12 Clever Ways To Make A Space Look Bigger

Original Article: https://houseandhome.com/gallery/12-clever-ways-make-space-look-bigger/

Sometimes it’s easy to feel limited when you’re decorating a small space, but there are ways to fool the eye into thinking you have more square footage than you do. Read on for 12 tricks to visually expand your space.

Bedroom with customer built-ins

 

1. Custom Built-Ins:
Max out awkward spaces with custom built-ins. They not only make clutter disappear, but painting them the same color as the walls makes them recede into the surrounding space.

Photographer: Tracey Ayton
Source: House & Home September 2017
Designer: Erica Schmidt and Ivan Quintana, Medina Design House

 

A Banquette

 

2. A Banquette:
In a small space, a sea of table and chair legs can prove to be a visual stumbling block. Designer Alexandra Hutchison uses a restaurant-style banquette to seat guests in her 640-square-foot Toronto semi, or catch a casual dinner with husband chef Craig Harding. She scores extra points for turning the banquette into storage for bulky items like stand mixers.

Photographer: Michael Graydon
Source: House & Home August 2013 issue
Designer: Alexandra Hutchison

 

Low Furniture

 

3. Go Low:
To make a ceiling feel higher, stick to low-profile furnishings like this velvet sofa. Make the impact even more pronounced by hanging the curtain rod right at the top of the wall, and amp up the drapes with black trim to draw the eye up.

Photographer: Alex Lukey
Source: House & Home September 2016
Designer: Sabrina Albanese

 

Breakfast nook with mirror

 

4. Swap Art For Mirrors
Instead of topping a nook with art, framing a large mirror and painting out the molding to match the walls creates an architectural element that expands space.

Photographer: John Gruen
Source: House & Home October 2016
Designer: Garrow Kedigian

 

beautiful living room

 

5. Be Uniform
Paint is one of the cheapest, easiest fixes for a small space. Don’t break up a room by painting out contrast moldings. In this living room by designer Garrow Kedigian, the crown and baseboards are painted the same mustard color as the walls, which makes them seem higher and conveys a luxe, cocooning feel.

Photographer: Maxime Desbiens
Source: House & Home October 2016
Designer: Garrow Kedigian

 

beautiful kitchen

 

6. Room For Recess
A deep recess in the island (which doubles as the kitchen table) makes it easy to tuck low-back stools out of the way for better flow in the downsized home of designer Jennifer Wright.

Photographer: Virginia Macdonald
Source: House & Home September 2015
Designer: Jennifer Wright

 

Stylish living room

 

7. Disappearing Act
Here’s an easy trick to make a small space look more expansive: Choose “invisible” furnishings that seem to disappear, like the glass waterfall coffee table in designer Christine Ralph’s home.

Photographer: Virginia MacDonald
Source: House & Home March 2011 issue
Designer: Christine Ralphs

 

Bedroom design

 

8. Airy Fixtures
Ditch the dense chandelier in favor of something see-through and airy. Designer Sabrina Albanese chose this one which has major drama because of the scale, without the visual weight.

Photographer: Michael Graydon
Source: House & Home September 2014
Designer: Sabrina Albanese

 

Airy Living Room

 

9. Clear The Floor
Fashion designer Olympia Gayot chose to opt out of a coffee table, turning a console into a work surface and general catchall, which won’t block the flow in the main space of her 600-square-foot Manhattan walk-up.

Photographer: Eric Striffler
Source: House & Home September 2012 issue

 

Stripped Bathroom

 

10. Thick Stripes
Horizontal striped clothing can make a wearer look bigger, but the good news is it does the same thing for small rooms. A striped wall treatment in this compact powder room makes it feel wider.

Photographer: Valerie Wilcox
Source: House & Home September 2016
Designer: Erika Floysvik

 

Modern Bedroom

 

11. Double Down
Bunkbeds don’t eat up as much floor space, but they are visually heavy — when you can see an expanse of walls, spaces have more breathing room. In her son’s bedroom, designer Sarah Hartill placed the beds end to end (and made sure there was closed storage underneath to cut down on clutter).

Photographer: Michael Graydon
Source: House & Home February 2014
Designer: Sarah Hartill

 

beautiful bedroom

 

12. Break Out The Glass
Mirrors are a quick way to add depth, but that’s not the only way to use a reflective surface. As Trudy Crane demonstrates in her 1,200-square-foot apartment, an antique mirror, glass cloche and lantern fixture over the bed let light flow through the room and add sparkle.

Photographer: Monic Richard
Source: House & Home September 2016
Designer: Trudy Crane