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How to make a living room look bigger and brighter


7 Tips to Make a Room Look Bigger

Photographee.eu / Shutterstock

Need to add some pizzazz to a small space? When outfitting small spaces, everything counts. With a few well-placed items and smart design choices, you can actually make a room look bigger. 

Ready to transform your space? Here are seven tips for making your small room look much bigger.

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7 easy tips to make a room look bigger

1. Use contrasts and light colors  Photographee.eu / Shutterstock

Here’s how to make a room look bigger with color. (Hint: It’s an optical illusion.) In the design world, it’s well known that light paint colors make a room look bigger and brighter. Light and bright walls are more reflective, making a space feel open and airy, which helps maximize natural light’s effect. Dark shades tend to absorb light, making rooms feel smaller. 

Accenting walls to make a room look bigger is another way to go. Accent walls add to the decorative space in color without being too overpowering. Start your painting journey with a color palette that suits your style.

So, what colors make a room look bigger? For an optimum effect, go with soft tones like off-white, blues, and greens, and always remember that brighter rooms feel bigger and more inviting. And here’s another hack: Try painting your wall trim and moldings in a lighter color than your walls. By doing so, the walls will appear farther back, making your living room seem even bigger. To get you started, consider looking at some of the best neutral colors.  

2. Open up your space with creative lighting

asbe / Getty Images

Natural light opens up the interior of any room and makes it look larger. That’s great if you have natural light. If you don’t, that’s totally fine. Add some creative lighting effects using light fixtures. You’ll be amazed at how this small addition can make a big difference.

If you have access to natural light, bringing it into your home through large windows will instantly connect the room with the outdoors, no longer limiting your space. Use sheer window curtains, or pull them back completely, to allow more light in. If the view is bad, put plants or flowers near the windows and use lamps to brighten the space.

3. Cut the clutter

in4mal / GettyImages

Keeping a room tidy and organized can physically and visually open up space in any room. With things neatly arranged and out of sight, the space that is in view will feel orderly and open. Try to keep the floor as clear as possible. Remove large rugs to create the illusion of more floor space.

This approach also applies to your walls. Don’t cover your walls with a lot of pictures. One large painting or tapestry works better than a group of small paintings when you’re thinking about how to make a room look bigger.

4. Create a focal point

Westend61 / Getty

Learn how to make a room look bigger through an established focal point — one area or feature that will draw the eye’s attention. In the dining room, that’s probably the table. In the bedroom, it’s the bed.

Make that focal point the star of the room. Arrange the furniture so that focus is drawn to that area, and keep the décor in the rest of the room to a minimum (limit the number of accessories).

Yvonne Pratt, a designer at StoneGable, calls the focal point “the star” of its space. She explains how you identify that star and shares some examples like fireplaces, large art, or a window “with a breathing view.” 

5. Use mirrors

moodboard / GettyImages

If you’ve ever wondered, “Can mirrors actually make a room look bigger?” the answer is a resounding yes. Mirrors can make your room look larger and more open. Use a focal point and angle your mirrors toward it to give the illusion of depth. 

Leoma Harper, interior design expert with Style the Clutter, says that mirrors can, “totally transform a space, reflecting light into dark corners, frame details, help you get ready in the morning, but most importantly, they can completely open up a room giving the illusion of space and light.”  

Mirrors also reflect both natural and artificial light to make a room brighter during the day and night. Placing a mirror near a window to reflect the world outside is especially effective.

Mirrors on the walls and glass table tops also will give your room a more open feel, or use mirrored cabinet doors. Ever considered mirrors on the floor? That’s another clever way to make a room look bigger.

6. Get creative with furniture

Ivan Pantic / Getty

Using the right furniture is a key way to make a room look bigger. You can use multi-functional furniture, such as a chest that can be used as a coffee table, a sofa bed, or a bed with storage drawers. Expandable dining tables, folding tables, and nesting tables, which can be tucked away when you don’t need them, are also good picks.

Keep in mind that tall and bulky furniture can take up precious space. Choose a sofa and chairs with open arms and exposed legs. This allows light to filter under the furniture, making the room appear airier.

7. Maximize your room arrangement

NelleG / Getty Images

Scale your furniture to fit the size of the room. Place larger pieces of furniture against the walls to maximize the open space and make a small room look bigger. Also, don’t block pathways. If furniture and accessories block the view into a room, it will look cramped.

The longest straight line in any room is the diagonal. When you place your furniture at an angle, it leads the eye along the longer wall. Bonus: You often get some additional storage space behind the piece.

