How to Decorate a Room So It Seems Bigger

Decorating sleight-of-hand can stretch the perceived dimensions of a room. Here are some ways to help a small room live large.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Ample Light Fixtures
• Large-scale Tiles
• Light-colored Wall Paints
• Simple Window Treatment
• White Water-based Paints For Ceiling

1. Open up the room by maximizing views of the outdoors or of an adjoining, more spacious room.

2. Keep the walls light in color, as light colors recede.

3. Provide good illumination, which will enhance the sense of space.

4. Paint moldings, doors and the like in the same color as the walls. Strongly contrasting elements chop up the space.

5. Put away some of the tabletop bric-a-brac. It makes the room seem cluttered, busy and crowded.

6. Paint the ceiling white. Rooms have a greater sense of space with high ceilings, and white ceilings seem higher than darker ones.

7. Run linear flooring such as wood strips and ceramic tile on the diagonal. This creates the longest straight lines possible in the room, and the eye will follow them.

8. Use the same flooring material throughout the space to unify it and make it seem more expansive.

9. Select ceramic tile that's oversized - even in small bathrooms.

10. Use furniture that is scaled appropriately to the room. For example, an oversize sofa will eat up too much space in a small room.

11. Decorate windows simply. Besides being the wrong scale for a small room, show-stopping treatments such as billowy draperies encroach into the space of the room.

Tips & Warnings

• Floor-to-ceiling mirrors definitely increase the sense of volume in a room. Keep in mind, however, that this is a look that comes and goes in popularity.