Few of us are blessed with generously proportioned rooms, but that doesn’t mean a room has to look small and poky. There are plenty of styling solutions that can accent key features in a room and make it look bigger. And we have 10 tips to help you!
- Make more of natural light
When natural light is in short supply, a room can soon look small. Dark corners and shaded areas are not good for the small room and so making the most of natural light with minimal window treatments is a must.
- Gaps and legs
If you take nothing else from this list, let it be this one. Gaps and legs are essential for helping a room feel bigger. Opting for sofas, a modern armchair and a leather footstool on legs create a sense of light and space, mainly because the light is allowed to flow through the room.
- Be ruthless when it comes to clutter
Things piled on shelves and on sideboards will draw attention to the bijou dimensions of the room. That means you need to be ruthless with clutter. Opt for furniture that offers you the storage that you need, such as a small sideboard.
- Multi-functional pieces
Multi-functional furniture in a small room is a gift because it offers more than one function in a busy home. A coffee table with storage, for example, is one option as too is a wooden blanket box that could also act as a coffee table. Some footstools have handy storage space too.
- Be reflective
We start the list with making sure natural light pours into a space and now, with reflective surfaces and mirrors, you can ramp it up! A round wall mirror opposite the window is a great move as too is a large mirror in a dark corner for capturing light.
- Don’t put furniture around the edge
The temptation with a smaller room is to make the most of floor space by placing sideboards, display units and seating around the edge of the room. Conversely, leaving a gap of a few inches between the wall and the sofa or armchair, for example, creates an illusion that the room is bigger than it actually is.
- Get savvy with style and size
A small room can mean smaller furniture, so we understand why you would opt for several armchairs over one large sofa. But did you know that one large piece can also contribute to the room feeling bigger than it is? That’s because a large sofa is less cluttered to the eye than several smaller armchairs or two-seater sofas.
- Light and neutral
Staying away from dark, dramatic colours also has a big impact on the feeling of space in a room. This doesn’t mean that white is the only option, however, as the neutral colour palette is awash with choice.
- Put the accent on height
Hang ceiling to floor curtains to create the illusion of height. Or, if you can, leave the window completely uncovered.
- Spread the light
We can’t push the point about light more! And spreading light around the room means making sure you have plenty of lights. From pendant lights to floor lamps to recycled glass table lamps, spread them evenly around the room so no matter where you stand, every portion of the room is gently lit.
Follow these tips and any small room will blossom before your eyes!