The greater the distance between the top of the sofa and the ceiling, the taller and larger your room will feel. Along the same lines, think leggy and light. A sofa with visible feet will slim down a space more than a skirted sectional.
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. '
In general, light, bright colours help to reflect ambient light and make a room feel bigger. Dark colours tend to absorb light and so can make a space feel smaller than it is, especially if they're used in abundance.
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.
Keep your furniture refined
To make a small living room look bigger, you need to remove visually heavy furniture which will drain the light from your living room, and chunky pieces that are simply too big.
'A big couch in a small room can create an intimate and cozy space, and it can also help maximize seating options,' says interior designer Marie Flanigan. 'You should always keep scale in mind when selecting sofas for certain spaces.
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.
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.
Grey – The Most Popular Of All Sofa Colors
It's a neutral tone, which means it creates a great foundation for a space. You can add color to a grey sofa using toss pillows, throw blankets, and area rugs.
Consider the two thirds rule
A sofa that's the full length of the wall in front of which it is positioned could prove overbearing in a room scheme. But it's also the case that a sofa can look too small. One approach to getting the right proportions is to aim for a sofa that's about two-thirds of the wall length.
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.
You're always better off looking for a sofa with a low back to give the illusion of more space. It doesn't mean the back cushion can't be plush and comfortable, but just avoid tall puffy sofas that swallow the room whole.
Light-toned sofas can create the brighter mood that many inviting living room and social area setups possess. Dark sofas, on the other hand, create a warm, luxurious, and dramatic mood that is more classically inclined. A sofa with a deeper tone is an excellent statement piece if you want something that stands out.
Choosing lighter coloured flooring to compliment your furniture can expand the perceived size of any room and can open the space right up. Think cream carpets, natural and neutral toned tiles and whitewashed wood flooring.
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%.
Mouldings and other floor accessories can make the floor look expensive with an inexpensive price tag, which is a great option to achieve a “luxurious” look and atmosphere without spending a fortune.
'Contrary to traditional thinking, dark paint allows the room to appear larger and taller than it may be. Dark colors add depth, visually enlarge the space, and make a great statement,' says Lichelle Silvestry.
Pick dark shades that have a bit of color. 'I love dark green as a feature wall in a room with a lot of natural light,' says color and paint expert, Annie Sloan. A dark purple, brown, burgundy or navy blue can also work against a soft white or cream to help trick the eye into making the space feel bigger.
Choose light colors
Making the exterior of your home a light color is the best way to make your home look larger, brighter, and more inviting. Light colors such as white, ivory, pale gray, and sage green reflect higher amounts of light than dark colors, tricking the eye into perceiving the home as larger than it is.
Go for a spacious sectional sofa or an L-shaped sofa to make the most out of the living room. The distinctive design of these sofas allows them to fit within the corner of the room, freeing up floor space.
For an optimum viewing position, small living room TV ideas should ideally be placed central to the sofa. If this ruins the aesthetic or just isn't possible in a small living room, then positioned to one side can work well too, such as in an alcove to one side of a fireplace.
It's generally agreed by designers that sofas should not actually touch the wall. Even if they come close, you should leave at least a small gap between the couch and the wall. Whether you should arrange your furniture in the middle of the room or push it back closer to the walls can boil down to personal preference.