How to Make a Small Room Seem Bigger

More and more people are finding that ‘affordable home’ means ‘smaller home’. But just because your home’s square footage is on the minimal side, doesn’t mean it has to look small – there are lots of ways to make small rooms look spacious.

Here are our tips:

• Paint walls in icy blue or soft green shades. These colours tend to make a room look bright and airy – brighter colours reflect the light (darker colours tend to absorb it). Other possible colour palettes include pastels, creamy neutrals, and white, of course
• Paint more than one room the same colour. When colour continues from one room to the next, it makes separate spaces seem like a large, unified area
• Paint the ceiling the same colour as the walls – but 20% lighter. When you lighten the ceiling colour slightly, the room seems larger because light reflects more off the sides of the room than the top. This is particularly effective for rooms with low ceilings
• Paint baseboards the same colour as the floor or carpet. Just like black tights and black shoes will make legs look longer, this technique tricks the eye and makes the floor seem larger and the room more spacious
• Paint subtle stripes (tone-on-tone). You can use horizontal or vertical stripes – both will give the illusion of more space
• If the room has many corners, a dark colour will help angles and shadows disappear. If there are a lot of mouldings or wall texture, white will help stop them from being distracting
• Match curtains to the wall colour. Using the same tone for walls and windows will make the room look larger
• Avoid large patterns or dramatic textures. Monotone colour schemes (for walls, ceilings, floors and furniture) will give the illusion of more space.

And remember: A well-painted small home will always feel more comfortable than a poorly-painted large one!