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Wednesday 17 September 2014

10 Ways to Make Small Spaces Feel Bigger

Rooms in London aren’t always sprawling, spacious mansions. While they’re perfectly livable - an apt description is usually cosy. There are ways, however, of making your flat or individual rooms feel bigger. Do one, a couple, or all 10 & you’ll soon notice yourself stretching out a bit more.


1. Use Light Colors
Everyone knows black is slimming - it’s because it absorbs light, whereas white reflects it. It’s the same when it’s used in a room, making the space appear smaller when a lighter color palette makes the room & objects within ‘expand’ in the viewer’s mind. Just mind where you drink red wine.

2. Use Multiple Floor & Table Lamps
Try to eliminate the use of overhead lights - they’re harsh, unflattering, and worst for your room they draw the eye just to one central point. Using multiple softer light sources in a room or home will highlight multiple areas, making the property seem larger. Added bonus, you & your guests will look better, too!

3. Make Bric-a-Brac & Shelf Clutter Seem Organized
Sure, the best way to make a room look larger might be to eliminate this clutter altogether - but that’s very impersonal & for many hosts inconvenient. If you have a collection of things, it’s nice to show them off - but there is a style to it. Color coding is the most dynamic looking option visually, but grouping things by size, style, or shape will also make for a less ‘cluttered’ looking room. Same objects are left out, but they seem organized and styled rather than just out in the room.

4. Draw Their Eyes Upward
Make your home stand tall by highlighting things that make people crane their neck a bit. Stack shelves high (of course, let safety guide your decisions on what to put on those shelves) and paint or wallpaper your ceiling. An airy, not busy design or a lovely, delicate pastel up above will make things seem expansive.

5. Mirrors Facing Mirrors
This classic trick creates an optical illusion of infinitely open space. Another option that lets a bit more light in is to have a mirror facing a window - but just choose a window with a nice view, as you’ll be seeing it twice as often.

6. Sliding Doors
This one is a great option for hosts who are able to do some medium-scale renovation to their property. Traditional swinging doors take up quite a bit more space. Using sliding doors in the bedroom, kitchen and bathroom will not only take up less space, it will make all surrounding rooms appear larger if left open.

7. Make Use of Storage Wherever You Can
Invest in furniture that doubles up - things like ottomans that can be used as seating and storage, and bedside tables that are actually small cabinets. We suggest a trip to IKEA and Muji to find things that you can use multiple ways. Bonus points - they’re usually translucent or light coloured objects at Muji!

8. Use a Large Rug
We don’t mean wear an oversized wig - we mean lay a big, bright rug across the floor of your living space. This will draw the viewer’s eye across the room, making it seem further out than it is. It is also a good way to get a quick pop of colour in a room.

9. Raise the Furniture
If you’re furnishing your property look for things with legs...not just items that will maintain their value, but literal legs as well. The higher up your couch, table, bed and other furnishings are the more floor space is opened up - it makes your place look that much bigger. Already furnished? Look into risers!

10. It’s Curtains for You!
There are some great tricks you can do with curtains to create the illusion of a larger window - larger windows make for larger looking rooms, so it’s sort of a double illusion. Hang the curtains above the window, and drape them so the open wall space is not visible. Suddenly, you have a much larger window. You can do this length-wise as well, by hanging curtains & drapes alongside a longer expanse of the wall than your window actually takes up.