How to Make a Room Look Bigger With Doors

Doors with window panes can make a space feel larger.

Doors may seem to be a permanent element in your rooms that you have to live with. But there are many ways you can alter the doors to make your room look bigger.

Things You'll Need

• Mirrors
• Different kinds of doors
• Paint

Instructions

1. Paint doors and moldings the same color as the walls of your room. This minimizes the breaks in the wall instead of emphasizing them. The eye is stopped less, so the walls seem larger.

2. Mirror your doors. You can either hang full-length mirrors on the doors or attach squares of mirror in a windowpane-like design. Mirrors reflect light back into the room. They also give an illusion of depth, which makes the room seem bigger. Make sure that the mirrors reflect something attractive, such as a window, a wall or a piece of art, and not a pile of dirty laundry.

3. Replace solid doors with windowed doors. These might be single or double doors, with clear, frosted or stained glass in large panels or many small panes. Because windows allow light to come in from outside the room, they enlarge your perception of the room to include the surrounding area, which makes the room seem bigger. With clear glass, you can actually see beyond the room, and the longer views enhance the feeling of space.

4. Replace regular doors with pocket doors, which slide into the wall and disappear, leaving a large opening. Or choose sliders, which slide open and rest against the wall, rather than swinging open and shut. Because no space is needed for the open door, the room looks cleaner and neater and feels larger.

References

• What Do You Say to a Naked Room?; Catherine C. Crane
• The Apartment Book; Carol Spier