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A small living space in your house can be cozy and inviting, or it can be cramped and confining. You have a couple of options if you have a small room. If you have room to expand, you can knock out a wall, and combine two small spaces into one. This takes a lot of time, money, and effort. A much quicker option is to visually expand the room, using colors and other methods to make the room look bigger.
Clutter can make a room look smaller and confined, so one of the first things you should do is to declutter the room. Go through the shelves, and clear off any unnecessary items. Its okay to leave some items for decoration, but most of the clutter should be cleared away. This alone will help to make the room appear larger.
Use light colors when choosing your paint and décor. Light colors will help to visually enlarge the room. You don’t need to paint everything white, though. Light yellow will brighten things up, and add some warmth to the room as well. If you are okay with the size of the room, but have a low ceiling, then you should paint the ceiling white will give the illusion of height.
For your window coverings, do not choose heavy, opaque curtains. Something lightweight will allow more light through, and help to make the room appear larger. If you have the money for remodeling, you may also want to install larger windows to allow more light. Larger windows will also allow better views outside of the house, again, making the space appear larger. If it isn’t possible to install larger windows, then try installing a couple of mirrors in the room to provide the illusion of space.
When furnishing the room, use smaller items when possible. A large bookshelf will tend to overwhelm the space, making it look smaller. Do not try to fit as much furniture in the room as you can. A few essential pieces, strategically placed will keep the furniture from overwhelming the room. A couple of chairs, covered in light colors will make the room look larger, while heavy furniture, like a large couch will tend to make the room look smaller.
You want as much light in the room as possible to make it appear larger. If you can install lights, some recessed lighting in the ceiling or some strategically placed wall sconces will add sufficient light to the room on cloudy days, or at night. If you can’t install lights, then some floor lamps in the corners of the room will brighten things up. Remember, the brighter the room, the larger it will appear.
A small, cramped space doesn’t have to remain claustrophobic. Certainly, you can expand the room, if you have the space, time, and money. If physically expanding the room simply is not possible, then you can use visual tricks to make the room look larger than it is. Or, you can simply call it cozy, and learn to live with it.
