When you’re planning to design or redecorate a room, one of the first things to consider is the size of the space. If you’re working with a living room, bedroom or dining room that’s on the smaller end of the spectrum, you’ll be faced with some unique challenges that can make it difficult to choose the right furniture and décor.
Thankfully, we’re here to help, with a few top tips on making any small room feel more spacious.
#1: Choose Furniture Carefully
The furniture you choose—and how you arrange it—can make or break the space. Here are a handful of suggestions for choosing and arranging your furniture in a way that helps the room seem bigger:
- Opt for multipurpose furniture when possible, such as an expandable dining table, nesting side tables or a sleeper sofa, to maximize available floor space.
- Choose some furniture that’s the same color as the walls. It will help those items blend in and help expand the room.
- If you don’t have the space to comfortably fit a full-size sofa, a loveseat makes a great alternative that takes up less floor space.
- Chairs with slim or open arms tend to have a smaller profile and lighter appearance.
- Avoid blocking walkways. If you have to walk around furniture the moment you enter a room, it will instantly feel small and cramped. Arrange furniture out and away from pathways.
- The largest furniture, like bookshelves, a bed frame or an entertainment center, should be pushed against a wall to maximize open space.
#2: Leave Open Space
You can’t achieve a spacious, open look if there’s too much clutter in the room. When choosing your furniture and designing the room, make sure you leave plenty of open floor space to keep a balanced appearance and help the space seem larger. Avoid arranging your living room furniture too close together—you should leave enough space to comfortably walk between your coffee table, sofa, loveseat and/or chairs.
#3: Use Light Colors
Light, neutral hues reflect more light than dark colors, making a room feel airy and maximizing the appearance of spaciousness. Creative use of contrast—such as painting the trim a lighter color than the walls—can also trick the eye into thinking the room is larger than it really is.
#4: Size Your Rugs Correctly
One common mistake many people make is choosing a rug that’s too large for the room. While large area rugs can help the room appear bigger by drawing the eye across the space, you should keep at least 18 inches of bare floor exposed around the edge of the room to ensure it doesn’t seem crowded.
#5: Add a Mirror to Your Décor
Mirrors are one easy way to give the illusion of depth and space in a small room. Since they reflect light, they can simultaneously make the room appear brighter and larger. There’s no need to go overboard with mirrors on each wall, but a single large mirror on a main wall is a great idea.
You know the old saying: You never get a second chance to make a first impression. That’s why your entryway sets the tone for your whole house. Is your entryway dark and uninviting? A decorative entryway mirror can add style as well as bring in more natural light to the space. Here are some tips for using decorative mirrors to create a stylish entryway: