Home: Making Small Spaces Feel Big
Sometimes, you have to make the best of what you’ve got. And if you’ve got a small space, sometimes, it can be tricky to know what to do with it. If you live in a flat or simply have small rooms in your home, we’re here to help. Read on for our advice on how to make small spaces feel big.
Avoid Clutter
Clutter is a nightmare. And if you have a small space, you can’t afford to fill it with clutter.
It’s essential to maintain clean and tidy surfaces and not overcrowd an area with decorations, furniture, and other objects. Go for a less is more approach, and use a few select functional pieces of furniture instead.
Contrary to common belief, organising your house does not have to come at the expense of style. For example, heavyweight curtains in a window frame create a warm feeling in a room while maintaining a clean, uncluttered look.
Use Mirrors and Other Reflective Materials
Using mirrors and reflective materials helps create a sense of space. They reflect light and the other elements in the room, which gives the illusion of more area. For example, a big mirror opposite the room’s window makes it bright, sunny, and open.
Apart from mirrors, you might add surfaces like glass table tops, a glass interior door, glossed cabinet doors, and metal items. Anything with surfaces like that will reflect the light and make the room more open.
Create a Focal Point
Give people something to look at that makes the room feel brighter than it is. A well-created focal point enhances the beauty of any part of the room, creating a sense of space. This can be something as simple as an accent wall, an eye-catching piece of artwork, or even a beautiful piece of furniture like a statement couch or dining table.
Giving a more specific example, in a compact sitting area, you can create interest by putting the vibrant floral or geometric carpet under the sofa or using a nice hanging lamp on the chair – bold features that draw attention. The idea is to have the point of focus clear yet stunning, rather than many elements within the room.
The only thing we will say is don’t make your focal point too focal.
Open It Up With Doors and Windows
A soft approach to trick the eye and make the spaces feel larger would be using doors and windows. The glass doors we’ve already mentioned are one way of doing it, but there are other things you can do. You might also want to substitute conventional heavy doors with pocket doors with fewer panels instead of swing space.
The only issue is these suggestions are slightly more expensive than what we’ve already mentioned,
If your house has a patio or step to the balcony, sliding glass doors or French doors would look great. Or, if you can, swap multiple smaller windows for one big, open-plan one. Again, as we said, these are slightly more expensive suggestions, but they’re worth it.
Using broad and spill-proof windows is a great idea if you can afford to do it and the space allows. If light but not sight is what you would ideally want, then sheer curtains would be an excellent solution.
Do you think you can make your small space bigger? What we would say is don’t think your small space must stay small. The size might not change, but the illusion of how big it is will. And yes, sometimes, you might have to invest a little bit more money, but we wouldn’t say they’re the most expensive change you could ever make to your home.