Tips for making a small home feel larger can mean anything from changing the color of a wall to subtracting items from a room. If your home is starting to feel like its closing in on you, try a couple of these tricks to open up the space and enjoy your new “larger” home.
Start by moving your curtains closer to the ceiling. Hanging curtains higher than the window frame makes windows look larger and ceilings look higher. And while you’re there, swap your heavy curtains for lightweight sheers to let in more sunlight. Then try hanging large mirrors on walls opposite windows as the light will reflect and brighten the whole room, plus the mirror will give the illusion of additional space.
When it comes to walls go with soft neutral colors and whites. But if you must have color, practice color drenching: painting walls, crown molding, baseboards plus door and window trim all the same color. This visually eliminates borders and unifies a room. And on those walls, try one big statement art piece instead of multiple hung items. Or unify a wall with a floor to ceiling photo array, thoughtfully arranged in multitudes of tiny frames.
Re-envision your countertops and bookshelves by decluttering surfaces and arranging items by color. Pro-tip: put all your books of the same color on one shelf, for a visually unifying effect. Finally, upgrade furniture items to include storage like coffee tables, ottomans and items with hidden drawers.