You may have a rather small living room, bedroom or kitchen in your home. Maybe you can’t afford to move, but there are ways to make a room feel larger. Most people’s homes have some kind of clutter; clutter can make a room appear smaller than it is.
Clutter
If you want your living room or bedroom to feel larger than they are, then be ruthless about clutter. Get three boxes: one for things to keep, one for throwing away, and the third for charity. Once you have decided what to keep, find homes for it all so that it is not taking up valuable sitting or walking space.
Get as Much as You Can Off the Floor
Most of us tend to have things on the floor, such as book cases or plant holders. Use wall shelves in preference to a space-taking book case. Get plants off the floor and onto shelves or out into the garden or on the balcony.
Double Duty Furniture
Buy furnishings that have more than one use, for example a bed with drawers is extremely useful for storing spare sheets and duvet covers. Get yourself a solid state coffee table where you can lift the top and store things underneath.
Television
A growing number of people now have flat screen televisions. If you are short of space in your living room then have the television mounted on the wall to give you some extra floor space.
Replace Curved Furniture
If you have curved living room cupboards and furniture or curve fronted dressing tables and wardrobes, replace them with straight edged items. Plain, linear objects make a small room appear more spacious.
Get a Smaller Bed
If you have a queen or king sized bed in a small bedroom, swap it for a regular double bed as this will give you a bit more space. Store as much as you can in wall cupboards or shelved alcoves. Make sure that any accessories such as bedside lamps and tables are smaller as this will be in keeping with the size of the bed and provide an illusion of more space.
Child’s Room
The obvious choice for a child’s room that is small is bunk beds. Invest in some boxes on rollers as these are useful for storing shoes and toys. If you only have one child in the room then look for a bed that has storage incorporated, some even have a desk underneath, great for homework.
Ditch the Curtains
Curtains can make a small room appear even smaller. Swap your curtains for blinds because they fit snugly to the windows and this makes the room look bigger. Use accent lighting in a small room it makes it feel larger.
Decoration
A smallish room can feel claustrophobic if the furnishings and décor are dark. Choose light colours and read up on decorating tricks to make a room appear bigger, e.g. painting a chimney breast in a light colour and alcove walls in a slightly darker colour, suggests more room. Lay light coloured carpet or alternatively have plain wooden floors that are sealed with a clear varnish.
About the Author:
Crispin Jones writes for Vibrant Doors – specialists in external and internal bi folding and sliding doors. For more information follow them on twitter.
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I love the tip about going for straight lines instead of curved lines on furniture to save space — so smart!!
Loved this post! The curtains one is a good tip. Being in Sydney, Australia a lot of our original homes are federation cottages which have beautiful high ceilings but not too much space, so these tips are book mark worthy for me. Thanks!
Wow..thanks for some truly fresh ideas!