Living in a small space doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice on style or comfort. The question is exactly how to make a small room look bigger? With just a bit of creativity and strategic design, you can transform even the tiniest room into a spacious and inviting space. Whether you’re living in a cramped apartment, a small studio, or a just small bedroom, there are plenty of tricks and techniques you can use to maximize space and create the illusion of roominess.
As the owner of a 1,200 square foot home, I can relate to the struggle of trying to maximize the space in your rooms and tiny home. From finding the appropriate furniture to optimizing the storage in your home. It can be tough to make your home look bigger without the extra square footage. I am here to show you exactly how I have optimized the space in my home to make it look bigger and more spacious.
In this blog post, we’ll explore 17 genius ways to make a small room look bigger, from clever furniture arrangement to strategic use of color and light. Whether you’re living in a city apartment looking to maximize every square inch of your home or a minimalist craving simplicity in your small home, these tips will help you help show the full potential of your space and turn it into a stylish sanctuary you’ll love coming home to.
This blog post is all about how to make a small room look bigger.
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Best Tips on How to Make a Small Room Look Bigger
1. Choose Light Colors
Light, neutral colors like white, cream, and soft pastels can make a room feel airy and open. Opt for light-colored walls, furniture, and decor to create a sense of spaciousness in your small room.
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2. Maximize Natural Light
One of the most cost effective ways to make a small room look bigger is to embrace the natural light as much as possible by keeping windows unobstructed. You can easily achieve this by using sheer curtains or blinds that allow sunlight to filter through into the home. Not only does the light reflect off of the walls and into the room, a bright room can also make your home feel more inviting.
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3. Add Mirrors
Mirrors are a small space’s best friend. Place large mirrors strategically to reflect light in and create the illusion of depth in a small room. A mirrored wall or oversized floor mirror can instantly make a room feel twice as big. We recommend hanging a mirror in a narrow hallway to make it the ceilings appear higher and the hallway feel wider. We have a mirror in every room of our small home and it has made a major difference in the amount of light we recieve into the home.
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4. Choose Low-profile Furniture
Opt for furniture with clean lines and low profiles to create a sense of openness. Try to avoid bulky pieces that overwhelm the space and opt for furniture pieces with exposed legs to create a sense of visual lightness. Furniture like platform beds and modular sofas are the perfect addition to a small room.
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5. Multi-functional Furniture
Invest in multi-functional furniture that serves multiple purposes, such as a sleeper sofa with storage compartments, a platform bed with drawers or a coffee table with built-in shelving. This maximizes functionality while minimizing clutter and offering added storage opportunities.
6. Scale Furniture to Fit
Choose furniture that is proportionate to the size of the room. Oversized pieces can make a small room feel cramped, while appropriately scaled furniture creates an illusion of a bigger room and a non cluttered area. We suggest mapping out how much space the furniture will take up in your room with tape on the floor to visualize the final look.
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7. Create Zones In Your Room
Divide the room up into different zones for different activities, such as a playroom, work area, or gym space. Use area rugs, furniture arrangement, or room dividers to divide each space without closing it off completely by walls. This is a helpful tip for an open concept space such as a studio apartment.
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8. Utilize Vertical Space
One of our favorite tips on how to make a small room look bigger is to take advantage of any vertical space in your small room. You can do this by installing floor-to-ceiling shelving, tall bookcases, or vertical storage solutions like these baskets. This draws the eye upward and creates the illusion of higher ceilings, making the room feel taller and more spacious. It also helps minimize the amount of items on the floors an reduces clutter in your home.
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9. Keep Floors Clear
Minimize clutter on the floor to create a sense of openness and a larger room. Choose furniture with raised legs to allow light to flow freely underneath or furniture thats light in color. To make a small room feel bigger it is important to keep pathways clear.
10. Declutter Regularly
Embrace the less-is-more philosophy and declutter regularly to keep the space feeling open and airy. Invest in stylish storage solutions like baskets, bins, and wall-mounted organizers to keep belongings out of sight and neat in your small room. We recommend under the bed storage or vacuum sealed storage bags for seasonal clothing or unused bedding.
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TIP: Maximize the storage space in your baskets by rolling up the clothing instead of folding them.
11. Strategic Lighting
Illuminate the room with a combination of ambient, task, and accent lighting to create depth and dimension in your small room. Avoid harsh overhead lighting and instead opt for soft, diffused lighting to create a warm and inviting atmosphere. One way to achieve this warm glow is to be sure that your lighting is uniform in each room. For example, make sure the light bulbs are the same color in the same bedroom for all the different fixtures.
12. Opt for Clear Furniture
Choose furniture made of transparent materials like glass or acrylic to minimize visual clutter and create the illusion of more space in your small room. Clear coffee tables, dining chairs, console tables or side tables can make a room feel larger and more open. We love this clear small room table because it visually disappears when you glance into the room but still serves as a functional piece of furniture in the small room.
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13. Use Horizontal Stripes
Incorporate horizontal stripes into your small rooms decor scheme to visually widen the space and make it appear larger. Whether this is done using wallpaper or rugs horizontal stripes create the perception of a broader room. We love this small room solution for an accent wall in a bedroom or small bathroom.
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TIP: Don’t limit yourself to looking at only horizontal wallpaper options, look at any striped wallpaper and just apply it horizontally to create the illusion of a larger room.
14. Hang Curtains High and Wide
Hang curtains close to the ceiling and extend them beyond the width of the window frame to create the illusion of taller and wider windows. This small room tip elongates the walls and makes the room feel more spacious. We suggest hanging your curtain rod at least 2-3 inches down from the ceiling and 2-3 inches away from the top corners of the windows.
15. Choose Leggy Furniture
Select furniture with slender legs or open bases to create a sense of visual lightness. Sofas, chairs, and tables with exposed legs allow light to pass through, making the room feel less crowded therefore bigger.
16. Opt for Reflective Surfaces
Incorporate reflective surfaces like glass, metallics, or glossy finishes to bounce light around the room and create a sense of a larger room. Reflective surfaces add depth and dimension to small spaces as well as making them feel brighter and more open.
17. Create a Focal Point
Draw attention away from the room’s size by creating a focal point that commands attention. Whether it’s a statement piece of artwork, a bold accent wall, or a stunning light fixture, a focal point adds visual interest and distracts from the room’s limitations.
With these 17 genius tips and tricks, you can transform even the smallest room into a spacious and stylish space. From strategic furniture arrangement to clever use of color and light, there are plenty of ways to maximize space and create the illusion of a larger room. With a little ingenuity and imagination, the possibilities are endless.
This blog post was all about how to make a small room look bigger.
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