Small Space Decorating: Tips to Make Rooms Feel Bigger

Many homes have modestly sized rooms. However, there are numerous tricks of the trade that can help small spaces feel brighter, airier, and more expansive. With a little creativity and some clever decorating ideas, small rooms can be just as beautiful and functional as larger areas.

Use Light, Bright Color Schemes

Sticking to a neutral color palette is one of the easiest ways to visually enlarge a room. Soft whites, greys, and beiges have less visual weight than deeper, bolder hues. They also bounce light around the space rather than absorbing it. Painting the walls, ceiling, and trim work the same neutral shade creates continuity, making the space appear larger. Incorporating shades like airy blue or sage green adds subtle color without overwhelming a compact room. Various free interior design app options can help you choose the perfect colors for any room.

Limit Visual Clutter

Rooms feel smaller when every inch is covered with knickknacks, furniture, and accessories competing for attention. Edit down to create breathing room and give the eyes a place to rest. Store extra items, pare down décor to a carefully curated selection of favorite pieces, and avoid covering every last bit of wall space with art. Multifunctional furniture like storage ottomans and coffee tables with shelving eliminate clutter while maximizing usable surface area.

Incorporate Mirrors Strategically

Mirrors visually double the space, making them an indispensable tool when decorating modestly sized areas. Strategically place mirrors across from windows or other light sources to amplify brightness. Locate them adjacent to solid walls or utilize mirrored closet doors to simulate a feeling of spaciousness and depth. Avoid placing too many mirrors in a single room, as this creates visual chaos. Thoughtfully positioning just one or two large mirrors often makes the biggest impact.

Adjust the Scale of Furnishings

Oversized furniture overwhelms and dominates in a little room. Seek out compact pieces with delicate frames rather than heavy upholstery. Round coffee tables take up less visual space than rectangular ones. Sectionals work better than expansive sofas. Tables and chairs with slender silhouettes fit the space better while taking up less area. In general, lighting-looking, smaller-in-scale furnishings keep the room from feeling stuffed to the gills.

Use Multifunctional Furniture

Multifunctional furniture serves double or triple duty, allowing you to streamline pieces rather than cramming a room with individual items that each serve a single purpose. For example, look for storage ottomans that provide extra seating and stash blankets, books, or toys inside. Nesting coffee and side tables clear floor space when not in use. Desks with shelves incorporate display storage and homework stations in one piece. Ditch the traditional dresser and install a wall-mounted, space-saving folding Murphy bed with drawers underneath. Multifunctional furnishings are ultra-adaptable solutions for modest square footage.

Draw the Eye Upwards

Though small rooms may be limited in floor and wall space, there is often unused visual real estate overhead. Decorate the upper portion of walls with floating shelves, wallpaper, or paneling to add height and direct sightlines upwards. Hang artwork higher than typical for a similar effect. Employ floor lamps, pendant lighting, or sconces to illuminate that previously neglected area while opening up the look of the room. Your eye naturally follows the light, so putting fixtures higher makes the space feel loftier.

Keep Floor Plans Flowing

A cramped, chopped-up floor plan intensifies feelings of confinement in petite premises. Where possible, create open interior layouts allowing sightlines from one room to another. If load-bearing walls prevent you from completely removing barriers between rooms, widen doorways and openings as much as feasible. Replace swinging doors with pocket options that don’t take up precious floor area. Removing visual barriers maintains a feeling of continuity throughout the home.

Employ the Power of Natural Light

Compact quarters inherently have less wall space for fittings and fixtures, making lamps and overhead lighting necessary. However, artificial light often makes a room feel darker and smaller. Maximise natural light from existing windows by mounting curtain rods high and wide to avoid obstructing the view outside. Paint the window wall a lighter neutral to bounce daylight throughout the space. Supplement when needed with targeted task lighting like pendant lamps over a kitchen island rather than bright overheads. Adding skylights and additional windows also ushers in valuable illumination.

Zone the Space Thoughtfully

Small homes work best when thoughtfully arranged into functional zones, just like larger abodes. Create designated spaces for cooking, dining, work, lounging, and sleeping based on usage patterns and goals. This organization keeps different needs from colliding while reducing visual clutter from disparate activities blending together. Use area rugs, subtle changes in wall color or flooring types, and furnishings to define each zone without overwhelming the compact room. Arrange furniture to facilitate logical movement between zones.

With some smart decorating choices, nearly any room can be transformed from small and confining to light, bright, and surprisingly spacious.

Read more: Home office design 10 ideas for working in style

Written by Billy Guteng. April 2, 2024

Billy is a content writer for Kukun. He was born in France, and has lived in multiple cities around the world ever since. He loves art, design and architecture as well as construction and real estate.