Making the most of your space can also be achieved by floating shelves or creative uses of closet space as well. Have an empty wall? 

Color techniques, furniture arranging, mirror placement, and creative lighting design can fool the eye and make interiors seem much more spacious than they actually are. But don’t stop there – let your interior designer side take over, and discover what works best for your home. 

Frequently asked questions

Q:

What colors make a room look bigger?

A:

If you’re searching for colors that make a room look bigger, look for light colors, like off-white, dusty blue, light gray, and sage green.

Q:

Do built-ins make a room look bigger?

A:

You can learn how to make a room look bigger by maximizing space through the use of built-ins or multifunctional furniture. This gives you a place for clutter while also maximizing precious storage space.

Q:

What furniture style can make a room look bigger?

A:

Multifunctional furniture, or pieces that can double as other items, is a good way to make a room look bigger, as are pieces with exposed legs.

Q:

What colors make a living room look bigger?

A:

The decorating rules for any  room apply to living rooms as well. If you want to make your living room look bigger, stick to lighter colors that reflect more light and make the space feel more open. Neutrals, like off-white, beige, or light grays, are a great way to add a level of sophistication and calm.

Virginia Brown contributed to this post.

How to make a small living room look bigger: 12 steps to success

(Image credit: Future)

Does your small living room need to look bigger? Is space tight or is a lack of light make it feel compact?  We’ve come up with sure fire ways to make a living room look bigger, lighter and brighter – and we don’t mean by going minimalist and painting everything white – though that will work.  

From options that include white ceilings, light wood flooring and not having fussy window treatments to clever ways with mirrors, these expert tips will be useful if you are looking for small living room ideas that are purely space-enhancing.

How to make a small living room look bigger

Whether you're looking for small living room ideas for apartments or want to make a small living room look bigger in a vacation home or cottage, our curated advice from industry experts will help.

1. Choose a simple color scheme

(Image credit: Future / Lisa Cohen)

The primary thing to remember when designing a small room is to ensure all tones stick to the same color palette – thus creating flow throughout the room. Bobby Berk regularly emphasizes the importance of creating a cohesive space on his blog . Despite his adoration for color, Bobby's living room paint ideas tend to be based around monochromatic and tonal hues that will accentuate the scheme further.  

When choosing our palette, Bobby reminds us to think of the space as 'one cohesive space' instead of using different colors and patterns that will divide the room and make it feel smaller.  

'With studios especially, the instinct is often to cut the main room into separate sections to create the illusion of a larger room – but what you're actually doing is cluttering up the space and making it appear much smaller,' he warns. 

'That doesn't mean that it can't be colorful, but that does mean sticking to a tonal palette, whether that be cool tones like blues and greens or warmer tones like terracotta, beige, and rusts,' Bobby explains. 

'By keeping things within the same palette, the space will feel larger and more cohesive, which will allow it to feel less disjointed. In a smaller space, we usually like to use a matte finish to help hide imperfections in the wall, which will make the dark color feel more expansive visually,' he adds. 

2. Use color, but wisely

(Image credit: Neptune)

Creating a bigger and brighter living room doesn’t mean you can’t have color. A dark shade on your walls will create the opposite feel, but if you choose a light warming shade like coral for example it will lift the space. 

Use white on your woodwork and skirtings and if you have shutters all the better – if not, and you can cope without drapes, then let the light pour in. Instead of investing in dark wood furniture, opt for painted pieces instead and rustic wood suits this look really well. 

3. Opt for beautiful textures

(Image credit: Kitesgrove)

To make a small living room look bigger, you will want to pare back clutter – but you don’t want to create a sterile scheme with minimalism and all-pale shades – which, we know, create space-enhancing light spaces. Instead, keep it cozy with sumptuous textures that don't take up space visually. 

Sheepskin rugs, beautiful grained wood pieces, limed floorboards, velvet cushions and oh-so-soft tan leather armchairs will all warm up a scheme instantly, particularly when used in otherwise minimalist apartment living room ideas.

4. Embrace magic of mirrors

(Image credit: VSP Interiors)

We 100% believe in the power of decorating with mirrors because they can make a small living room look bigger – if you get their placement right. 

VSP Interiors show you how fabulous they can look in this living room. This pair of mirrored alcoves immediately bounces the light from the windows and reflects everything back. It’s the sure fire way to add light and brightness, but go large with your mirrors – there’s no room for small and dainty here.

