If most of us had one “home” wish, it would be to have more space. But for most of us, that’s not a realistic option. Even if it were possible, adding anything more to your home tends to be quite expensive. However, if you want your room to at least feel larger, there are some tricks you can use. It’s an optical illusion so to speak 🙂 I really can’t believe I haven’t written this article yet. So here are all the tips and tricks you can use to make your space feel larger and more balanced.
Appropriate wall tone (based on the room’s natural light)
The amount of natural light in your room is very important to the paint tone you use for your wall paint color. The general idea is to paint small, dim light colors to make them feel larger and brighter. Let me explain why it’s not necessarily the best choice.
Take a look at Emily’s farmhouse family room. It’s one of her favorite rooms, but it didn’t start out that way. She initially chose that tan color, which was pretty but not right. This room doesn’t have a lot of natural light, but that’s intentional since it’s the TV room. As a result, the taupe looked a little dry. As you can see, Emily knew she needed to change it up and chose that rich, beautiful blue/teal. When you are in the room, it feels cozy and spacious at the same time.
This is Emily’s old family and playroom in Los Angeles. For those of you who are here for the first time, let me explain. Em really wanted the room to feel cozy. And as most of you know, she’s the biggest fan of blue… so she initially chose a really pretty blue for the room. However, there was too much light coming from the front windows and other parts of the house. So she wanted a cozy space, but it completely separated the space from the rest of the house, making it feel small in a not-so-nice way, and it didn’t turn out the way she wanted because it let in so much light. She pulled herself together and chose happy white (and a cool mural) and viola! A bright and happy room that feels very spacious and blends better with other adjacent rooms 🙂
Rule of thumb:
– Less natural light = darker paint color
– More natural light = brighter paint colors
don’t crowd the walls
Especially if you live in a tiny house, the idea of giving up even an inch of floor space can seem far-fetched. But believe me, if you give your walls some breathing space, the entire space will feel much larger.
This was my last studio apartment and I loved it. But space was an issue, as the lot was less than 400 square feet. I was tempted to cram a lot of furniture in there (maybe even a desk?), but instead I decided to give the furniture I had chosen some rest. Notice that the sofa is not pushed completely against the wall, and that the side table is not flush against the sofa or wall. Everything feels arranged rather than crammed together. This will inevitably make the room feel larger.
Not everyone lives in a tiny studio, so here’s Caitlin’s incredible living room from last year. Her living room obviously can/needs more furniture than my old living room, but the principles are still the same. None of the furniture is pushed against the walls and there is plenty of passageway between all pieces of furniture. It’s cozy, calm and purposeful, but not crowded.
I wanted to zoom in on her bar cabinet You can see that there is a little space from the wall in this piece as well 🙂 All the pieces breathe, creating the illusion of more space.
Rule of thumb:
– Do not push furniture against walls.
– Create walkways between furniture.
Choose the right furniture scale
Sorry, I haven’t finished cleaning my room yet 🙂 But the reason is that your girlfriend (me) only lives in a small space and I feel very passionate about this advice.
Don’t automatically choose the smallest size furniture for a small space. It may seem counterintuitive, but choosing “regular-sized” furniture usually makes a space feel intentionally truncated. Of course there is a balance, right? for current living room sofaI chose the size 84 inches. There was also a 72 inch one, but it felt too small. Would those 12 inches give me more “space”? Yes. But not in a good way. If I had chosen a larger section, it would obviously have looked like this too much many. This advice is also what Nate Berkus said in a video I watched a few years ago, so if you don’t believe me, believe Nate.
My desk area is an example. I could have chosen an average-sized rectangular desk, but instead I wanted to fill the space better, so I chose a very long desk. Imagine you have a small desk in the corner. It would have looked smaller and the space would have looked less intentional and smaller.
A final example is Caitlin’s basement/office. First of all, do you see how much better this dimly lit room looks when painted dark??That’s right. But what I want to talk about here is the scale of furniture. In the “progress” photos, the scale of the furniture is not balanced. But the new version has larger prefabricated and flush mounts and smaller wall cabinets, so everything feels more open and larger.
Rule of thumb:
– Buy regular-sized furniture, even if you have a small space.
