Making a small room feel bigger

Why some rooms feel bigger

Two rooms with the same floor area can feel completely different. The difference usually comes down to how far, and how uninterrupted, your line of sight is. If you open the door and a tall wardrobe is right in front of you, your eye stops immediately and the room feels short. If your gaze runs straight from the door to the window and you can see plenty of floor, the room feels larger than it is. So the starting point for a small room is not what to add but what is blocking the view. Stand in the middle, look around, and note which object your eye catches on first.

Start by measuring and clearing

Before moving or buying furniture, measure the room, the positions of windows and doors, and the sockets, and make a rough sketch. Mark the swing of the door and any heater under the window so furniture does not end up blocking them. If you want the floor area, an area calculator will do it. Then reduce what sits on the floor first, because the more floor you can see, the bigger the room looks. When adding furniture, allow not just for its footprint but for the space in front needed to open its drawers and doors.

• Sketch the room with windows, doors and sockets
• Mark the door's swing
• Clear what is on the floor first
• Draw new furniture to scale on the sketch before buying

Light colours, and not too many

Light walls and large furniture reflect more light, so the room looks brighter and bigger. White is not the only answer, though. What matters more is how many colours you use and how strongly they contrast. If walls, curtains, bedding and furniture are all different colours, the surfaces look chopped up and busy. Use one base colour widely, one supporting colour and one accent, and the room calms down. The usual rule of thumb is mostly base, some supporting colour and a small touch of accent. Choosing curtains close to the wall colour makes the window area blend into the wall, so the wall reads as larger.

Keep furniture low and on legs

Tall furniture blocks space vertically and feels oppressive. Group any large storage you really need beside the door or along the same wall so it is not the first thing you see. Sofas, beds and cabinets on legs, with floor visible underneath, feel lighter. Clear or slim chairs and tables also block less of the view. Let one piece do several jobs: under-bed storage, a folding table and wall-mounted shelves all store things without taking up floor. Matching materials and colours across pieces also makes them read as fewer, tidier blocks.

Push furniture to the walls and leave a path

Furniture floating in the middle of a room creates awkward gaps on every side and eats space. Put large pieces against the walls and keep a near-straight path from the door to the window; movement gets easier and the room looks bigger. Place the bed where it does not block the window, and the desk where daylight comes from the side if you can, so you need artificial light less during the day. Before buying anything, try two or three layouts with what you already own. That alone often makes a big difference.

Use mirrors and lighting to add depth

A large mirror reflects the room back and adds depth. Facing a window it brings in outside light and view, though a spot directly facing the bed, where you will see it constantly, is best avoided. Fix mirrors firmly to the wall so they cannot fall. For lighting, rather than one ceiling light for the whole room, add lamps that wash walls or corners; when the edges of a room are lit, its boundaries feel farther away. The more dark corners a room has, the smaller it looks.

Common mistakes

The most common mistake in a small room is filling it with lots of small furniture and ornaments to make it look bigger. Many small things make a room look cluttered. One large rug looks tidier than several small ones, and one large picture tidier than a cluster of small frames. It is also common to chase a spacious look until daily life becomes awkward. Cut storage too far and things drift back onto the floor, undoing the effect, so secure a place for what you use every day first and then pare back the rest.

• Putting tall furniture directly opposite the door
• Using a different colour or pattern on every wall
• Scattering small ornaments everywhere
• Buying furniture without measuring