7 Decorating Tips to Make a Small Space Feel Bigger
We have all at one point or another lived in a space that made us feel cramped. Such is the case with most college apartments. If you have to do something about it, but didn’t know how, I’m here to help.
Here are seven decorating tips to make a small space feel bigger:
1. Mirrors
Mirrors are the quickest way to make a small space appear more open. They reflect sunlight and give the room a brighter and lighter feel. Multiple small mirrors or one or two large ones will do the trick.
2. Light monochrome
Dark colors might make a room cozy, but also absorb light and shrink the space. Lighter colors open up the room and give it an airy feel. Choose different shades of the same color for the trim, walls and detailing to soften edges.
3. Paint or wallpaper the ceiling
The edges of the ceiling are allowed to pop. When your eyes are drawn upward, it extends the room upward, creating height in the mind’s eye. This is aa case where darker paint can be used effectively.
4. Pull furniture away from the wall
When everything is pushed up against the wall, the room looks cramped and has an almost squashed feel. Giving your furniture a little room to breathe goes a long way towards opening up the room and gives you a chance to get a little creative with your floor plan!
5. Open up those windows
Windows are an opportunity to let light into the room and give it depth. A window is free space, so use it! When you put dark shades on a window, you essentially close a wall, eliminating any chance of extending the room that direction.
6. Multipurpose furniture
Clutter closes a room up faster than anything else. Even if you do some of the other things on this list, if all that new “space” is taken up by junk and mess, your room will look smaller than ever. Enter multi-use furniture. Get your hands on ottomans that you can store blankets and pillows in, coffee tables that you can use as extra seating or storage, and other pieces that can serve more than one purpose.
7. Color code
There is some clutter that you won’t be able to make disappear. Take these things and organize them by size or color. The idea behind this tip is to take a collection of smaller items and streamline them. While it may seem counterintuitive, fewer large items are better than a lot of smaller items. A bunch of unorganized small items are clutter, but a bunch of organized small items are a display with personality.
Whatever your living situation, you could always go for a bit of space, but more often than not, we can’t quickly increase the physical size of our home. Follow these seven tips, and you will be pleasantly surprised with how much more space you manage to find in your previously tiny space.