If your house has small rooms, or if you're in a studio, you may feel cramped and pinched every time you walk into your space. However, you can increase the sense of space in your home. By sticking with a monochromatic theme, you can provide a restful field for the eye. Keeping window coverings light and airy means that the visual field of your space will reach through the windows, improving the sense of expansion. Using art that builds curiosity and draws the viewer from the door through the room to the image increases the feeling of distance. Creating a walkway through the room can also lower the tendency of the space to feel short or chopped up. It's also crucial that things be kept very tidy. You want open, flat spaces on the table and countertop to lessen the sense of busy-ness as the eye moves through every room of your home. What follows are some of the most important things to consider when creating the illusion of more space.
Big, bold colors are nice on accent walls, but in a small space they tend to take up all the air. Strive for neutral colors, both on the walls and on the furniture. Beige wall paint with a wheat-toned sofa or loveseat will provide a visual rest. If you've got some distance between the front door and that loveseat, drape it with a pretty throw that has a neutral base with a few pops of color. It will both draw in the viewer and be useful to anyone sitting on the throw.
If you have pieces you want to display, put them on a wall shelf at an angle to the front door. Require viewers to take several steps to reach your prettiest pieces. It will add a sense of stretch to your space and keep your favorite items off of the table or the countertop. You want a bare, open space to keep visual lines clean.
If your space is especially small, invest in multipurpose items. A small trunk can easily serve as a
Keep these items free of clutter and try to leave them completely blank except for a reading lamp if necessary. Set a magazine rack beside the chair and out of sight of most of the room for books. Make it easy to keep your flat surfaces dusted, polished, and clean.
Consider using hanging or standing lamps over your favorite reading nook to create a sense of space. You don't have to have a separate library to enjoy a special spot to relax and enjoy a good book. If you can use light to create zones, such as a relaxation spot with a snuggly chair, you'll create visual interest that will draw the eye, making the space feel both separate and far away.
If the room is long and narrow, add a runner down the middle to create stretch. If you have a seating area near a window, make sure there's a walkway between the loveseat or sofa and the coffee table to draw the eye of the viewer outside the space. If the couch is at the window, the view stops at the couch. If the walkway goes to the window, the room includes the whole outdoors.
Avoid heavy drapes. If you have to use drapes for privacy, consider investing in vertical blinds with a sheer panel insert so you can create darkness and privacy while letting in light during the day. For those who love plants, go big. One large fern or Norfolk pine in a big pot will be eye-catching and feel expansive. Lots of little pots will feel crowded and awkward.
On the walls away from the windows, use mirrors as decorative pieces. Not only are mirrors easy on your budget in a new space, but mirrors will bounce light around a small space and make it feel more expansive. If you don't have the wall space for them, consider using a mirror on it's back as a tray or base for a display. Another nice use of a mirror is to hang it above a shelf unit and set candles in front of it. In a very small space, a candle in front of a mirror is a nice effect.
