How to Make a Small Space Look Bigger | Design Tips
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Living in small spaces doesn’t have to be as hard as you might think. Today I want to share with you some interior design ideas and design tips & tricks that you can use in your space to make it look and feel larger.
I know a lot of us live in small spaces, small apartments, or tiny homes but with the right designing, you can trick the eye into perceiving a bigger space.
I know it is overwhelming decorating and designing a space as there is just a lot to think about. But if you keep these design tips and ideas in mind you will end up with a beautiful open bright looking space.
Find Balance in Furniture Choices
When picking new furniture for your space you need to consider the scale of your furniture and your room. They need to go hand in hand.
Avoid “small space” furniture DON’T FALL FOR IT. When it comes to furniture and décor for your small space, don’t think just because your space is small you need small-scale pieces. Sometimes getting too many small pieces makes your space look cluttered and overcrowded.
Any furniture that is designated for small spaces is not only super uncomfortable but also going to make your small space look even much smaller.
Instead, work with large and small pieces. Doing a mix of large and small items is going to work to your advantage.
On that note, one of the key design tips when buying big furniture is to avoid pieces that are overwhelmingly large, as these will weigh down your space. So stay away from the big chunky furniture sets and go for something that is a little bit smaller and more to scale to your room.
I think you can have full-sized pieces as long as you mix them with smaller scale pieces. As long as you do a good mix your space will look balanced.
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Furniture Placement
Another important thing to consider is your furniture placement.
When you are placing furniture in your place, try and keep it off the walls. A lot of people like to press their furniture up against the walls and allow more space in the middle but it actually makes the room feel cramped.
Sometimes it is actually hard to make a space look nice when things are up against walls. It doesn’t feel like anything is working together. Instead bring the furniture off the walls and place it in the middle of the room and style it nicely your room will look much larger.
When you bring things off the wall you can design a space cohesively and tie little things together. When things are too far apart and pressed in different directions you can’t see the overall picture.
If you don’t have enough space to bring your furniture off the wall you can start out by angling some of your furniture pieces. This works well with side chairs and reading nooks. Angling your furniture pieces in a corner and allowing things to be a different shape than the room kind of tricks your eye into thinking the room is larger.
Multi-Functional Furniture
I think the key and clever way to make the most of your small space is having multifunctional pieces.
If you are working with a really small space, consider some multi-functional furniture pieces. You will have less furniture pieces in your space but you will be able to do multiple things with them.
That could be a console table that doubles as a work space, a couch that doubles as a pull out bed, or furniture that doubles as storage, maybe a storage bench or a bed that has storage underneath.
It is a great idea to take advantage of those larger items and use them to their maximum potential. And there are so many furniture pieces you can use to hide clutter.
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Glass/Acrylic Furniture
Another thing you can think of when shopping for furniture for a small space is getting some see through furniture pieces.
This could be glass tables, acrylic units, or just anything you can see through will make your space look much larger.
Furniture with Long Legs
One of my final design tips on furniture is to choose furniture with long legs for a more spacious look.
I know there is a lot of furniture out there that sits right on the floor and that’s good in some situations but if you are looking to gain more space in you space, get furniture that is off the ground and has nice tapered legs.
They will allow you to see your floor space, it brings your furniture up a bit which puts your eye up.
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Go big with Area Rugs
Let’s talk about rugs.
A rug is something that should be big and anchoring your space. When you get a rug that is too small for your room it makes the whole room feel small.
Get a large area rug that takes up most of your floor space anchor your furniture on it. you will end up with a larger look.
A larger area rug will spread the pattern out across the floor, brighten up your floor space, and make your space look bigger.
***A lot of people make the mistake of having a rug that is too small and it ends up looking like it is kind of in a room that’s too big. Instead of getting a new rug to replace that, you can layer a larger rug underneath. That way you can keep your rug and add another one to the space. This makes everything come together feel more open ***
Doubling Space with Mirrors
Here’s one of the most well-known design tips that works every time. This is one of the easiest thing you can do to make your space look bigger and that is adding mirrors.
