RUGS RUGS
Playing around with rugs – their shape, size, or color – can make or break a room. There are certain scales that make a room look more spacious. If you don’t know what size is considered small for your room, look at how the furniture is placed on the rug.
An appropriately-sized rug should allow the front feet of the big furniture pieces (couches or chairs) to be placed on it. As for the color, you know the deal! The brighter, the more spacious your room will look.
#7 Hang your curtains all the way up
The correct way to hang your curtains is to hang them up to the ceiling. This tip is very important when it comes to making a room more spacious. Yet, most people still hang their curtains right above window frames. This gives an illusion of a smaller room because the eyes naturally view the top of the curtains as the highest point in the room.
Also, make sure you choose the correct length when buying curtains. The ideal length should be all the way down to the floor – you don’t want your curtains looking like farmer pants!
#8 Add smart storage options
Clutter really does take a lot of space and makes a room uncomfortable to stay in. So, to complement the “decluttering the room tip”, you could consider smart and small storage options to get rid of the clutter, without taking a ton of space.
#9 Distribute light sources
If a room has one big light source, it means that this light source is the focal point of the room which makes it look smaller. As counterintuitive as this might seem, but big light sources take the light off the rest of the room. focusing on only one part.
The way to use lighting to your advantage is to consider recessed lighting as long as it is distributed across the room. The bulbs from recessed lighting can make a room look a lot brighter, and hence, bigger. But if recessed lighting isn’t an option budget-wise, you can still add a few lamps around.
#10 Make use of corners
To make a room feel bigger, make sure to properly utilize the corners around the room. I don’t mean every single corner of course, but find a suitable one or two to add a few decorations or storage options in.
When decorating corners, the first thing that comes to mind is shelves. Especially floating ones. Floating shelves have this way of making a room feel more open, airy, and overall put together.
#11 Stick to a color palette
I’m a big fan of adding colors to my living space, but when done excessively or incorrectly, it can flip a room 180 degrees to the worse. If the goal is to make a room look more spacious, choose a light color palette with the same undertones. If you want to add a pop of color, use accessories since they’re easier to change and play around with.