When your home is on the tinier side or rooms are a bit petite, finding ways to make your small space appear larger is a common goal. Fortunately, there are plenty of options. If maximizing small spaces is your priority, here are our top tips on how to make a small room look larger.
7 Tips to Make a Small Space Appear Larger
1. Paint
If you want to make a small room appear larger, paint is often one of the easiest ways to go. When it comes to colors that make small rooms look bigger, lighter hues typically reflect more light and visually expand a space, so your home seems brighter and larger. Similarly, many of the colors that are trending this year, such as soft and earthy neutrals, can be excellent choices for creating a sense of space. However, that doesn’t mean darker colors can’t play a role.
In some cases, a well-chosen feature wall can actually make a room seem more expansive. Additionally, painting an entire room a dark color – including the ceiling – can create a sense of grandeur and space, especially if there isn’t much light. When the lighting in a room is lacking, dark colors disguise shadows that may shrink a room, so deeper tones could be a better choice than pastel hues in that case.
2. Flooring
If you’re trying to figure out how to make a room look bigger with flooring, several factors make an impact. For example, having the same flooring throughout a house is typically best in small homes, especially if the living areas are open concept. That reduces any sense of division, allowing one space to blend into the next a bit.
The color of your flooring can also play a role. Lighter floors often reflect more light, which can make small rooms seem bigger. However, they aren’t a requirement.
If you’re wondering, “Do dark floors make a room look smaller?” the answer is, “Not necessarily.” If the floors are the only deep-colored element, they can visually open a space up.
How you lay the flooring also matters. If you want to make a narrow room look wider, you can use long planks to create the illusion of more width. Running the flooring so that the planks align with the slimmer side can work, as well as positioning them on a diagonal.
3. Décor
The décor in your space – including everything from furnishings to throw pillows – can impact how large a room feels. When it comes to what color makes a room look bigger, don’t default to white for your décor and furnishings. Often, a range of soft neutrals or a monochromatic look can cause a home to feel bigger. Since the colors blend a bit, your eye isn’t pulled to different parts of the space as quickly, which visually expands the room.
It’s also wise to ensure that furniture pieces have exposed legs and empty space beneath them. This lengthens the look of your flooring, also creating a sense of more room. Keeping the backs of furniture lower can have a similar impact.
For artistic touches, a single large piece can actually work better than multiple small items or images clustered together. The latter approach can make an area seem cluttered, visually shrinking it. However, a single large wall art piece requires you to move your eyes to take it all in, creating a sensation of expansiveness.
4. Verticality
Vertical lines draw the eye up, making it seem like the ceiling is higher. That creates the illusion of more space in effectively any room.
One great way to add verticality that’s also one of the best home organization ideas for small spaces is floor to ceiling shelving. Taking a built-in all of the way up makes the ceiling seem higher. Plus, it gives you room for more items, allowing you to organize books, office supplies, art, and more with greater ease.
Another way to make a small room feel bigger with verticality is by raising your curtain rods and choosing curtains that fall to the floor. Again, it creates the illusion of a higher ceiling thanks to the vertical lines, making a room seem more spacious. Just make sure that the color blends well with your walls, as stark contrast may cause the space to feel smaller.
5. Scaling Down
Smaller rooms aren’t great places for oversized furniture or an excess of stuff. Instead, you want to use slim, scaled-down furnishings to ensure ample floor space and create longer sightlines. Additionally, by embracing minimalism – at least, to a degree – there’s an increased feeling of openness.
Usually, it’s best to begin with decluttering. That way, you can see how your room appears once excess belongings are removed. After that, you can consider making adjustments to the furniture. Along with choosing smaller pieces, focus on clean lines and softer colors to ensure they don’t overtake the space visually.
6. Lighting
Another must-do if you’re wondering how to make a small room feel bigger is to use lighting strategically. Dark corners, dim ceilings, and similar issues visually shrink a space. By ensuring the entire room is brighter and counter shadows, any room feels more expansive.
In most cases, you’ll want to use a combination of light sources. Along with windows, make use of slim table or floor lamps, wall-hung string lights, or similar options to illuminate darker areas.
7. Mirrors
If you want to expand a room visually, mirrors are an excellent option for making a room appear larger. Along with reflecting light, they effectively double the amount of space a person perceives when the mirror is viewable.
Just make sure you position mirrors carefully. If you can set one to reflect a window, that can be an ideal option. Similarly, allowing it to reflect a relatively open spot in the room can create the illusion of extra space. However, if it’s reflecting a cluttered shelf, it can actually make a room feel smaller.
3 Things to Avoid in Small Homes
1. Area Rugs
In many cases, area rugs divide spaces into chunks. If you’re worried about how to make a small room look bigger, rugs can take an already petite area and make it seem even smaller. Instead, go with your main flooring. That way, it runs from wall to wall, making the space appear larger.
2. Headboards
Making small bedrooms look larger can seem tricky, particularly since most bedroom furniture is fairly sizeable. However, one easy way to get started is by ditching the headboard. Often, headboards push the bed off the wall a bit extra, causing it to take up more room physically. Plus, they aren’t always the ideal shape.
Instead, try a floor-to-ceiling statement wall that can serve as a pseudo headboard. With that approach, you can use color or patterns to expand the space, creating the look for a headboard without any of the drawbacks.
3. Single-Use Furnishings
Ideally, anything you bring into a small space should perform multiple functions whenever possible. For example, you may want to skip the classic coffee table and go with a storage ottoman. By adding a tray to the top, you get a functional surface. But, if you move the tray, you have seating for guests, all while being able to stash items inside.
Tables with leaves, convertible sofas, and similar options ensure you have more versatility. Plus, they’ll help you avoid the need for more furniture pieces, ensuring bulky items aren’t making your home feel smaller.
