Introducing a bright colour scheme allow for light to reflect off surfaces and move more freely through the room. Well-placed mirrors can help to direct the light into all dimly lit areas. Selecting furniture that elevates and amplifies light helps to reduce shadows around pieces of furniture.
Embrace bright colors.
Big, saturated colors can bring a lot of life to a small space, although we recommend using them in smaller doses to avoid a garish, cartoon-like feel. Try adding a bright rug, some pillows, or a little colorful artwork to give a dark room new life.
Lighter paint colors like off-whites, light neutrals, pales, and pastels give the illusion of larger, brighter rooms. Here, we dive deeper into this topic with 5 specific painting techniques to make rooms look bigger, brighter, and more beautiful.
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.
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.
Cooler paint colours help walls to recede, making the room feel more spacious and light. Go for pale shades of grey and blue for maximum lightening effect. If it's warmth you're after, don't be afraid to use light terracotta or yellow paint colours – a sunny hue can brighten and warm a dark, dingy space.
If you want your room to appear larger, stay away from large opaque light fittings and dark coloured shades, which will draw in a room and take up too much space. Instead, choose light or clear materials. See through materials such as clear glass and acrylic trick the eye into thinking there's more space than there is.
Choose a light-colored rug to open up your space.
“Stick to light, cool tones as much as possible, as these will trick the eye into thinking the space is bigger than it is,” recommends Cristina.
Darker hues can work to make a room seem larger, too, even though this may seem contradictory. This is because darker colors tend to blur the edges of a space, designer Rozit Arditi explains.
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.
1) Light and dark flooring
Think cream carpets, natural and neutral toned tiles and whitewashed wood flooring. These attractive, light and neutral colours give a room an open and airy feel, making it appear larger, whilst also drawing in the natural sunlight from outside.
A light-colored flooring such as light oak or a light-colored carpet will make the room appear brighter and more open. The same applies to the ceiling—use a light color or white to "open up" the space above.
Lighter colors such as whites, creams, and light grays can help a room feel more open and spacious. Darker colors tend to make a room feel smaller and more enclosed.
Light-colored furniture can help a small room feel bigger and more airy because it doesn't stand out in the way that dark furniture does. It brings more light into the space. But furniture in light tones may not work as well in a large room, because the space may feel too open.
Light Colors
As such, most people using paint to make the room feel bigger opt for brighter colors that will reflect light. White works well, but you could also use colors like beige, grey, or pastels like yellow or blush. Consider these popular options: 0021 Barely White, a cool off-white hue.
art with more lively and vibrant colors can be energizing and appropriate for common areas like the living and dining room. for bedrooms, try looking for soothing abstracts or calming landscapes in soft neutral tones. This helps to make the bedroom a restorative space which will help you recharge.
People who saw more than five lux of light at night were much more likely to develop symptoms of depression than those who slept in a completely dark room.