5 Quick and Easy Ways to Make Small Rooms Feel Bigger!
by Kathy Wilson
Description: Creative tips for decorating small rooms.
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Decorating small rooms can be quite a challenge, but there
are some simple things you can do in a weekend to make the
space seem to expand before your eyes!
1. Go buy the largest mirror you can afford, and place it in
a focal area of the room, such as over a mantel, or over a
sofa. Hang it a little higher than eye level to avoid
reflecting clutter if necessary. If you can't afford a
large mirror, drop by your discount store and dollar shop
and pick up a few smaller ones to create a grouping of
mirrors to accomplish the same purpose. I have decorative
mirrors in almost every room of my modestly sized home, and
when I take them down to paint or clean, I am shocked at how
much more closed in the room feels. One mirror adds several
visual feet to any room!
2. Don't leave your walls white! I know, that's not what
you've always heard. White walls can be difficult to pull
off in an interesting way, and they don't expand a room any
more than light colors do, so add some personality! Paint
your walls a light cool color, such as blue or green. Cool
colors fool the eye into thinking the walls are farther away
than they really are, while warm colors make walls seem
closer. (Most whites used in homes are warm whites.) So
bring in that pale blue or green!
3. Change your furniture arrangement. I don't believe there
is any one formula that works for every room...some rooms
will seem larger with the furniture against the walls, and
some will seem large if you float the furniture out into the
room. Experiment! If you don't want to spend a whole
afternoon rearranging furniture (I know a good
chiropractor!) then use graph paper to do it. Assign each
square of the paper to 1 square foot. Draw in walls, traffic
patterns, and other obstacle such as doors. Then cut out small
pieces the size of each piece of furniture. Now you can use
your furniture templates to move your furniture around on
paper, to find the perfect fit for you, before you move a
stick! Keep in mind, you still may want to make a change or
two after you get it all into actual place. That's ok, us
decorators change our minds too!
4. Remove all accessories that break up the space. This is
the case where less is more. If two patterned pillows add
the pizzazz you need, then don't add four. Use larger scale
accessories instead of many smaller ones. And get rid of
clutter! We tend to stop seeing the pile of magazines
because we are used to them, try to look at the room with an
objective eye. If your kitchen is small, don't store things
on the counter, put them behind cupboard doors. Kids toys?
Find inexpensive bins that can slide under the end tables,
then cover with table cloths. If you don't love it or need
it, get rid of it! (Don't keep an accessory out just because
it fills space!)
5. This is the most underutilized tip for small rooms of all,
but also one of the easiest! Keep all your windows and
reflective surfaces sparkling clean! Don't believe me? Try
it now, go clean that sliding glass door, then stand back.
Looks bigger, doesn't it! Now do the same for the rest of
the windows, tv screens, dishwasher fronts, glass over
artwork and glass tabletops. The shiny clean surfaces both
reflect light (which always brightens and enlarges a room)
and creates a smooth surface for your eye to glide over,
creating the illusion of more space! It works!
Five easy ways to enlarge the look of any room, and you can
do it in an afternoon or a weekend!
Kathy Wilson is an author, columnist, and editor of several
popular home and garden websites. For hundreds of free do it
yourself home and garden ideas, please visit her websites
now at http://www.TheBudgetDecorator.com,
http://www.DecoratingYourSmallSpace.com and
http://www.TheGardenGlove.com. Also visit her at
http://www.Women-on-the-Net.com.
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