From favorite paint colors to specialized design advice, Benjamin Moore's color and design experts have the answers to a common homeowner question: How do I make a small room look bigger and brighter? Lighter paint colors like off-whites, light neutrals, pales, and pastels give the illusion of larger, brighter rooms.
'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.
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.
Light and Warm Paint Colour
Whereas light and cool can make a space feel bigger, light and warm can work if you want it to feel bright and big, but still warm and inviting! Sherwin Williams Creamy is another light, bright and warm paint colours (that isn't obnoxiously yellow).
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.
Light neutral shades of gray, taupe, beige, or greige can stand in for white while adding a hint of color or warmth. Pale yellows, blues, greens, and even pinks can effectively function as neutrals in a small space that adds a whisper of color for those who find white walls too boring or sterile.
According to leading design experts, the best wall colors for a bedroom are warm pastels, soft white paint shades, and neutral-leaning blues and greens.
Lighter colors, including pale blues and greens, are typically cooler. But, the color white is one of the coolest paint colors to help cool a home. In fact, white paint will be your best bet as it reflects 100 percent of available light.
Some expert tips to make a room look bigger include using lighter paint colors, hanging curtains at ceiling height, incorporating large mirrors, using multi-functional furniture, and utilizing wall space for storage.
Using a wide-angle camera lens allows for wider shots that give a better sense of depth. It also makes small spaces appear bigger.
Stay Light and Bright
The best small kitchen ideas use materials to an advantage. Reflective surfaces, such as ceramic tile, marble countertops, or stainless steel, subtly amplify the effects of natural and artificial light, thereby making small kitchens seem larger.
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.
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.
You'll want to create a relaxing retreat for the best night's sleep and unwinding. In general, muted colors work best for your bedroom walls. Light blues, soft greens, shades of white, and beige and gray are some of the best choices.
Research studies discovered red to be the best color light to help you sleep, because it increases production of melatonin as well as full darkness. On the other end of the spectrum, blue is the worst. Despite being a calm-inducing color on most occasions, blue is not suitable for lighting a bedroom.
According to a study, the secret to a calming room is navy blue—and there's science to prove it. The University of Sussex and British papermaker G.F. Smith did research that found navy blue is a calming color—in fact, the most relaxing color in the world.
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.
Bright colors such as yellows, oranges, sky blues, and greens instantly make any room brighter and can often make small rooms look bigger too. These hues are some of the most positive colors too so can lift moods and energize the home.
"Lighter colors reflect light easily, which gives the room a bigger appearance," says Piercy. Unsurprisingly, a classic white paint is the perfect choice when it comes to creating the illusion of a bigger bathroom.
One way to make a long narrow room look wider with paint is to use a monochromatic color scheme. This involves selecting one color and using variations of that color on the walls, ceiling, and floor. This can help create a sense of continuity, which can make the space feel larger and more cohesive.