Lighter paint colours will reflect the natural light and make the room feel larger. Darker colours on the other hand, will make the space seem cosier and more intimate. If you're after a more spacious feeling, opting for a light and neutral colour palette will be more effective. Think pale greys, creams and whites.
Stripes can work wonders!
Thin stripes give the appearance of stretching, vertical stripes will make a room appear taller and horizontal stripes will make a room look wider. Consider applying striped wallpaper to not only create an illusion of more space but to create a simplistic feature wall.
A room isn't small just because of a lack of square footage. In fact, a room can feel smaller than it actually is due to trivial décor mistakes like boxy furniture, light paint colors, and inconsistent flooring.
There are several ways to make a small bedroom look bigger, including using light-colored paint, adding mirrors and lighting, minimizing clutter, and choosing furniture that is appropriately scaled for the space.
It is important to consider the right paint finishes when choosing colors to make a small room look bigger as Helen Shaw, director of Benjamin Moore highlights. 'Lighter paint colors like off-whites, light neutrals, pales, and pastels give the illusion of larger, brighter rooms.
Lighter colors tend to make walls appear farther away, and ceilings appear higher. Therefore, lighter-colored bedding, such as white or light neutrals, can make a bedroom look bigger,' says Julio Arco, interior designer of Bark and Chase.
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 almost always appear smaller than they really are because without furniture … it has no frame of reference.
Wide Planks
Selecting wide floor planks is one of the easiest and most effective ways to make a room look bigger. Instead of thin strips, go for boards at least seven inches wide. Longer planks (four or more feet in length) can help as well.
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”.
Horizontal stripes/lines make the room feel wider, while vertical lines can make the space seem longer/taller. Accent pieces such as striped rugs can also help make spaces feel bigger.
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.
Focus on the statement pieces.
A dark wood bed frame; a gorgeous gilded dresser; a velvet arm chair—each bedroom has its own centerpiece, but make sure it's the room's focus. Don't clutter the room with too much furniture, instead letting each piece stand on its own.
Environment and Mental Health
Licensed Doctor of Psychology, Aniko Dunn, explains: “Crowded spaces make our minds crowded. Studies show that stress affects your mood and may cause you to feel anxious and depressed. Keeping your interior clean and orderly supports emotional well-being and balance.”
'To make an existing room appear bigger is a challenge that is usually achieved by the use of reflective items, such as mirrors, openings, windows where applicable, but accent walls painted in a tone much darker than the rest of the room also works to make a room feel bigger,' he says.
Contrast is one of the core rules of any style or decor, so the easiest way to match furniture and floors is to go with dark furniture on light floors or light furniture on dark floors.
The best flooring for resale value: The ROI on wood floors
They're durable, versatile, and most buyers love them. According to real estate experts, the average ROI for installing hardwood floors is about 70% to 80%, and wood floors can boost the sales price of your home as much as 2.5%.
When it comes down to finding the best flooring to increase home value, it all boils down to your market. Hardwood will likely give you the highest return, but laminate and luxury vinyl plank flooring also offer plenty of perks to buyers.
As Brianna Untener has commented above, couches that are raised off the ground can actually help a room feel bigger by creating more space. Interior designer, Jeanette Fusco, also supports this and says, 'a couch with legs or a raised base can create the illusion of more floor 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.
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.
A low bed frame can be a great choice in a number of situations. It can make a small room feel bigger than it really is, leaving maximum open space above the bed. A design without a footboard is preferable although you can still opt for a high headboard since this is against a wall.