10 Clever Tricks to Make a Small Room Look Bigger

The minimalist trend in housing has been in fashion for quite some time, and many people have adopted the style, some by their own choice, others imposed by the limited financials and lack of options for the condos to buy. While a minimalist design is appealing, the lack of enough storage for your life-long possessions and the limited space for actually moving around in your house makes many people feel overwhelmed.

Don’t worry, the answer to your problems isn’t necessarily “get rid of the unnecessary stuff” (even if the advice would apply to many of them). Fortunately, there are a few clever decorating tricks that can make a small space look bigger and more enjoyable.

1. Keep It Simple
The main scope in designing for a small room is to keep elements simple, luminous and uncongested. Too many pieces of Furniture crowd the area and fatigue any person that spends time in the room. Therefore, stick to what you need and love and try to have big elements instead of small agglomerated items. Avoid using overwhelming colors or crazy patterns on more than one Wall and keep your color shades in the same tones. Remember that the goal is to make the space feel pleasant and breezy.

2. Reduce the Size of Your Furniture
You need to understand that furniture sizes need to be proportional to the dimensions of the room. So, avoid using large, heavy pieces that cover all boundaries of the room. To preserve a sense of openness, try to leave some space between furniture pieces and walls. Shoving furniture against the wall doesn’t contribute to saving space. Instead, it only makes the room, feel crowded.

3. Keep It Low
Try to keep your furniture lower to the ground, to leave the space above clean and empty. This will make the room feel breathable and full of air. For your bedroom, you can even get rid of the bed and place the mattress on a very low support or directly on the floor, in a Japanese style.

4. Decorate with Mirrors
A trick that many designers use for very small rooms is to place two mirrors face to face, giving the impression that the room is bigger than it is. Mirrors will attract and emphasize the natural light and also trick your guests into thinking that your house is more spacious that you say it is.

5. Keep Your Windows and Walls Free of Any Garment
Adding curtains or drapes only clutters the area. But if you still want to cover your windows because of the outside intruding eyes, choose a light color for the curtains, preferably the same shade as your walls. Hang them high in the ceiling and let them fall right down on the floor. This trick will help your ceiling look higher than it really is.

6. Let Your Floors Breathe
To maximize the space and capture more light and movement, use leggy furniture that would allow the air to flow all over your floors. Heavy furniture only burdens the room and visibly shrinks the room’s dimensions. Keep your floors as open and empty as possible by avoiding placing rugs or keeping their design as simple and minimal as you can.

7. Brighten Your Walls with the Right Colors
White colors are known to bring more light and calmness into a room. Using pale shades for your walls will help the area feel harmonious, serene and airy. Keeping the ceiling color in the same tone with your walls will eliminate the room’s boundaries and create the feeling that your ceiling is higher than it is. If you are worried that your space could become boring, learn to play with different textures, such as wood or wool. It will give a nice touch of style to the room’s architecture.

8. Put an Emphasis on the Vertical and Horizontal Elements of the Room
Used correctly, the horizontal elements in the design of a small room can help create the perception that the room is wider, while vertical elements can enhance the height of the ceiling. Putting an emphasis on the vertical or the horizontal makes your eyes travel around the room uninterrupted by any distracting pieces, creating a feeling of openness and a sense of movement.

9. Use Thin Ethereal Fabrics
Lightweight materials help establish an airy décor, in contrast to heavy fabrics which burden the setting of the room. Linen, silk or faux silk bring a stylish, luxurious texture while making the room full of openness and movement.

10. Create Clear Paths
While it seems difficult to create a path in a room with so little space where even the necessary furniture doesn’t fit, having clear pathways helps the room preserve continuity with the rest of the house. Instead of placing all furniture pieces attached to the walls, creating a claustrophobic area, group the items in one part of the room. This way, you let the walls breathe, and will make the room look uncluttered.

Decorating a small room can seem impossible. But, with a bit a creativity and the right tips, you can make even the smallest house look big.