The Art of Illusion: Making Small Spaces Look Bigger

When young, all of us dream of being princesses or warriors living in big castles we called home with tens of servants around us, luxurious furniture to sit on and the best of delicacies to enjoy. But sadly, for the majority of us, this only remained a dream. Most of us have lived in medium-sized homes, stuffed all our suitcases in a dorm room when moving to college, gotten ourselves the cheapest of apartments to rent and now finally, are moving into another small space after marriage.

If there was one thing that remained constant were the small spaces in which we spent half of our lives. Even today, thanks to the soaring prices of homes and apartments in Australia, many of us are confined into small spaces with bedrooms that barely fit the bed, a TV lounge we call our dining area and home office, and bathrooms not big enough to fit a bath tub.

But despite all that, aren’t we all happy? Because we understand that it isn’t the small spaces that matter, it is the people who dwell in it.

If you have recently found yourself feeling a little ashamed to call your work colleagues to your new home because you think they might find it small, you can either get advice from property stylists or follow some of these styling tips that might come in handy.

Using these hacks, you can easily make any space appear bigger–guaranteed!

1. Wallpaper the ceiling: Doing so will draw attention upwards and make a room feel bigger.
2. Get the flooring right: Going with different flooring styles can make bigger spaces look smaller. Since that isn’t the goal here, choose a single type of flooring as it creates the illusion of an uninterrupted flow. This makes the room look part of a bigger space. When choosing tiles, choose one with fewer grout lines and a large format design as it makes the floor look like you invested some solid money into it.
3. Put in stylish pieces: Take up any interior design magazine and look up any latest furniture styles and you will see that it is the statement pieces that reign. Think about it, instead of putting separate couches, going with one will leave you more space to add other stuff.
4. Stay low on the paint: By that we mean to keep walls single coloured by picking lighter shades that don’t trap light. Going with a darker paint will only make the room feel cosier and you will also have to invest hugely in the lighting.
5. Don’t push the future to the wall: Even though the opposite makes more sense as you get more space in the centre, many home stylists suggest to keep at least a few inches of distance between the walls and your large furniture pieces to make the room feel bigger.
6. When carpeting, go for striped rugs: No need to carpet the whole house when you can simply lay a few rugs here and there to make the space appear more airy than compact. When choosing rugs, go for a striped rug as they make spaces appear longer.
7. Cover your windows with stylish indoor plants: You can always hang them from the window top or let them sit comfortably in the window sill. Not only do they make spaces look fresher and tidy, they also help create the illusion of a larger room.
8. Remove some doors: Unless you are worried about privacy invasion, removing a few doors that separate two smaller rooms can also make your house look bigger.