Not all of us are blessed to live in a grand home with high ceilings and a large square footage – me included! But there are ways to give the illusion of a wider, taller, brighter space that are not only doable, but very affordable! Here are my 3 favorite and easy tricks to make any room feel bigger than what it truly is.
How Can I make a small room feel larger?
1. Paint
Did you know that by painting the walls, doors, and trim in a room the same color it will actually give the illusion of a larger space? A perfect example of this is our recent Basement Makeover where EVERYTHING but the ceiling got a few “licks” of dark moody blue, courtesy of LICK paint.
I also used this same trick in my home office, and not only does the room feel rich and warm, but it also looks so much larger than when we first moved in!
We’re using the same technique in my parents’ home office makeover at the moment. My parents were definitely not sure they wanted to go with my suggestion of painting the closet doors and trim the same color as the walls, but now that they’ve seen the power of this trick, they have mentioned several times how glad they are they took the risk with me!
Looking for more examples of the power of paint? Don’t miss when we painted our fireplace wall BLACK!!!
2. Vertical Trim
And speaking of my parents’ home office, adding board and batten or vertical trim to the walls is an amazing way to trick the eye into seeing a much grander space. The vertical lines draw the eye upward giving the illusion of higher ceilings. And the depth and dimension that board and batten create makes the room feel and look more expensive!
We used board and batten in our dark narrow entry hallway and painted the entire space Sherwin Williams Alabaster. As soon as my husband began nailing the trim up we could immediately seen a difference! You can read all about the entry transformation here!
Pro Tip: Choose primed MDF rather than wood trim to save money!
Vertical Trim in our Powder Room transformation
3. Window Treatments
One of the easiest ways to make a room feel larger is to allow more natural light to come in! If you choose to hang curtains in your space, mount the curtain rod as close to the top of the wall as possible. The brackets should be wide enough on either side of the window that when the curtains are open, the entire window and trim are exposed.
This not only allows in more light, but makes your windows and ceilings seem MUCH taller! Also make sure that you purchase curtains long enough that they kiss the floor. Curtains that are too short will make the room feel smaller.
What is a trick you would add to this list? Let me know in the comments! Make sure you’re following along on Instagram for daily updates on my parents’ home office makeover along with extra DIY tips and a peek inside our every day life!
xoxo, L