5. Layer lighting to make a small living room look bigger

(Image credit: Farrow & Ball)

Small living room lighting ideas can make your space feel bigger at night, even if the room has oodles of natural light in the day time. Layering the heights of your lighting is key – so ensure you have a pendant light overhead with a dimmable control, lots of lamp light and wall lights. Choose shades that can both direct light for tasks like reading, and create pools of light for atmosphere. Having wall lights that direct soft shafts of light up and down will also make the space look taller.

6. Keep your furniture refined 

(Image credit: Louise Bradley)

To make a small living room look bigger, you need to remove visually heavy furniture which will drain the light from your living room, and chunky pieces that are simply too big. Think ‘light’ with tapered legs and thin frames sections, glass is also worth considering. The sofa is key: knowing how to buy the right couch for a small living room will ensure your space feels as big as possible.

‘To achieve a light and spacious feel within a living room it is best to incorporate refined furniture pieces in lighter toned natural finishes such as soft timber veneers, artisan silver leaf or polished marble,’ explains Louise Bradley, Founder of Louise Bradley Design Studio . 

‘When selecting a piece, be mindful to consider the scale and avoid oversized options which can sometimes make a room feel darker. ’

Plus, choosing furniture with show legs (the legs on furniture that you can see as part of the design) instead of legs hidden beneath upholstery is one of the most effective ways to ensure your room does not appear smaller. Funiture that sits on the floor without legs is amongst the top items home organizers say make rooms feel small. Other things to avoid include board game packaging and small appliances on your kitchen worktop. 

7. Go for neutral pieces as a starting point 

(Image credit: Sofology)

The sofa is going to be the largest piece of furniture in your living room, so it pays to get the color and size right. 

‘A neutral sofa can help lighten the space, however it's worth remembering that neutral doesn’t have to mean selecting a plain design. Opting for styles with beautiful details, such as curves, buttons or fluting, will add character to a small space without overpowering your scheme, advises Suzy McMahon, Buying Director at Sofology .  

‘Additionally, cushions and throws in bolder shades and patterns can keep the look from feeling too pared back. Alternatively, an accent chair is a great way to add a pop of colour and will effortlessly lift a darker space.’  

8. Choose light and airy drapes

(Image credit: Jonathan Adler)

What you use on your windows is really important, dark heavy drapes will block the light and create a moodier feel in your living room – fine for creating an autumnal feel, but not conducive to a light and bright scheme. 

Follow Jonathan Adler’s lead – you can still use pattern and color, simply choose pale shades and a subtle design. These drapes enhance the living room perfectly and the design is reflected in the huge chequered rug – something else to consider as it helps to draw the eye to another light aspect in the room. 

9. Invest in good storage

(Image credit: Future/Paul Raeside)

Ensuring you have invested in the very best small living room storage ideas is key to making a small living space feel bigger. Using vertical space is a key way to maximize storage potential while taking up the smallest of footprints.

10. Embrace the space enhancing fifth wall

(Image credit: Davide Lovatti/Future PLC)

The best way to make a small living room look bigger without really changing much about a current scheme is to pay attention to the fifth wall – and even the sixth. We're talking about ceilings and floors. 

White or pale-colored finishes for both will make the room feel lighter, brighter, and bigger. 'A gloss finish for ceilings is a hot trend at the moment, and it has its uses if you're trying to make a small living room feel bigger,' says Lucy Searle, Homes & Gardens' Editor in Chief. 'I'd advise against choosing a gloss finish for the floor in this case – and a gloss ceiling should only be attempted if the finish is 100% perfect or imperfections will be highlighted.'

11. Choose compact furniture 

(Image credit: Future)

In smaller homes, ideally, look for multifunctional pieces to save on space. Ottomans with integrated storage and sofa beds are some of the most widely used. Living spaces, especially, will really benefit from multifunctional pieces. A living room might be doubling up as a guest room, a home office, or a playroom, so will need to cater to all of these.

Finding the right living room furniture often has to do with scale and putting the perfect pieces in the right spot. If you need to maximize space, it’s worth having something made or going the extra mile to find an antique with the right proportions.

12. Paint the fifth wall the same color 

(Image credit: Paul Massey)

‘Ceiling ideas can add another layer of interest and make a small living room feel bigger. All too often they are an afterthought but we make sure to consider their potential,’ confides interior designer Nicola Harding. Using statement color and paint ideas on the ceiling helped extend the walls in this tiny living room. 

Nicola starts by thinking about how she wants the room to feel, ultimately, and she also takes into consideration the amount of natural light – which comes here from the floor-to-ceiling glazed doors.  

