Create an ideabook for your next remodeling project!
Browse more than 1,500,000 photos from top designers and save your favorites
Mood Makers: Small Rooms, Spacious Feel
Make a small room feel more open with these decorator tricks for visually expanding the space
Color Expert, Interior Decorator, & Design Blogger (http://thedecorologist.com). The Decorologist creates spaces that nourish the eye and nurture the soul. It's about helping you define your personal style, gain confidence in your choices, and express yourself through the decoration of home. Admitting you need help is the first step!
Color Expert, Interior Decorator, & Design Blogger (http://thedecorologist.com).... More »
Many decorators like to keep their secrets to themselves — but I'm not one of them. Over the years, I've learned lots of secrets for making a space feel larger. Even the smallest room can appear more spacious if you are privy to a little empowering information. (Not all of the rooms below are tiny, by the way, but they demonstrate the principles well.)
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
The main thing to remember is that the more floor space you can see, the bigger the room will appear.
Keep areas beneath furniture free and clear to make the area feel bigger.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| This space isn't small, but it shows how keeping the flooring color the same from room to room furthers the feeling of spaciousness. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Remove your area rugs and scatter rugs. Unbroken floor space always makes a room appear larger. |
This includes bath mats in the bathroom — few things make a bathroom room appear smaller than chopping up the flooring with bath mats. There's a reason you don't see them in design magazines.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Skip the skirts on upholstered furniture. Incorporate leggy pieces and glass or Lucite tables. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Let your light shine! A well-lit room always looks larger. Let in the natural light and add lots of attractive artificial light in the form of hanging light fixtures, sconces and lamps. |
by CWB Architects
»
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Mirrored furniture and framed mirrors reflect light and space — use them to your advantage in a small room.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Install French doors, get rid of heavy window dressings and banish your sheers to make your room feel more open and spacious. |
| Tall pieces of furniture in the far corners of a room draw your eye back and make the room look bigger, especially if the furniture is light-colored, like these white armoires (click photo to see full view). |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| This interior illustrates how a warm, neutral wall color throughout an open floor plan, along with lots of different light sources, draws your eye all around the space and expands the sense of size. Tell us: How do you make your space feel larger? Share your tricks in the Comments section below. More: Small Space Trick: A Great Big Mirror Ideas for a Smaller Bathroom |
Ideabook published on May 11, 2012.
What are you working on?
News From Our Partners
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
basements · bedrooms · dining rooms · entries · family rooms · garage and sheds · halls · home offices · landscapes · laundry rooms · powder rooms · wine cellars and more.
People sitting in a living room should have accessible tables to set a drink on and not have to stand/sit/stand/sit to take a sip. Also, where do you put the remotes if a TV is in the room, or a box of tissues, lamps for reading a magazine, etc.?
I would love to see true, real life designer photos of a room that reflect how real people live, and how to arrange the furniture accordingly.
Maybe they just APPEAR large because of the tips I suggested!