Decorating Guides
Mood Makers: Small Rooms, Spacious Feel
Make a small room feel more open with these decorator tricks for visually expanding the space
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.)
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.
This space isn't small, but it shows how keeping the flooring color the same from room to room furthers the feeling of spaciousness.
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.
Skip the skirts on upholstered furniture. Incorporate leggy pieces and glass or Lucite tables.
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.
Mirrored furniture and framed mirrors reflect light and space — use them to your advantage in a small room.
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).
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
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
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