Living in a small space can feel enclosing and distressing, but actually, there are a lot of tips and tricks that help you to make small rooms look bigger. It’s important to remember that in a small space everything has to be well-thought-out and planned. But the most important thing about decorating any space is to make it comfortable and to fit your style.
Here are a couple of tips that give you some ideas how to decorate your spaces and make interiors seem more spacious than they really are.
Go for Pastel And Neutral Colors
Colors that are heavily saturated or particularly dark tend to make the room cozy, but also to look smaller, so you should steer clear of those. That means that you should likely start out by changing the color of paint in your living space if the landlord will let you or you own your home. A simple coat of white paint or a soft cream color can go a long way and won’t limit your décor.
You can also choose pastel colors like yellow, light blue, pink, mauve and green. These colors give you the best result when combining them with whites and other neutral tones. Think on pastel rugs, accessories or just pastel colored walls.
Add Mirrors
You may live in a small apartment, but using mirrors right can make it look much bigger. Mirrors make a big difference in any room and can add visual space to the area even if it doesn’t really exist. That’s because mirrors basically work to reflect more space to the eye, even if that’s just the space behind you when you look at the mirror. As a rule of thumb, more visual depth equals a room that feels larger.
Mirrors are also particularly beneficial for bathrooms, and mirrors that are unique shapes like rectangles or diamonds have the most benefit. These bathroom mirrors will make your space feel wider and taller even if you’re just decorating a very small powder room.
Opt for Stripes
One of the hardest things about designing a small room is that patterns can make your area feel smaller. Luckily, stripes can actually make space feel bigger, so they’re a top choice for designers when working with small spaces. Wallpaper, fabric for couches and chairs and even vertical striped rugs can all work wonders in a small room.
You can increase the apparent height of the room with bookcases reaching to the ceiling. Vertical lines that lead the eye from floor to ceiling make walls appear taller and grander. If you orient the stripes of the rug to go the length of the space, it makes your room appear longer and horizontal stripes make a narrow area look wider.
Those are all fantastic tips. My house is small as it is, so I will have to try a few of these.
Beautiful.. Thanks for sharing. We need this in one of our rooms.. Great tips. Going to try this spring with one of our rooms.
This is awesome!! My bedroom looks really small, and I have some great ideas now! Thank you so much!
The last two houses we lived in had mirrored closet doors to make the rooms feel bigger. I’ve never heard that striped rugs work too. Good piece of advice for our small entryway.
These are great ideas. I don’t like mirrors but I like lighter colors
What a great idea. I love how you make a small room seem bigger. that is awesome.
Mirrors are what I use to make my small apartment appear larger–it really works. Never though about using stripes–maybe I will get a runner to go over my wall to wall carpet.
This is a great post, thank you! I’m gonna try a couple of these tips around my home!
One of my favorite tips is to hang drapes from the ceiling to the floor instead of starting at the top of the window. It gives the illusion of height.
That’s a great idea, Holly! Have to note it down!
Love these tips, Ave! Rockin’ it with interior design, as usual. 🙂
These are some awesome tips. We have a large home but every single room is small – it is very frustrating.
Great tips. I have always heard mirrors do this.
These are great tips! We always try to add mirrors to make the smaller rooms look a little bigger.
This is much needed! My room is just enough for me so this helps. 🙂
I would use lighter paints too