I too enjoyed buddyrose's transformation; it was very well done. What I admire about BR's remodel is that he didn't make extensive changes, most of it was just design style. It really shows how even modest changes can make an enormous difference.

One of the biggest differences one can make in a typical small house is light. Chopped up rooms, small windows, wallpaper or paneling - all of these can contribute to a closed-in feeling.

When I first walked into the home we now live in, my first words were, "This is THE ugliest house I have ever seen!" Really, it was terrible - architecturally undistinguished, a cottage without charm; plus the two nice old ladies who owned it had absolutely some of the worst design taste in the world.

Unlike BR we did considerable structural changes to the inside, creating the modern open plan in the LR/DR/kitchen area, then vaulting the ceiling on the main floor and putting in huge picture windows. The house remains the same footprint, but it feels so much nicer because it gets lots of daylight and the vaulted ceiling creates changes of light and shadow as the sun moves. Height, in this case, substituted for a length/width addition to still create a sense of spaciousness.

These two photos show what I mean. We vaulted the ceiling because the roof had to be redone anyway, so it was only a minor increase in costs and labor to insulate, drywall & spray-paint the vaulted part over the open plan. The remainder was left as attic storage space, although it too was insulated and drywalled.

Both photos are standing in the same place, inside the front door and looking straight out (east-facing) the back of the house. What it used to look like was this:

As we were refinishing the HW floors we found underneath the filthy dark brown shag W2W carpet, I took this shot as a comparison:

Same house, same size, same rooms; but you would never know it was the same house otherwise!

Wow, what a difference! Are you standing at the front door?

I agree that light makes a huge difference. I would have liked to knock all the walls out of ours. Our living room and kitchen is arranged just wrong and it would have looked like a one-room house.