9 Design Tricks to Make a Small Room Bigger

A small room may be the perfect space for an office, a small bedroom, a workout space, etc. To make the best use of your small room, you should consider decluttering and organization. But there are other ways to optimize the functional and aesthetic value of your small room. The right amount of empty space can help to make a small room appear larger. Then, you can follow these nine simple tricks to make a small room bigger.

1. Paint the Walls White to Make the Room Look Bigger

When you paint your small room space all one color, particularly white or a light, bright color, you undercut the small appearance and make the furniture stand out. It’s a minimalist approach, but it also changes the flow from one space to another. Without the disruption or distraction of different paint and markedly different areas, the one-color paint job helps to make your small room look bigger.  

2. Deploy Compact Furniture to Maximize the Use of Space

You must consider compact and multi-use furniture when you’re looking to maximize the small space available. With casters, you can easily move the furniture. Use convertible or modular furniture to further make use of the limited space. Compact furniture can make the room useable for many purposes, including as a bedroom, office space, and hobby area. Take a look at Home of Cozy for furniture reviews and guides to learn more about how compact furniture can help make your room seem bigger.

3. Pull Your Furniture Away from the Wall to Create an Illusion of Space

When you push all your furniture up against the wall, your small room can feel even more cramped. So, a quick trick is to just pull your furniture away from the wall to create a margin of space for the room. When you add an inch between the wall and the larger furniture in the room, you’re creating an illusion of spaciousness and openness. Think of a room like the dining room, which often appears bigger because the focal point is the table and chairs in the middle of the room.

4. Use Curtains to Make the Room Flow and Look Larger

The size of the room may make you shy away from hanging curtains or wall tapestries, but those additions can help to make the room look bigger. Long, flowing curtains that take advantage of your available wall space are another trick you can use to make your small room look and feel bigger.

5. Mount Strategic Lighting to Make the Room Feel Bigger

Lighting helps make the room feel bigger. You can use hanging or wall-mounted lights as ambient or accent lighting to further maximize space considerations. Be sure to add desk lights for workspaces or other fine-tuned tasks. Lighting can help to improve the look and feel of the entire room while brightening even the corner areas. In combination with the right furniture, lighting can also have the effect of making your small room look bigger and more comfortable. Experiment to determine the best combos for your small room.

6. Hang Mirrors to Give the Illusion of More Space

Use mirrors in the small room to give the illusion of a more expansive space. Mirrors add natural lighting to your small room, while making your small space feel brighter and more welcoming. While they’re not usually the go-to solution, they are cost effective and accessible. You can easily find them both online and offline. And, that means you can easily make your small room look bigger without breaking the bank.

7. Get Creative with Wall and Corner Areas

You can use hooks and shelving units for storage and functional use in your small room. Don’t forget to consider the corners of the room and behind the door. Browse through furniture reviews and guides with an eye to finding those pieces that fit in the corner or mount on the wall. These overlooked areas in your small rooms offer solutions for strategic, functional use, but it also lets you more easily optimize your leftover space to further support the illusion that your small room is larger.

8. Try Space-Saving Storage 

You can hide or minimize the disruption of storage requirements by putting it under the bed or in multi-use cabinets. Consider maximizing the use of your closet space and/or borrow from adjacent rooms to support the need for storage or just some extra room to move around. You can use baskets, boxes, or other storage options to store items without a mess. Determine how much room you have under the piece and keep an eye out for those pieces that convert for multi-use or storage functions.

9. Hang Expansive Wall Art and Decor to Create Depth

M.C. Escher’s work is one of the most famous examples of optical illusions. Even if you don’t want to get that artistic, you can still make a visual statement by using expansive wall art and decor. Try using pieces with lots of white space, contrasting colors, and visual balance. To expand further with your wall appeal, consider hanging wallpaper with large prints or patterns. With the creative use of wall art, decor, and wallpaper, you can help your small room feel more immersive while giving it an artistic stamp.

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