What patterns make a small living room look bigger?

Stripes make a small living room look bigger. Use them vertically to make a low-ceilinged room look taller or horizontally on the narrowest wall to make a narrow space feel wider. You do not have to use pronounced stripes – they can be subtle to have an effect. And they do not have to be limited to walls – striped curtains can make windows feel taller.

What are the best tricks to make a small living room look bigger?

The best tricks to make a small living look bigger are:

Sophie has been an interior stylist and journalist for over 20 years and has worked for many of the main interior magazines during that time, both in-house and as a freelancer. On the side, as well as being the News Editor for indie magazine, 91, she trained to be a florist in 2019 and launched The Prettiest Posy where she curates beautiful flowers for modern weddings and events. For H&G, she writes features about interior design – and is known for having an eye for a beautiful room.

How to make a room brighter: photos and tips on how to make a dark room with a small window lighter and more spacious

Simple tricks to multiply the amount of incoming light and even make a dark room with windows to the north more spacious and lighter

In a typical high-rise building, an extra window is not " cut through”, there is no way to add natural light. Therefore, techniques of visual correction of space come to the rescue. Here's how to make a dark room bright and effectively multiply the sunlight. nine0005

VVDesign

1. Lighten up the background
If the room is gloomy, there is no point in aggravating the situation by using dark tones in interior design that absorb natural light. The correct decoration of the walls, ceiling and floor will help to make a dark room lighter.

Architectural studio Astar project

Shades do not have to be snow-white: just choose any light option. Imagine that the built-in wardrobe in the photo was made of dark wood. nine0005

DSGN HUB

Important : be sure to make a light wall opposite the window. And do not try to hang dark pictures on it or move a dark rack to it - immediately ruin the main idea.

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IN YOUR CITY…
► Houzz can hire a designer or architect in any city or country. Start looking for a specialist
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Victoria Glaz

2. Use sunny shades
White walls certainly create a wonderful atmosphere on sunny days. But not in our latitudes, where half the days of the year you won’t even see the sun. If you do not want to enjoy the atmosphere of the gray sky in your own bedroom, choose the whole range of yellow and close tones for decoration. In a similar way, you can make a room lighter with wallpaper or paint - and then even on the dullest day it will seem to you that the sun has visited you.

Urazmetov Rustem

In the photo: the interior of this Moscow apartment is made in the colors of Mondrian's paintings, while the bedroom got yellow for a reason - it fills the owners with energy and optimism, even if the weather is cloudy outside the window

ECO CEILING INC

3. Let everything will be glossy - even the ceiling
A stretch ceiling will not fit into every interior, but it is guaranteed to bring the room, as in the photo, out of the status of a gloomy lair. By the way, to make the space of the room brighter, you can use paint with a metallic effect or foil hanging structures - the effect is comparable! nine0005

Well Done Interiors Olimpiada Arefieva

The same applies to semi-mirror and glossy furniture surfaces that distribute and multiply light. If possible, use as much gloss as possible in the setting - this will make the room more spacious and lighter.

Alexandra Tkacheva

4. Hang a mirror on the wall… of any room
Use the ancient mirror trick. The best solution is to hang it directly on the wall opposite the window. This will not only make the room much brighter, but also visually enlarge the space. nine0005

TS Design | Taras Bezrukov and Stas Samkovich

Ideally, when the mirror is placed opposite the window, it multiplies the amount of light.

5. Make the walls transparent…
Did you get an open-plan apartment? Do not risk losing the last rays of the sun behind a deaf interior partition.

BY TOPIC…
I wish I could: Showcase dressing room

Yuliya Telnova

To preserve light in the interior of a dark room, we strongly recommend glass blocks and frosted glass instead of solid partitions. nine0005

REMONSTROOM

6. Dissolve furniture
Plastic tables and chairs, glass tops - transparent structures visually disappear, allowing light to freely pass through them.

Anne Chemineau - Decor Interieur

7. Get rid of dark furnishings
In general, there should not be dark and massive objects in the room: they prevent the penetration and distribution of light. Choose a bed, sofa or wardrobe in light colors. This does not mean that the room should look like a surgical department: build the interior on the nuances of warm pastel shades. In this case, inclusions of any bright colors are quite acceptable. nine0005

Bjurfors Göteborg

8. Remove curtains
If the window is small, it is better to do without any curtains. If you live on the first floor or your windows are well visible from neighboring apartments, choose a light organza. Through it, the light will be pleasantly scattered around the room. Let the fabric flow from the ceiling to the floor (this will create the visual illusion of a larger window), and hang the curtain rod as high as possible.

