10 Clever Design Tricks to Give the Illusion of More Space
Not all homes are blessed with the same space, whether it be throughout the entire home, or in certain rooms. We all love space; space to move about, space to put things, and space to relax without feeling cramped and in the midst of clutter. When there’s lack of space in a room, it can make it hard to arrange furniture so that the room at least appears to have more space. If you have a room that needs a little more visual square footage added to it without having to get rid of things you love to get it, then keep reading because we have ten clever design tricks you can do to give the illusion of more space.
1. Use Monochromatic Colors
Monochromatic colors have a way of making a room instantly gain visual square footage due to the nearly seamless flow of a color scheme that has virtually no break in it. When you take a neutral tone and use it to fill a room, it will make the room feel more open and spacious. From the floor to the ceiling, use slightly different hues of the same color, but to add a little diversion from the monochromatic look, you can small hints of color in other areas, like a few decor pieces placed throughout the room.
2. Use Smaller Scaled Furniture
Small rooms can quickly appear overcrowded if you have large pieces of furniture all about. Choose a smaller sofa as opposed to a large, chunky, or wraparound conch that hogs space. Smaller sitting chairs side-by-side look much more cohesive than a large, over-sized recliner, in a small room. And instead of big clunky coffee table, try using a small ottoman or small glass top coffee table with a slim leg design that opens up the area in front of the sofa. Scale your furniture to size and measure areas if you need to.
3. Use More Glass
Glass-topped furniture is a great way to add visual square footage where there is really none. You see through the glass and get the idea there is more area to the room, as opposed as thick, chunky and wooden, or other pieces of furniture. Glass top coffee tables in a small living room are popular choices, and bedroom furniture pieces with glass fronts or tops can also help visually enlarge a small room.
4. Use Mirrors to Reflect
Mirrors are a great way to add visual space to a small room. Mirrors reflect around the room and give the illusion there’s more to it than what is really there. They also add more light to a room which can instantly open up a space and make it look and feel larger. You can use one large mirror, if the room allows, or hang a few mirrors around the room. Try them in different areas to get the most dramatic effect out of each one. Apartment Therapy suggests setting a floor-length mirror behind a piece of furniture to make the piece seem purposeful as opposed to shoved in a space – it enhances the tight quarters.
5. Don’t Break-up Flooring
Flooring that flows from room-to-room in a cohesive way can give the illusion that you have a larger space than you do. If you have a small living room that sits off kitchen donning beautiful wood flooring, keep the theme going rather than breaking the flooring up into different types, for instance, wood flooring breaking into a carpeted living room. The break in flooring reminds the eyes that the space is set apart and small.
6. Layer Your Lighting
Lighting plays a big role in a room. In small rooms, having one source of lighting, the overhead light, which can also be too bright, can easily cast shadows throughout the room, on walls, the ceiling and the floor. This draws the room in, making it appear smaller. Apartment Therapy suggests, instead of one overhead light, add layers of lighting and keep lighting low to avoid shadows. Use table lamps, floor lamps, even sconces are a great addition for ambiance lighting.
7. Raise Your Curtains and Widen the Space
Curtains make rooms more homey and can add to your decor theme, but in small rooms, curtains can quickly close a room in and give the feeling of a smaller space. A trick to making the windows and entire wall feel larger is to move your curtain rod up to just below the ceiling and spread the curtains outward rather than hanging them exactly side-by-side. This adds a real dramatic effect to your windows, and to your room.
8. Use Paint to Your Room’s Advantage
Small rooms can instantly look and feel larger just by the colors you choose for the room. Most people know that light, neutral tones can make a space feel bigger, while dark colors shrink a room. Choose a light color for your walls and similar shades for your trim. If your flooring is a light color, choose a color that is similar and by painting the trim, it gives the illusion the flooring space moves on up the walls. For an even larger look and feel, take your light wall color and cover the ceiling with it. You’ll instantly give the room the illusion it is larger than it really is.
9. Use Your Storage Options
Nothing takes up more space than a bunch of un-needed clutter. Leaving things laying around that could be stored in a closet or elsewhere, quickly makes any room look and feel smaller than it should. The more open space you have to look at, the larger the space feels. If you don’t have much storage, create some. Instead of a coffee table, use an Ottoman that opens to store your comfy sofa throw, magazines, and other objects. Choose side tables that have a shelf for storing magazines or books. At Freshome you can get more ideas for storage spaces, such as, shelving above doorways for books.
10. Use Your Natural Light
Darkness creates small, closed-in spaces. The lighter, the brighter, the bigger any room is going to feel. If you have windows in your room, don’t shut the light out by hanging heavy drapes or try to keep all the natural light you have access to, out. Let the light shine in and instantly give your room a bigger look and feel. Light is one trick to adding more visual space without actually, adding it. If you don’t have access to a lot of natural light, use brighter lights, but layered lighting.
