6 tips to make your room look bigger - our favourite ways to create a feeling of space
Written by Catherine Seagrave
I think with the excess of Christmas still fresh in my mind, the need for the feeling of space in my home is high on my agenda. Christmas seems to fill every available corner with clutter (sorry, decorations!) and the addition of a huge tree in the living room means a rejig of all the furniture until I feel I’m falling over stuff, or children, or cats all of the time!
Come January I feel the need to purge the clutter, banish the tinsel and drag the huge tree back outside. Phew! It makes me realise how important space is in a room and how it makes me feel in my home. When the clutter is under control and there is a feeling of space, I feel calmer and more relaxed.
Whether your home is large or small, we can all benefit from maximising the feeling of space and making what we’ve got feel as airy and large as possible. By utilising a few of the simple tricks that we’ve picked up over the years, you too can have a spacious feeling room - even if in reality it’s not so generous on the square footage. Here are our favourite tips:
1. Use a tonal colour scheme in your room
To give the illusion of more space, try using a similar colour on the walls and the furniture. Colours from the same family are tonal, for example blues and greens, or terracottas and ochres. This helps to create a harmonious flow and blends everything together making the room feel larger. In contrast, using different colours together (for example a dark blue wall with a light cream sofa) feels more jarring. Adding different patterns and colours in a smaller space effectively divides the space up visually into even smaller sections. If you stick instead to tonal colours, the effect is more blurred, and makes the space feel more expansive.
Whether you choose to go light or dark in the room is, surprisingly, less important. Both can work in a smaller space. Light coloured paint will always make a space feel airy and light, but dark can work too, creating a cosy space where the edges are less defined. Whichever you choose, if you want to increase the feeling of space, restrict yourself to using only tonal colours.
@wherelucelives
@cb_loves_interiors_20
2. Go large on furniture, accessories and art
This may seem counterintuitive when you are trying to make your room feel bigger, but trust us, it works! Clutter is the number one enemy of space, so by reducing the amount of furniture and accessories you have and replacing them with larger items it will help it to appear less fussy. Adding a larger sofa, rather than two chairs, or a wardrobe, rather than a chest of drawers and some shelves will simplify the space and create larger blocks of colour to trick the eye. However, try to avoid anything too chunky or heavy, as it may feel too dominant.
The same applies to accessories and artwork. If the feeling of space is important to you, remember that small equals cluttered whilst large becomes a statement! A gallery wall for example is best avoided, opting for a large piece of statement art instead, to create a focal point. One large vase on your coffee table will always elevate your style over several smaller items and create a point of interest. And remember to leave some surfaces clear - less is definitely more when you want to make a room feel larger.
If you don’t know where to start, or need some inspiration, let us help you! Simply click here.
@yas.wyatt.home
@1930s_semi_charmed_life
3. Use furniture with legs
Being able to see underneath a piece of furniture gives the illusion of more space. Legs on furniture are definitely on trend right now which is great news for smaller spaces. Furniture to the floor appears more solid and blocky, whereas being able to see underneath it gives the feeling that there is more. If your sofa or bed doesn’t have legs, don’t worry. You can compensate by making sure the other furniture in the room has a more open feel. Choose a coffee table with legs, or a leggy bedside table to open up the space.
Another top tip is to use furniture you can see through. A glass coffee table or a classic Philippe Stark Ghost chair made from a clear polycarbonate stops the furniture from feeling dominant in the room, and makes it’s bulk almost disappear.
@insidesixtythree
@number43andme
@asmalltownhouse
4. Take your curtains from floor to ceiling
Curtains can really make or break a room and definitely impact on how large the space feels. Taking your curtains high up towards the ceiling and all the way down to touch the floor instantly makes your ceiling look higher, and the room more light and airy. It’s a bit like in fashion - wearing the same colour jumper, trousers and high heels will make you look taller and slimmer! The same is true for your windows!!
@stylingneutrals
@cb_loves_interiors_20
5. Get creative with mirrors
Using mirrors opens your room up and gives the illusion that the space continues beyond the wall. Mirrors bounce light around the room and the more light there is, the more spacious a room feels - so they are a double winner increasing both space and light! A large mirror is more effective than a little dainty one. For a more open feeling, try a large leaner mirror to almost double the feeling of space. Mirrored walls can look great too, especially in the alcoves beside a chimney breast, or in a small bathroom.
@homeonharbor
@foreverhome_no1
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6. Bring in the light
Light is such an important factor and will always make your room feel much larger than a dark, dingy room. In the daytime try to maximise the natural light as much as possible by pulling your curtains or blinds clear of the window. In the evenings it’s about creating layers of light from different sources. Light the corners of the room with table lamps or floor lamps to make it feel more expansive, and add an interesting pendant light to draw the eye upwards. Use light to create interest on the walls and pools of light, maybe from wall lights or an angled floor lamp. These lighter areas will give the feeling of space, opening up and pushing back the walls.
@our_bears_home
@two.men.and.a.semi
If you have any questions about updating a space in your home, get in touch! We know that designing a room can be daunting, and we’d love to help by sharing our tips and tricks with you. With our personalised help and advice, you could be transforming your room and making it feel as big as possible in no time!