Roman Spiridonov

9. Let sunbeams into the room
Sparkling chandeliers, crystal vases, thread curtain with decorative beads - a well-known recipe for brightening up a room and making it sparkle and shimmer in the sun.

MAKEdesign

10. Clean your windows
Cleaning windows is hardly anyone's favorite activity. However, if you have not touched the glass and the frame for a long time, conduct an experiment - wash the windows clean. We promise: it will make the room at least a little, but brighter.

This is archival material. First published in 2015, updated in 2021

How to visually enlarge a small living room: 18 secrets - INMYROOM

Tips life. We tell you how

A cramped living room can become more spacious if you use design tricks. We talk about the advantage of light shades that reflect surfaces, open shelves and other simple visual tricks - they make a small room a little bigger. nine0005

Idea #1: A bright start

Interiors with neutral colors tend to look warmer and more inviting. And light shades reflect light better and visually increase the space of the interior. Therefore, pastel colors are the best fit for decorating a small room.

Idea #2: whiter than white

Various shades white color - a classic version of interior design. This The color is easy to adapt to any style and goes well with other shades of the palette. And the white color visually enlarges the space of the room and fills it with air. nine0005

Idea #3: Start with a clean slate

When choosing a color for the ceiling, forget about dark shades: they reduce the space of the room. Fill your home with light by painting the ceiling in a soft pastel tone. So it will appear taller, and the living room more spacious.

Idea #4: let there be light!

Hang in the center of the living room is a beautiful lamp. When entering a room, the first thing to look at is an overhead light source, making the ceiling in the living room appear higher.

Idea #5: Lightness of being

Choosing curtains, make sure they match the color of the walls. Such a color the solution will help to make the space more voluminous. Curtains not should be too dense and heavy: it is best to combine roller blinds and light cotton tulle or curtains.

Idea #6: The formula for comfort

With the right lighting, even the smallest room will appear larger. To achieve the desired effect, place the lamp in front of the mirror: your interior will become bright and spacious - good lighting works wonders. nine0005

Idea No. 7: take the height

Win-win option to visually enlarge interior space - hang a cornice as close to the ceiling as possible. And reach maximum effect will help curtains flowing to the floor.

Idea No. 8: for all occasions

Multifunctional furniture is a great option for those who who is limited in square meters: it makes the interior more spacious. The main thing, to make it convenient for you to lay out the sofa bed or pull out the dining table. Therefore, choose the right place for transformable furniture - taking into account its sizes. nine0005

Idea #9: the magic of glass

Small pieces of glass and other lightweight furniture materials look stylish, bring variety to the interior and visually expand its space. And to give the room more spacious and bright view, choose furniture with legs.

Idea No. 10: complete order

Order - the first step to visually enlarge a small room: free window sill from books and plants. Windows let in light and fill the room air, so try to leave them open and not stuffed with extra stuff. nine0005

Idea #11: Nothing to hide

If the rack is high, if the shelves are up to the ceiling: so you it will be possible to visually "raise" the ceiling. And in order not to overload the interior, try not to force the shelves with items - leave free space, remember the air.

Idea #12: two in one

Sitting window sill – An absolute must-have for a small living room or bedroom. He is lucky fits into the space, replacing at the same time a sofa and a bulky closet. Making a sitting window sill is easy: just move it to the window rack and cover it with a soft blanket. nine0005

Idea #13: in the country of mirrors

Don't forget about mirrors - they work wonders! Creating the illusion of open space in the interior, mirrors fill the room with light and air.

Idea No. 14: size matters

Large-format paintings not only attract attention, but also make the interior more voluminous, and therefore more interesting. What not to say about the collection of miniature accessories that clutter up the space of the room and create a sense of disorder. nine0005

Idea #15: More is better!

When choosing wallpaper or textiles, give preference for large patterns - they optically expand the space interior. A small pattern, on the contrary, visually narrows the boundaries of the room.

Idea #16: striped flight

Perhaps one of the most successful drawings for small-sized interior design - it's a stripe. Longitudinal wide stripes on wallpaper, curtains or carpet Not only decorate and diversify the interior, but also visually expand it space. nine0005

Idea #17: like a feather

Lightweight glass furniture is a great option for owners of small spaces. After all even large pieces of glass furniture look weightless and therefore do not clutter up the interior space.

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