An empty room almost ALWAYS looks smaller than it really is. People have no imaginations and let's face it, how could buyers intuitively even know if furniture will fit into a space.
Empty rooms actually look smaller than furnished ones (even we have to measure up sometimes after all these years to make sure our chosen items will fit). Carefully selected furniture gives buyers a measurement of scale to compare their items to – “my dining table is bigger than this one but I can see it will fit”.
By moving furniture out and away from walkways, you'll open up the space and make it feel larger. You can also choose short pieces of furniture like an ottoman, an armless open chair, or a low table, and place large, tall pieces along a wall rather than out in the open space.
It all boils down to creating a sense of movement. Like the leggy furniture that creates a sense of dynamism, or the mirrors that reflect light and a view back into the room, anything that causes your eye to travel around a room in an intentional and orderly fashion will make it feel larger.
It is also good to avoid large, heavy pieces of furniture. Not only do they use up too much space in a small room, but they also draw all the focus to that part of the room.
Add reflective surfaces
Yes, you know that mirrors make a space appear larger. (“It's like doubling a room,” Curtis says.) But other reflective surfaces — high-gloss painted ceilings, lacquered furniture, shiny tile on a kitchen backsplash — have a similar effect, casting light and creating the illusion of volume.
Dark colours absorb light and therefore will make a room appear smaller. Select warm, deep tones and perhaps consider painting your ceiling a darker colour to visually lower it. You can also experiment with heavy, textured fabrics in rich colours as well as bold, dramatic window treatments.
Using a wide-angle camera lens allows for wider shots that give a better sense of depth. It also makes small spaces appear bigger.
Slide 1: Too Much Furniture Makes Room Look Smaller
The fewer pieces of furniture you have cluttering your rooms, the more spacious your place will feel.
Most of the time, more bedrooms are better than fewer bigger ones, unless the rooms you are merging are particularly small or the bedrooms you are dividing are unusually big. Ultimately, it comes down to the intrinsic value placed on bedrooms and space by the potential buyers in your area.
Gray can make a room look bigger. A light gray can be a great pick in place of white; it will reflect natural light, but it looks less architectural and cool than white, which you might prefer.
Small rooms can be particularly vulnerable to uncomfortable heat waves. A smaller square footage means there's less room for airflow, so your small room may feel more like an oven than a place to rest and relax. Fortunately, there are some solutions you can turn to if you need to cool a small room.
Walkways. Plan to allow about 36″ between large furniture pieces where there is a path or walkway for ideal spacing. If there is a pathway through the room to an outside door, or to pass from room to room, this is where to allow for this. We don't all have ideal space, so for a smaller room, aim for at least 24”.
An empty room almost ALWAYS looks smaller than it really is. People have no imaginations and let's face it, how could buyers intuitively even know if furniture will fit into a space.
So yes, it IS okay to place a couch in front of a window,' says Lucy Searle, Editor in Chief of Homes & Gardens. 'However, I would always advise that it is low-slung so that there is a clear view of as much of the window as possible. It's also practical because it will make it easier to open and close the windows.
Smaller spaces generally have lower utility costs such as heating in winter and cooling in summer. It is much easier to keep a smaller space warm or cool! Another potentially lower cost of a smaller home is related to renter's insurance – if that's something you need to consider.
Kitchen. The kitchen is the hub of family activity and a high-traffic space. Therefore, it's often the most cluttered room in the home. If you've ever had to move something from one flat surface to another just to start supper, you need to rethink how much stuff you're storing in your kitchen.
Clutter: Possessions are disorganized and may accumulate around living areas. Collecting: Possessions are part of a larger set of items. Display does not impede active living areas in home. Hoarding: Possessions become unorganized piles preventing rooms from being used for their intended purpose.
A messy room can create stress and other negative emotions, leading to symptoms of anxiety and depression. Research shows that living in a chaotic environment affects our emotions, behavior, relationships, and even our eating habits.
There's a reason that the living room is the most commonly staged room: It's where everyone tends to congregate. Buyers will be looking to ensure that it's a space where they'll want to both relax and entertain. Your staging efforts should work to open up the space and let in more natural light.
If you're a seller with a tight timeline (and budget), you'll want to focus on these rooms first. The rooms buyers most closely inspect (and judge) in a house are the kitchen and master bath. These are the interior spaces where the most value can be added during a sale, so they need to look their best.
A new study from Middle Tennessee State University finds that yes, attractive real estate agents DO perform better than their less-attractive counterparts.
Baseboard moulding can be used to create a finished look to a room and also to visually enlarge the space. By using a taller baseboard moulding, you can give the impression of higher ceilings and more space. This is an easy and affordable way to add character and sophistication to a small room.