Even the smallest of rooms can be made to appear larger by using the power of illusion. The best news is that this power can be captured without a huge outlay of cash. By using specific combinations of color and light and making wise decorating choices, your suddenly spacious room will feel warmer, welcoming and not at all confined.
Photo via FreshHome.com
1. Create the Illusion of Space with Color
Use light colors to open up the space. Pastel shades of green or blue also provide a calming effect. For more warmth, try subtle shades of peach or vanilla. If you paint the ceiling a lighter color than the walls, the room will appear higher. White is too stark, try a softer shade of the wall color. Another trick is to paint the door and trim a lighter shade than the walls. This tricks the eye, via the brain, into thinking the walls sit farther back. Picking bold, bright contrasting pillows or other room accessories will make your space feel even more inviting.
Photo via CentralArchitecture.com
2. Let There Be More Light
If your room is blessed with windows, make the most of them. Keep the shades up and the curtains drawn to let in as much natural light as possible. If the architecture and the budget allows, consider putting in a picture window or even sliding glass doors. Bringing the outdoors in not only makes the room seem larger, it has a positive psychological effect as wekk. If you have smaller windows, think about putting in ambient lighting. This is a type of subtle lighting often produced by LED strips behind TV’s and other furnishings. It is designed to deliver diffused light over a wider area, with no apparent source. The illusion, especially used with light colored walls, makes the room feel larger.
Photo via Blog.ComFree.com
3. Mirrors Add Depth and Class
Mirrors are another way to take advantage of both artificial and natural light. They are especially effective in making small bathrooms appear more spacious. Besides, putting a full length mirror on the back of the bathroom door or an available wall gives you a handy alternative to using the typically smaller bathroom mirror. In the living room, covering an entire wall with mirrored squares will add depth, as will using glass-topped furniture. Walk-in closets in bedrooms are great targets for that space-enhancing floor-to-ceiling mirror. Putting your mirror opposite a large window or sliding glass door helps reflect natural light, increasing the effect.
Photo via A8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net
4. Downsize the Furniture
Putting massive pieces of furniture in a small space not only makes it hard to get around, it actually makes that space seem even smaller. Put the larger furnishings along the walls, keeping the floor in the middle open. Try and find pieces that serve a dual purpose. Coffee tables often have hidden compartments and some beds have drawers under the frame. Use nesting or folding tables, or have a dining table that uses extensions (sometimes referred to as a leaf). If you aren’t expecting company the extra sections can be left in the closet. Look at the height of your furniture. If a piece is too tall, it may seem like the ceiling is shorter than it really is. Another trick to fool the eye is to place corner pieces at an angle, drawing the eye to the width of the piece rather than the corner. Having some pieces the same color as the walls also fools the eye. There is less of a contrast between the color of the wall and that of the piece, creating the illusion of more space.
via Shelya Langley
5. Get a Handle on Clutter
If you don’t use it, lose it. A cluttered room feels cramped and in some cases downright uncomfortable. Make the most of dual use furniture, cabinets and shelves to keep your treasures neat and tidy. A wall with too many pictures also looks smaller. If those pictures are also poorly placed or ill-matched, that wall becomes another source of clutter. Pick one wall to be your center of attention, use one large picture or a small grouping and leave plenty of open space. Keep the floor clear of your belongings. The worst thing you can do in a small space is leave one tiny pathway to navigate from one end of that space to another. Put in a small throw rug or two, keep the room swept or vacuumed and enjoy your newly created personal space.
Which strategy are you going to try first?
Feature Image via Becauseitsawesome.blogspot.com.
