If you live in a small apartment or a compact house, fitting everything in is not easy.
We understand how frustrating it can become to style and decorate a small space without making it look cluttered. But here’s the good news.You don’t need a complete makeover to make your home feel airy and roomy. With these 7 easy designer tricks, you can instantly create the illusion of a bigger space
Clear Out the Clutter
Having too much stuff is the easiest receipt for visual and mental clutter. So it’s no surprise that too many things will make your space look even smaller.
Minimising clutter and storing items away is an easy trick to make your room look more spacious.
Built-in cupboards and ottoman beds are a great hidden storage solution, and they will help you keep your space tidy at all times. Unlike divan beds, ottoman beds use the whole area underneath the sleeping surface, and given the volume of space available, you can store pretty much anything in an ottoman.
If you have children, a small ottoman bed can work well to store away toys and keep out of sight all those extra clothes, blankets, and cushions.
Combining sleeping and storage in just one innovative furniture piece will save you mountains of space, and with an ottoman bed, it can’t get any easier…
Choose Soft and Light Hues
The colour palette you use for your home has a significant impact on the overall idea of space.
Whereas dark and warm colours can be very pleasing, to make a space feel bright and airy, cool colours will be a better choice.
For an optimum effect, think of a colour scheme that’s light and neutral to expand your space. Choose off-white colours, light grey, dusty blue, and sage green.
Remember that brighter rooms will always feel bigger and unified colours will visually expand a small space.
Another simple trick is to paint your mouldings in an even lighter colour than your walls and try to keep the walls and ceiling in the same colour to create the idea of continuity. Always keep your ceiling colour light in a small space as this will raise the room’s apparent height and make it feel taller.
Add Reflective Surfaces
Another easy solution for a space-expanding effect is to use reflective surfaces.
From high-gloss paint to glass décor and mirrors, these are great ways to encourage the light to travel around your space and make it look bigger.
Mirrors are standard décor pieces, and they are often used to increase the sense of space and light in a room. They come in various shapes and sizes, so it’s easy to find a mirror suitable for your style.
Hang it on a large wall, above a fireplace, or as the first thing you see when you enter a room. This will act as an optical illusion and make a room look more spacious.
See-through furniture, glass doors, and glossy cabinets also do a great job in tricking the eye into thinking there is more room than there actually is.
Let the Light In
Suitable lighting can work miracles if you are looking to increase the feeling of space.
A well-lit room will always look more prominent, so it is essential to think about your lighting sources. For the best effect, natural light and artificial light sources should work hand in hand.
Get rid of heavy draperies and opt for light sheers that will open up the windows and allow as much natural light in as possible. Try to keep them in the same colour as your walls. To give the illusion of a taller room, hang your curtains high to allow the eyes to travel upwards.
Use track lighting or recessed lighting instead of heavy pendants or chandeliers. Recessed lighting offers a clean, streamlined look in a home and opens up spaces so they look and feel bigger.
In the battle of space, darkness is your biggest enemy. For small areas, it is also advised to go for multiple light sources that can be assigned in such a way to illuminate the whole space, leaving no dark corners.
Install Floating Furniture
When it comes to furniture choice for a small space, floating furniture is another unique trick. Placing your furniture off the floor and in the air will save you valuable floor space and make your room look bigger.
Pick floating cabinets for storage, a cool floating desk, or floating bedside tables as an unfussy zen addition to your space that will also look stylish and contemporary.
Raised on legs furniture is another solution that will help you open up your space and allow the light to travel around the room.
Use Negative Space
Negative space is equally important in a home as positive space. The negative space is simply an empty space that will give your eyes a place to rest and your room an airy look.
Take a moment to stop and look at your room. Is there a visual balance between the positive and negative space in your interior? Is your furniture surrounded by open space, or is it just pushed against the wall and linked together?
Design is all about balance, and the use of equal negative space as a balance in a composition is considered a good design practice. This will, in turn, help make a room look more prominent, and it will increase the appeal of a composition.
Choose a Low-Foot End Bed
When you have a small space to work with, you need to pay extra care when choosing your centerpiece. In your sleeping nest, your bed will be a room’s focal point most of the time, so you need to select this carefully.
If you have a small bedroom, your best choice will be a low-foot end bed as this will enhance the feeling of space and create an open effect.
Furniture that can be folded or stacked away is your best friend in a tiny space. Therefore, a trundle bed or a day bed can also be a great space-saving solution as they leave a smaller footprint.
Day Bed with Trundle
You can still opt for a big bed if that’s your wish as the myth that small rooms can only take small furniture pieces is not necessarily true.
Final Thoughts …
Creating the idea of space is not a job reserved only for designers. With these simple tricks, you can also achieve the same effect and make your room instantly look and feel bigger.
Author Bio: Daniela Ganea is a passionate Interior Designer and Content Writer for the Home Furnishing Industry. With a PR background, she combines her higher education with her passion for interiors by helping people with Interior Design and Styling tips for a happier home.
