How To Make A Small Room Look Bigger

Tips And Tricks To Make Your Small Room Look Bigger

(Including Picking The Right Paint Color, Decorating Ideas And Selecting the Correct Furniture)

Declutter Your Space

My first and best tip for you to make any room look bigger is to clear your clutter. Get rid of the junk you don’t need. Get creative with baskets and storage. I mentioned this before; throw a pretty basket under your coffee table for toys or blankets. Maximize space wherever you can.

And clean your windows. Sounds odd, I know, but everytime I clean my windows, my rooms just feel bigger and brighter. Maybe I am weird like that.

Obviously, my lamp is not plugged in at the moment. Ha!

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How To Make A Small Room Look Bigger With Paint

There are a few tricks to fool your eye into thinking your room is larger just with paint.

~Paint Colors for Small Dark Rooms

This might be a no brainer to some but the biggest trick is to paint your walls a bright color. Warm toned neutrals are best in small rooms.

There is one exception to this rule though. Do not paint a room a bright white paint color if your room does not get any natural light. White reflects natural light and if there isn’t any in your room, your room might look flat and dingy instead.

However, and with that being said, I did paint our powder bath Silver Drop by Behr on a whim one day. Silver Drop is a very light warm gray. With no natural light, the gray undertones definitely show their colors in our powder bath.

This powder bathroom is in it’s teenage stage. I don’t quite know yet what he will be when he grows up but I have been pondering this since we moved in. Stay tuned…

~Paint your walls a similar color to your furniture.

This might be a little boring to some of you color lovers. If you stick to the same tone throughout a room with your furniture and walls, your room will feel more cohesive and look more open and feel larger.

Obviously if you have a black couch, do not paint your room black. But if you have a light colored couch, paint your walls a similar tone.

How to use lighting to make a room look bigger

~Lamps are your friends

I was listening to a podcast the other day about lighting and I realized how underrated lamps are. I’m here to tell you to love your lamps….floor and table. By spreading light around your room, you can make your room feel brighter and larger. Not to mention making your room feel finished. Lamps are the jewelry to your room

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Add sconces to your walls

Utilize sconces if you can. Adding sconces to either side of your mantel can make your room feel wider.

PS…these sconces are “fake”, I put in a battery operated candles in each sconce. While it doesn’t give off the brightest light, it is just enough light and I saved lots of moolah not having to hire and electrician to come hardwire these bad boys.

(You can see more about my fireplace makeover here)

Update your ceiling lights

In all the homes we have lived in, I managed to replace all of our ceiling light fixtures. I am still working on this house room by room. Finding visually pleasing and larger light fixtures will draw your eye up making the room feel taller.

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Utilize mirrors

We’ll talk about mirrors more in a little bit but if you do not have a window on the opposite side of your mirror you can use a lamp instead. The lamp will bounce light off of the mirror making your room feel larger

How To Make A Room Feel Bigger With Mirrors.

Let’s just talk about mirrors now since it’s on my mind. This is the most popular trick for making any room feel bigger. Mirrors bounce light back into the room making it appear larger.

The key is where you place your mirror. Ideally, you should put a mirror on the opposite side of a window. You will see the reflection of the outside giving the room more depth and you will be optimizing the most light coming in from your windows.

Another trick to place a floor to ceiling mirror behind furniture making it appear as though the room extends past the wall.

Obviously, this isn’t a floor to ceiling mirror but it gives off the same effect…sort of

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How To Make A Room Feel Bigger With Rugs

Area rugs are great for many reasons. They add softness and texture to any room and will define your space.

I touched on this a few times but the biggest killer to any room design is a rug that is too small. I know rugs can be expensive and sometimes you just want to save money by getting the 5×7 rug instead of the 8×10. If the rug you love is so expensive and you can only afford the 5×7, then get the 5×7. BUT then look for an inexpensive larger rug (likely jute) that you can layer under your smaller rug

You want to make sure that front legs of most of your furniture, if possible, is on the rug. I know sometimes it’s not possible but at least make sure your couch is ON the rug. If your room is small, this shouldn’t be a problem.

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How To Make Your Room Look Bigger With Window Treatments

~Remove heavy blinds

If you have heavy blinds installed on your windows, chances are you are limiting the light coming in from your windows. The more window you can expose the better. You can always roll up your blinds during the day if you need them for privacy at night. Or opt for bamboo shades. And like I said before, clean yo’ windows!

~Hang your curtains floor to ceiling

If you do have curtains, make sure they are hung high and wide. Again, I know I sound like a broken record if you have read any of my other posts about this. Hanging your curtains high and wide will draw your eye up making your room feel taller and larger.

I did this trick in my daughter’s room and she thought I was crazy…until she saw the magic this trick can do. For a 12 year old to notice a difference, you know this trick works!

I would also recommend a lightweight curtain to not “weigh” your windows down. But if you have or need dark curtains or blackout curtains, I wouldn’t stress about it too much.

If you don’t have curtains, I would give this trick a try. I did a whole post where you can find affordable curtains here.

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A few other tricks to help you make your room feel larger

~Pick your furniture wisely

Chose furniture with exposed legs or thin profiles….but make sure your room doesn’t look too “leg-y”. I’m sure that is not a word. If your couch is low to the ground, pick a coffee table that is more on thin side. Not every piece of furniture needs to have their legs exposed or off the ground but just a few pieces will make your room feel more open.

Coffee tables with storage are great to get rid of clutter but make sure they aren’t too bulky. A glass top will make your room feel less stuffy too. I know glass coffee tables are not the #1 choice if you have kids. My newest coffee table has room for baskets below but also feels light and airy. It’s a win win for me

Ok, in my case, I just have a dough bowl on my bottom shelf until I find baskets I like. Also, the coffee table is dog approved

~Go big with your decor

Less is more…always. A few larger pieces of decor will be a better bang for your buck. Too many smaller items and your room will feel cluttered and look smaller.

Also give your space some room to breath and eyes a place to rest. Not every surface needs something on it.

~Move your furniture off the wall

Just scoot your couch 3 or 4 inches away from the wall. Go ahead, try it. This little trick will give the illusion that the wall is farther away than it actually is, therefore making your room appear bigger.