By: Katelyn Phelps
As an Interior Design Company, we are challenged daily with the intention of creating a bigger space with a small area. When done well things can still feel cozy and welcoming, but also big and open. Often when trying to fill a small area things end up looking messy, cluttered, and anything but relaxing.
There is a way though that you can make a space look bigger and it consists of tricking the eye by focusing on 3 main elements: Scale, Light, and Movement. Here are 12 quick steps you can use to easily make a little space look a lot bigger and extensive.
Keep Your Profile Low
As you can see in the photo above they kept the decor on the walls as low as possible. This allows for the walls to be more open up top and it makes the ceiling look taller. By having the ceilings look higher it seems to have the space below feel more open. There is a lot of decor going on in the picture, but it still seems open and cozy.
Show a Little Leg With That Furniture
By allowing the table and chairs to show plenty of leg it opens up the space under the table and around it. Allowing the eye to see to the other side of the table makes this room look bigger and the table look smaller.
Ditch the Drapes + Curtains
By allowing the windows to not have curtains or drapes on them the windows feel larger and let in more light. The light allows the room to feel brighter and larger. By revealing the full window the room will look bigger because the full window is visible.
Emphasize the Horizontal
By running the whitewash T&G Horizontally it makes the wall pop. It will allow the eye to travel around the room and allow the room to seem bigger than it might seem if you had just painted the wall.
Make a Pathway
As you can see on both sides of the table there is a very defined Pathway to get into the table or around it. By having room for a pathway it makes the room feel bigger by having the extra space to have a pathway. The pathway allows for open and airy space which makes the room seem immensely bigger.
Use Fabrics That Are “Breezy”
If possible try to avoid metals or heavy colored textiles that will almost seem to weigh the room down. Instead, try going with a lighter color scheme to make it feel almost Breezy. Linen is a great thing to use when trying to achieve this!
Emphasize the Vertical
When emphasizing the vertical it will allow your walls to look bigger and open. It lets the eye travel up then look down at what might seem like a smaller space. This can be achieved with an accent wall or even a tall cabinet.
Mirror, Mirror On The Wall….
Mirror will allow the space to feel a greater sense of openness. It doesn’t just reflect light, but also reflects views too. This will trick the eye into thinking the area is larger than what it actually may seem.
WHITE It Out
The white allows this room to feel open because white seems to be a very airy and open color. The white ceiling and white colored things make for a cloud like effect making it look very light. It seems to blur lots of boundaries between things to blend spaces together well.
Scale It Down
In this bedroom instead of making the whole wall the green accent wall they scaled it down to the bed size. By allowing it to be smaller it actually makes the room and bed look a lot bigger. Sometimes scaling stuff down to fit perfectly in a space makes for a more big and open look.
KEEP IT SIMPLE!
Above all, keep it simple. Allowing the room to not actually be cluttered will help the room seem bigger. By keeping it simple the room will actually look more complete than if there are a lot of things all over the ground and walls.
It Is Going To Take Time
It is going to take some time to make your space look bigger and more complete. Keep playing with different things and ideas to create the look and feel you want. Change out furniture, textiles, decor, paint colors, and other things. Keep playing with your space and be smart about your design process. Don’t buy a huge art piece and put it up just to put a colorful accent wall on the wall across from it.