If you’re familiar with the challenges of living in a small home, then chances are you know how nerve-wracking it can be. You may struggle to purchase certain items because you don’t know where to fit them, you’re always having to play a game of Tetris under your bed or closet, not to mention the fact that some areas of your home may feel crammed more than others.
Whether you live in a small home or you just feel like you live in a small home, it’s best to know that interior design is your friend. It’s a great way to help make your home feeling sturdier and safer for your family but it can also just instantly elevate your home, making it look grand! So where do you start? How do you begin? You’ll learn all about that here.
Think about the proportions
When it comes to all parts of your home, every room, you’ll need to think about the proportions. The proportions of your furniture, the proportions of your décor, the walls, and the room itself. If you’re wanting to achieve a nice sense of roominess then you’re going to have to allow breathing room between your furniture. This includes having some space around the walls and some parts of the floors as well. Try to avoid getting valuable space consumed in your home. Proportions matter greatly and this is going to be one of the greatest ways to make your space look significantly bigger.
Look into furniture that doesn’t touch the floor
Having furniture that contains long legs such as a bed or couch gives off this nice illusion that it’s floating. But that’s not all, it can be great storage space as well if you maneuver everything correctly. Furniture that’s lower to the ground but shows openness (such as long legs) makes the room appear to have more space. Midcentury modern furniture pieces and the style itself were all about showing off the additional space available at home. You can have wide furniture (such as a king-size bed in a small room) while still maintaining this illusion of having space.
Think of it this way, if your bed and framed art are positioned towards the lower half of a bedroom, you’re going to be leaving the upper half of the room empty, right? This instantly gives the view of height in the room. Even if there is a lack of space width-wise, height-wise there will still be the illusion of a large space. Just look for furniture pieces that are “leggy’ a butterfly chair is one of the greatest examples.
Add some windows
Windows are just wonderful, you can have the smallest room around, but the windows will instantly make it appear endless, especially windows that reach the ceiling down to the floor. Windows are not only excellent for bringing some free heating and lighting inside, but they’re also excellent for bringing the outside in as well. Creating a seamless flow between the indoors and outdoors instantly makes your home appear significantly more spacious.
It feels like it could last for miles. The Yuba City Window company could be one of the best options for you, you can get your windows replaced in your home to something more fitting for the visual expansion of the space. Not to mention the fact that your home will be energy efficient as well.
Magic mirror on the wall
Mirrors are another fantastic way to make your home appear far more expansive than it actually is. Mirrors help in achieving that sense of openness in a space. They reflect light which can help make a room bright, but they reflect views as well. This then tricks the eye into believing that there is more space.
Add some white
White looks light, it’s calm, airy, and it can feel very serene. Having a monochromatic space not only makes it look unique but it has a way of making it look very expansive as well. Painting your walls and ceilings with the exact same shade of white can enhance the cloudy-airy-like effect on your home. It created this nice blur believe your wall and ceiling which serves as a great illusion of a space that is never-ending. White also emphasizes architecture, it highlights all those little nooks and crannies in your house.
But won’t all white just look too bland or even cold? This is a very reasonable concern but you can instantly warm up your home by adding some additional colors. This can include a darker tone of wood for your flooring, some warmer colors for your art, and other decorative accents throughout the home.
Have a clear pathway
This is probably the most obvious but having clear pathways through your home is going to be the best way to create some roominess. Pushing all the pieces towards the edge creates this path and avoids your space looking claustrophobic. This should be utilized in all of your spaces.
Remove drapes and rugs
Drapes, shades, rugs, and even carpet could be what’s standing in your way of having a home that appears expansive. Mirrors trick the eye and make our eyes believe that the space is expansive but drapes, shades, and rugs are exactly what stop this illusion. Curtains stop the eyes from seeing the views that appear outside, rugs stop the view of seeing the potential expansiveness of the floor. While it’s understandable to want to add some softness to a space, it is exactly what will cause the space to look more closed in.
So what about privacy? While it’s understandable that some rooms in the house need more privacy than others, there are some rooms that can do without. The living room is a space that doesn’t necessarily require much privacy so this could be a room where you could leave the curtains off entirely. You could alternatively add some chiffon drapes which creates some airiness into the room.
Simplistic is okay
Simplistic, minimalism, whatever you want to call it. Just keep your space simple and it will help make it look significantly bigger.
