5 Tips That Will Make Any Small Room Look Bigger

Get ready to redecorate with an eye for a more spacious room:

1. Similar colors. When you paint one part of the room dark and one part of the room light, the room is visually cut in half—unfortunately, this makes the space seem smaller than it is. Instead, keep the tone similar throughout the room from the tile to the walls. When the space is continuous, it naturally feels bigger.

2. Extend those colors to the ceiling. As you’re going, paint the ceiling, too; and make it match the walls. The most difference you want is a shade lighter. As on the walls, the continuity and relaxed emphasis on the corners and edges of the room make the space feel larger than it is!

3. Avoid anything that becomes a wall. Don't put large pieces of furniture in the center of the room so that it blocks the flow. Look for a clean visual line from the door around the room to give the illusion of more space.

4. Hang big mirrors. Mirrors reflect light in a space, and the combination of continuity of color and reflected space can make a room appear much, much larger. For the best effect, use large, flat mirrors.

5. Make the most of windows. Natural light, especially reflected, makes a room look significantly larger, and has even been shown to boost moods! Pull back those curtains, add a skylight, add an extra window—let the light in.

Your room may be small, but it doesn’t have to look that way!