How To Make A Small Space Feel Larger

You can make even the smallest rooms feel open and inviting with the right paint colours, lighting, and décor choices. Here are some expert painting and design tips to help your home feel more spacious.

Using Monochromatic Colours To Create A Feeling Of Space

• Lighter, softer tones and neutral colour palettes make rooms feel airy and open.
• Keep contrast low between walls and ceilings—using the same shade or a lighter variation helps ceilings appear higher.
• Painting walls and trim in the same colour to create a sense of a larger, taller room.
• Different colours in every room can make a house feel cut up, while extending a harmonious or consistent colour scheme throughout the house creates a better sense of flow.
• To draw the eye through spaces -repeat patterns or accent colours from one room to the next or echo the colour into another room with accents such as throw pillows or lampshades.
• Consider wall colours that reflect what is outside the windows to visually expand your space outside.
  
  
  The lighter colouring of the walls, monochromatic colour scheme and decor of this primary bedrom make it feel light, airy and spacious.

By painting the walls and trim in the same colour it eliminates the visual break up between the two elements. To give the trim work a bit of highlight and difference it is painted with satin sheen paint, the same colour on the walls is in a lower sheen eggshell.

If the baseboards in this room were white it would create a perimeter around the room and emphasize the small floor space. By having a consistent colour on the wall and baseboard it also minimizes the fact that the ceilings are only eight feet in height.

 Furniture Placement And Scale

• If possible allow for space between your furniture and the walls to create a sense of openness. 
• Try to place furniture so that there is a spot for your eye to move along the longest distance of the room. 
• It’s better to use fewer larger well-appointed pieces of furniture, avoid too many smaller pieces. Opt for multifunctional pieces like storage ottomans, or nested tables to help reduce clutter.
• Choose sofas and other furniture with legs, open arms, or glass surfaces that let light flow through the room.
• Fabric furniture in solid colours is better in a smaller space. Create interest using textures instead of patterns. If you do use patterns keep them subdued and on a smaller scale.
• Furniture in colours closer to the wall colour gives the illusion of a bigger room, avoid high-contrast.
• Choose area rugs large enough to define the space. In some cases it might be best to skip the rug altogether so that the eye sees continuity throughout the flooring.
• If you’re designing a new kitchen or renovating take the upper kitchen cabinets right up to the ceiling to give the illusion of more height. 
  
  This bedroom far from small, but because it’s got minimal furnishings and kept uncluttered it makes it feel very airy and spacious.

How Window Coverings Affect Small Spaces

• Natural light makes a room feel larger, so let as much light in as possible. Use simple blinds or shades that fully retract, or skip coverings entirely if privacy isn’t an issue.
• Curtains can make a small room feel cramped. If used, mount rods near the ceiling and extend past the window edges to create height and width.
• Match curtain colours to the walls to keep the eye moving.
• Bonus window tip: If the outdoor view isn’t ideal, place a plant or decorative feature near the window to draw attention it.

Clear The Clutter and Let The Room Breathe

• Avoid having items competing for attention all over a room. Choose a focal point and minimize surrounding décor by selectively placing items on key surfaces like coffee tables or fireplace mantels.
• One overly large piece of artwork can give a sense of grandness to a space.
  Draw the eye up in rooms with low ceilings with vertical lines or artwork or photos arranged towards the ceilings.
• Allow small entryways, foyers or hallways to feel welcoming by using narrow console tables and keeping it light weight visually. 
• Don’t block pathways or have any areas in a room where people have to squeeze through, that creates a feeling of the space being cramped.
• As much as possible allow the eye to flow freely through a room. The further you can look into a room the bigger it will feel.