How to make a Small Room Look Bigger

Have you ever wondered how to make a small room look bigger?

Instagram and glossy magazines are full of inspirational images of amazing homes. Often, the homes depicted are large, with tall ceilings and oodles of natural light. Most of us don’t live in spaces like this, but this doesn’t mean we can’t have an equally impressive space. With effort, creativity, and careful consideration of design choices, a small space doesn’t need to feel small and uninspiring.

Let’s start by talking through the basic steps. I’ll then go into more detail about each, explain my thoughts, and give you some recommendations.

How to make a Small Room Look Bigger

Use Neutral Colours

Using neutral colours that complement the orientation and light of the room is a smart design choice. It will add warmth and character and instantly be more visually appealing than white.

Use Colour-Scale Collections

For rooms with low ceilings, use darker colours at floor level and gradually lighten the tone as you move towards the ceiling.

Use colours With High Light Reflective Values

The Light Reflective Value (LRV) scale is a way to measure how much light a colour reflects or absorbs.

Choose an Appropriate Accent Wall

If you have a narrow room, choosing a darker tone on the narrow walls will trick the eye into making the space feel more expansive.

Consider Vertical Stripes

Vertical stripes are useful for making a room feel taller if low ceilings are the challenge. Creating the illusion of a higher ceiling will make the room feel more spacious.

How do you use Paint to make Spaces Look Larger?

For many, the first idea that comes to mind when faced with a small space is to paint everything white. Although this will make a room feel spacious, it will also create a feeling of being void of character and rather clinical.

Using neutral colours that complement the orientation and light of the room is a smart design choice. It will add warmth and character and instantly be more visually appealing than white. Painting the walls, ceilings and woodwork in the same colour will avoid visual line breaks and is a great way to create a feeling of space.

A considered approach in rooms with interesting architectural features, such as cornice and moulding, is to pick out the details using tonal changes. Paint and Paper Library has a collection of colour-scale collections designed to create this interesting monochromatic effect. This includes warm neutrals such as Stone and cool neutrals such as Salt. Painting exciting details in a darker tone will be interesting without being overwhelming.

For rooms with low ceilings, use darker colours at floor level and gradually lighten the tone as you move towards the ceiling. Colour-scale collections are ideal for this purpose. Ceilings should be the lightest tone in this scheme choice, but always avoid opting for brilliant white. It’s too cold and jarring!

Understanding Light Reflective Values to Make Colour Choices

What if you want to use colour in your small space? You absolutely can. Understanding the Light Reflective Value (LRV) scale is essential.

The Light Reflective Value (LRV) scale is a way to measure how much light a colour reflects or absorbs. It runs from zero, a colour that absorbs all light (black), to 100, a colour that reflects all light (perfectly white). So, if you want to use a green colour scheme in your small space, a shade like Little Greene Salix with an LRV of 58 would be a better choice than Aquamarine Deep with an LRV of 38 as it reflects more light and makes the space feel larger.

In addition to colour, the sheen (glossiness) of the product also changes LRV. Opting for a paint with a higher sheen will bounce light around the space more than very matt finishes, Eggshell can be used to brilliant effect on walls to achieve this.

Little Greene Intelligent Eggshell is a great choice.

Paint colour selection will differ depending on the purpose of the room. Painting a small room in a dark colour might be the right choice for you. It can create a wonderfully cocooning sanctuary —perfect for Winter nights. Dark colours with a lot of depth are more challenging for our eyes to focus on and will trick the brain into thinking the walls are further away. Although these colours have a low LRV rating, the effect might suit your small space.

How do you use accent walls and wallpaper in a small space?

Accent walls are divisive, and random painting of one colourful wall is a design trend that is thankfully behind us! However, understanding the impact of using different tones of colour is a helpful tool for visually changing a room’s dimensions. For example, if you have a narrow room, choosing a darker tone on the narrow walls will trick the eye into making the space feel more expansive. Another bolder example uses a darker tone on the top half of the wall – this will trick the eye into thinking that the room’s footprint is more expansive – but it will shorten the walls, so this works best where ceiling height is generous.

Vertical stripes are useful for making a room feel taller if low ceilings are the challenge. Creating the illusion of a higher ceiling will make the room feel more spacious. Vertical stripes can be introduced using architectural elements, such as wall panelling, paint, or striped wallpaper.

Wallpaper designs are endless, and there will be something that suits your style. Whether this is a more traditional stripe. Click here for more Info.

A textural design – Click here for more info.

Or something more graphical – Click here for more info.

If you love patterned wallpaper and maximalist spaces, you can embrace this in a small space. Avoid overly small patterns, as they make the space seem smaller, especially if used on only one wall. A large pattern throughout the whole space is the best way to visually trick the eye into thinking the space is larger than it is. If a wallpaper has metallic or reflective qualities, it is even better – Click here to see the perfect example.

How do you choose the right finishing touches for small spaces?

Here are a few design tips on using finishing touches to maximise your small space.

• Keep small rooms clear of clutter and consider including storage. Use wall space to hang shelves and storage to avoid too much floor-level furniture.
• Mirrors bounce more light around in a space, creating a feeling of openness. Hang mirrors at 90º to windows.
• Choose sofas, chairs and furniture with legs. Seeing the floor below a piece creates the illusion of space that a solid piece doesn’t give.
• Ensure furniture is appropriately scaled to the space—not too large or too small. Good proportions will maximise the feeling of spaciousness.
• Hanging curtains from ceiling height to the floor will make a space feel more expansive.

In Summary

Small rooms come in many flavours: compact, narrow, awkward and low. There are several items in the designer’s toolbox to overcome these challenges. It’s a lot of fun to design and create a small space with the wow factor:

• Understand the space limitations and decide what combination of tools will make it feel bigger visually.
• When using paint, consider the room’s intended use. Choose colours with a higher LRV and higher sheen surfaces for light and bright spaces.
• Don’t be afraid to go bold and let your design personality shine through for cosy and nurturing spaces.
• Declutter, declutter, declutter.
• Have fun, be creative and don’t just paint a small room white!