A very effective way of tricking the eye into thinking you have double the amount of space is using large-scale mirrors. Floor mirrors, wall-to-wall mirrors, floor-to-ceiling mirrors, large mirrors will trick will do the trick.
If you have a tiny entry way adding a large mirror will drastically change the look of that space and make it feel so much larger. And the same thing goes for expanding any kind of living space.
If you have a room that has windows on one side, add mirrors on the opposite side to bounce light around the room.
The room will look like it has more mirrors, it will add width and lengthen any room by bouncing light from one wall to another. It will double your views as well and make your space feel a little bit more balanced.
***If you’re struggling to find wall art, maybe opt for a large-scale mirror. It is going to do more for your space than you expect.***
Curtain Rod Height
When it comes to hanging curtains, try hanging the curtain rod as close as you can to the ceiling.
This draws your eye up and make the walls appear taller and expand the look of your window.
People make the mistake of hanging the curtain rod at the same level as the edge of the window and it just compresses everything in and makes everything look really small.
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Hiding Clutter with Decor
Another one of the design tips to make your space feel larger is to choose décor that helps hide clutter. I always think that an organized small space will always look and feel bigger than a cluttered small space.
Just like furniture that has storage units incorporated into it, décor that hides clutter opens up the look of a space so that there is less around and everything is hidden.
***I like using baskets because I can keep all things out the way I want and they are hidden away behind baskets that look decorative and organized.***
Find space in small decorative pieces like baskets, trays, trunks, and boxes and all your clutter in there this will clean up the look of your space.
Mount Your TV
Another one of the easy design tips you can try, if you haven’t already, is to mount your TV. such a simple thing but it makes such a big difference.
It clears the amount of space in your room, draws your eyes up to the TV, and allows more space underneath that. Instead of having a large TV console, or a large media unit, you can get rid of that and mount the TV on the wall to clear up some space.
Let in the Light
Another one of my design tips is to bring as much light into your space as possible. If you can introduce natural light that’s definitely the best.
Lighting up your room will work wonders, whether lit by natural light or artificial lighting I think any room will look larger if it is well lit.
Make sure your windows are open and bright. Let the drapes clear the entire window from side to side to let in light. If you don’t have a ton of natural lighting in to your space, make sure you add other types of lighting.
You can add floor lamps, side lamps, chandeliers just anything that will add extra warmth and glow to your space.
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Paint and Wallpaper
One thing I think a lot of people forget about is their paint finish and what that can do to a small space.
If you have any small spaces around your home that just feel a little bit closed in, just changing that paint finish will make a huge difference.
One thing that you can do with paint that is a little untraditional, is painting the exact same color from your baseboards to your crown moldings. This will expand the look of your wall and make your walls look extremely long and accentuate the height of your ceiling.
painting all the details a bold color will really lengthen that wall. You can extend this further and go as far as painting your door and the trim around the door the same color as the wall.
This works especially if you use a bold color palette. You will have an extremely seamless space. It is definitely bold but it makes a huge difference in a small space and a very high end stunning thing to do.
***I think it’s such a great design move you can make this year.***
If you don’t want to do any painting but you are thinking of using wallpaper, consider using a wallpaper that has a large scale pattern on it.
Small patterns look cluttered and a little hectic. Choosing a large bold pattern really opens up the space.
Accentuate Your Vertical Space
No matter what size your space, I think you should always do one thing that is going to accentuate the height of your space.
If you can’t create more floor space, create the look of extra height in your space.
It is going to bring the eye up, make the space feel larger, and you can do this in many ways. You can add large plants to the space, this brings life & color and gives you more to look at.
So, plants and trees with height are a great place to start.
You can also do wall-mounted sconces with long arms, they are going to add light, functionality, and create a very striking design element.
Also, you can do this with wall art. If you have a small space, don’t get small artwork, go bigger. Go bigger with your gallery walls, go bigger with your wall art size. It’s just going to make your space look larger, instantly.
***Always play with height it is such an easy thing that makes a big difference in small spaces.***
At the end of the just remember LESS IS MORE.
The more stuff you fill your house with, the smaller it is going to feel. When you incorporate too much in your space it tends to overwhelm the room. Instead stick with one or two of your favorites pieces and allow them to pop.