Stylemaker Secrets: Fake a Bigger Small Space
Fake It with Paint
I will often paint the walls, ceiling, and trim in the same color. Lighter colors make a space feel larger and airier.
-- Lauren Liess, decorator, textile designer, and blogger
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Float the Furniture
Don't push all the furniture against the walls! Float some pieces when creating conversational seating arrangements. Choose pieces that can help to create distinct zones in a small area without taking up too much visual space, like clear acrylic pieces.
-- Khristian A. Howell, color and pattern expert
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Edit, Edit, Edit
It has been said before, but it is so key: Edit, edit, edit. And when you're done editing, edit some more. If your space is full of stuff, it will never feel spacious.
-- Darlene Weir, owner and principal interior designer of Fieldstone Hill Design
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Divide and Conquer
The best way to make a small space feel spacious is to make sure that you have designated areas to make everything seem larger. A studio, for example, should have a bedroom area, dining area, kitchen area, etc. Use different rugs in some of those areas to help make things feel larger.
-- Camila Pavone, interior decorator and blogger
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Try the Rug Trick
I like to use a large rug to cover the majority of the floor. It will draw your eye across the entire space, making it appear more spacious than it actually is.
-- Tina Ramchandani, founder of interior design firm Tina Ramchandani Creative and blogger
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Stretch the Space
A smaller room calls for full-size rather than smaller furniture, and lower seating heights. Color rather than white walls always makes the space feel bigger, too.
-- Sarah Sarna, founder of Sarah Sarna Interior Design and blogger
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Reflect Light
Mirrors can add depth to a room and also can add more light. I always hang mirrors where they can reflect a window.
-- Kirsten Grove, interior stylist and blogger
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Fool the Eye
Hang roman shades behind the drapes -- also at ceiling height, but rolled down to just below the top of the window -- in order to trick the eye into believing that the windows go all of the way up to the ceiling.
-- Erin Souder, founder of Grandiflora and blogger
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Slim Down
Be mindful of visual weight when you have a small space. Try a sofa that has exposed legs versus a skirt, or a pedestal table for a dining room instead of something with four bulky legs.
-- Camila Pavone, interior decorator and blogger
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Scale Smartly
Play with scale. Try using larger pieces versus multiple, smaller pieces in a room. Instead of multiple chairs, try a love seat, and pair it with one larger art piece on the wall above instead of an art collage.
-- Britany Simon, designer and HGTV Design Star finalist