Whether you live in a 400 square foot apartment or a large detached home, it’s always nice to feel like there is more space around you. It can make your home more comfortable, more welcoming and even increase the value.
So, how can you optimise your floors pace and make your rooms look bigger? Here are ten tips that can help:
Open Floorplans
It’s something of a buzzword in real estate and there’s good reason for that. By removing the barriers between different rooms, an area in your home will look bigger and feel more open and welcoming. This can apply with half-walls or counters that divide spaces but allow light and air to pass above them or if there are no walls at all. The open floorplan extends the space of a room visually, giving the feeling that it carries on into the next room, which always makes a room look bigger.
Mirrors
It’s a simple trick but incredibly effective. Placing a mirror or other reflective objects in a room gives the illusion of more space because people see the space they are already in reflected back to them. It also has the benefit of being functional.
More Windows or Skylights
If you own your own home and a more serious remodel is within your budget, you may want to consider adding more or larger windows to a room. The increased natural light and the outdoor views will add to the feel of your room while also giving a greater feeling of space. Skylights have also become popular again as modern windows and better building technologies have solved a lot of the problems of water penetration and leaking.
Reduce Clutter
This tip will literally give you more space because the less you have in your way, the more space you have. Any room full of clutter will feel cramped and unwelcoming. Remove unnecessary items and that previously used space opens up. One of the ways you can do this is with an effective choice of furniture; using footrests that double up as storage units for example. A good guideline of decluttering: if you find something you haven’t looked at, needed or even thought about in a year, it may be something that can be donated, recycled or thrown away.
Leave Some Space
Don’t use every inch available! This works on the same principle as reducing clutter. If you leave space on your shelves or tabletops rather than filling them with books or ornaments, it gives the impression that the space is roomier. If the room can clearly accommodate more than it already does, it will look bigger than it is.
Raise up Your Furniture
When buying furniture, opt for items on legs rather than ones that sit on the floor. With more of the floor visible under a sofa or other item of furniture, the room will feel bigger even if you cannot use that small space for anything practical.
…and Move it Away From Your Walls
Furniture pushed up against a wall gives the impression that there isn’t enough room for it, especially when dealing with large objects like a sofa. By moving them a small distance from the wall, it opens up some breathing room and shows that there is space for more. Of course, there are limits to this tip as some items are placed against walls out of necessity and would look bizarre away from them.
Light Colours
Painting walls and ceilings in light colours has a similar effect to extra windows by making a room feel lighter. While darker colours can make a space feel warm and cosy, they should generally be avoided if you want to make your rooms look bigger.
Striped Rugs or Carpets
It’s often given as a tip to make people look slimmer and the effect of stripes also works wonders for the apparent size of a room. Place a striped rug on the floor and it will draw people’s attention and give them the feeling that the floor is longer than it actually is.
Use every inch
Install bookshelves that go from floor to ceiling; buy collapsible or foldaway furniture that is only opened when needed; opt for lamps or recessed lights when a ceiling is low; remove curtains or use ones that aren’t intrusive. There’s much more to list but the short way of saying it is: don’t waste any space and make the best use of what you have.
