There’s actually a lot you can do to make a room look bigger. It’s not magic exactly, more a judicious use of both light and furniture arrangement, with the odd good window dressing thrown here or there. Sitting in a small, cluttered room can feel confining and even suffocating. Particularly with areas like bedrooms, the more illusion you can create that improves the space, the more comfortable you’ll feel when you settle down for a sleep.
Choose Light Colours
First of all, one of the key design ideas is to use lighter colours. Do this, and you’re giving your room a head start because light hues make everything look a little more spacious. If you’ve got wall trim or mouldings, painting these an even lighter colour than your walls can enhance the effect.
Letting the Light In
If you have a small space and you’ve made the effort to paint your walls a lighter colour, then it’s time to make sure you let in the sunlight too. Even with a restricted view of the outside world you can provide more by putting in strategically placed lights around the window area. Rather than going for heavy curtains over the windows, however big or small they are, opting for something sheer and low key can give an airy feel to the room. Fuller, longer curtain designs can give a sense of height and width that tricks the eyes but make sure you stay away from bold colours that will tend to contract the space.
Mirrors
Adding a few mirrors here and there can again create the sense that your room is much bigger than you think. Obviously this is the sort of thing that has an optimum value – too many mirrors and you can suddenly start to look like a fairground attraction rather than a liveable room. If you have a small living room, then buying furniture like a glass top coffee table can add a little extra if you need it.
Take Out the Clutter
Of course, having too much stuff in your room is going to make it look smaller as well. This is sometimes the problem with living rooms where you want to fit so much in – the sofa, the table, the TV and music centre, even your desktop pc. Keep it down to a minimum and you’ll begin to get a sense of more space. Another trick is not to cover the walls with lots of pictures but keep that bright open space. Along with your sheer window coverings and perhaps a few plants strategically placed you should begin to see a significant difference.
Position Your Furniture Properly
As well as decluttering as much as possible, making sure that your furniture is placed in the right locations, including that all-important sofa, can again create a good sense of space too. It may take a little moving round here and there until you stumble on the right formula but you’ll get there eventually.
For any small room, light is the key. That’s why we always impress on our customers the benefit of dressing the window area properly. You want something simple here – elaborate designs make small rooms look overly fussy while a simple one makes for more harmony and provides a sense of continuity that makes a wall look bigger.
At Shades, we have over 60 years experience in making the most out of space. We offer free home consultations where we can offer advice, and help you find the perfect curtains, blinds or shutters to maximise your space.