10 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR SMALL HOUSE FEEL BIGGER
Do you ever feel like your walls are closing in and your belongings are taking over? Feeling the need to do some Spring cleaning? We want our home to be a place to relax and welcome guests, but that can be hard to do when you are living in a cramped space. Here are 10 easy solutions you can use to make your small house feel more spacious and bright.
- Floor to Ceiling Shelvingallows you to clear floor clutter and make use of wall space. A top-to-bottom unit, which can work particularly well in bedrooms, kitchens, and living rooms, draws the eye upward making the ceilings instantly appear higher.
- Light Paint Colors for your walls, floors and ceiling make your room appear bigger compared to dark, striking colors which can actually make the walls appear to recede. Stick with whites, monochromatic schemes of greys, creams and yellows because of their light-bouncing abilities.
- Mirrors reflect light which is key to opening a space up. A large mirror placed opposite a window can instantly expand a room’s scope. Just don’t position the mirror to reflect a cluttered or cornered space or its purpose will be defeated.
- Furniture Positioning can trick the eyes into thinking rooms are more or less cramped. You create an illusion of space by positioning your furniture a little bit away from the wall compared to pulling it closest to the wall. Floating the furniture makes the room bigger, even though it might not feel like you are maximizing space.
- Scaled/Smart Furniture can make a room appear more open and inviting. Multi-functional pieces like a drop-leaf table or bed frame with drawers will maximize space while acting as storage. It is also better to have a polished space with one oversized piece rather than several smaller ones. Furniture should never block pathways or natural light sources and should blend well with the wall color for uniformity.
- Getting Rid of Clutter may seem like an obvious solution but for some reason most of us still have clutter laying around! By taking a minimalist approach to your decor, you can create a seamless and airy space. The easiest way to achieve this is to get rid of items that make a room look too busy.
- Over-the-door Storage in places like the bathroom and bedroom can eliminate floor and counter clutter. You can use over-the-door hooks to store bags, shoes, accessories and your daily beauty needs.
- Windows bring in natural light which will make your house appear larger and more spacious. If there is not access to natural light in your space, recessed lighting can be used because it’s visually appealing and bounces light where you need it. If your ceilings are taller, you can also use hanging lights to make the space more welcoming.
- Wall Art can make the room appear bigger if used right. One large painting as opposed to several small ones makes the walls appear larger than they are. If you try to hang your wall art at the average eye height so there’s a lot of space above the work, the room will appear taller.
- Flooring, when laid diagonally across a room, make the space instantly look bigger. To create a seamless look that ties one room into the other, use the same flooring throughout. Dark wood floors will also make your space look bigger if paired with light wall color, trim, and molding.