– Don’t be afraid to go a little bigger in general.
hang curtains higher
This may be well known, but it’s very important so don’t include it.
Because I don’t have any examples of us getting this wrong, haha. Here are some graphics I made for my bedroom. It’s obvious that the room feels larger, right?
This is what it looked like before I installed the rod in the bedroom. I understand wanting to show off the molding, but ultimately making the room feel taller and larger was a higher priority for me.
If you’re looking for a really solid guide on what to do (and what not to do), this super helpful diagram comes from the famous “Hanging Curtains Are All Wrong” post.
And here it is! exposure! The curtains looked fine on the window molding, but they are simply better on top and make the room feel so much bigger…which is exactly what I wanted 🙂
Rule of thumb:
– Hang the curtain rod 2/3 of the way from the top of the window.
larger rug
Let’s continue talking about scale, because lag scale is very important.
Do you have the time and place for a small rug? Of course, but only if it’s really intentional. Otherwise, make it bigger! We have an article about the right rug size for each room here, but the most important advice is to not skimp on size. Please use the family room at River House. almost all cross section It’s on the rug, which we love. imagine rug If it’s smaller than that, it won’t look right. Honestly, I could have gone even bigger if I wanted. Choosing a large enough main decorative item will also make the room feel larger. However, rugs still require space away from walls. Otherwise it will look like a strange carpet from wall to wall.
Please see here. Instead of a sofa, Brady chose a rug that matched the room. I think it was mainly to clear up the entrance to the dining corner/kitchen. Each room has unique needs, so be sure to take measurements to see where it will fit in your space.
A final rug example is from Mallory’s living room. Even though she lives in a not-so-large apartment, she still made sure the rug was large enough so that it didn’t cover the entire wall. This makes the space feel larger!
Rule of thumb:
– Choose a larger size (even if you have to wait a little to save money).
– Please be sure to measure before purchasing.
bigger scale art
This is the last scale lecture, I promise 🙂
Large-scale art doesn’t just mean one gigantic piece of art on a wall, like the two really great pieces above in Em’s best friend’s living room. But since we’re starting with this room, let’s talk about them. Large pieces of art can help relax and focus the eye, depending on the design. It creates a sense of solidity and makes the room feel spacious and grand. I know oversized pieces like this are usually quite expensive, but if you can find one within your budget, go ahead and buy it.
But it’s not just about one big piece. You can also have a gallery of your work like I did in my previous apartment. The trick to creating a gallery wall that makes a room feel larger is simply by going bigger. We went from floor to ceiling and made sure we had a large “anchor piece” and then built around that. Here’s the entire post for a no-fail guide to creating your own gallery wall. The whole thing should have a visual impact, and no part should be too small.
And here’s a less intense version of a single art piece that’s perfectly sized for a wall. I think a lot of people put smaller sized pieces, but it goes against the balance/scale of the room (this is what makes the room look and feel larger :)).
Rule of thumb:
– Go big or go home 🙂
– Avoid “fancy” art, which ultimately makes the room look smaller and cluttered.
mirror
This may be self-explanatory, but mirrors not only create the visual illusion that there’s more “room” in a room, but they also tend to reflect light and make a space feel brighter, making it feel larger.
It’s a super easy hack that works as a large-scale piece of art. It’s win-win-win.
Tidying up
All of our professionally photographed rooms are intentionally organized, so you won’t find this photo:) This doesn’t mean being a minimalist, it just means that everything you own should have a place. All furniture and decorations can breathe visually. When you enter the house, you should enter the room and calm down, right? Caitlin has written a great article on how to declutter. Just in case you need some tips. I mean, who wouldn’t?
I leave you with the hope that you’ll feel inspired to make some changes, if that’s what you’ve been looking for 🙂 Of course, not everyone wants their home to feel spacious, but if you do, these tips will help you at least a little bit.
I love you, it’s true.
Opening image credit: Design by Mallory Wackerman |Photo credit sarah ligoria trump |Source: MOTO REVEAL: How Mallory transformed a boring living room into a homely atmosphere in just one month
Source: Emily Henderson – stylebyemilyhenderson.com
