cultivating inspiration for fine living

Do you live in a small house? I do, and I know very well the challenges small spaces bring. As an interior designer, I also know how clever design solutions can optimise space, and make a room appear larger than it actually is.

Today I want to share with you 15 simple, effective ways that can help you make the most of your living space.

1 – Less is more.

Clutter and excess furniture will diminish the sense of space, so the first, obvious step to make a room look larger is to get rid of all the extra stuff congesting your space.

Reduce your furniture and belongings to a few essential items that you absolutely love. Keep only things that you find beautiful and that make you feel good every time you see them.

Ditch the rest.

2 – Go white

Paint walls, ceiling, doors, window frames, radiators, bulky furniture, and even floor in white, or off-white.

White opens up the space, removing visual boundaries, and make rooms appear airy and luminous. White is versatile, comes in infinite shades, and lends itself to many styles.

White is your ally. Use it.

3 – Go monochromatic

Enhance the sense of space through colour coordination. Use different shades of the same colour for your décor, keeping in mind that cold colours (blue, green, purple) recede, making the space look larger, while warm colours (red, orange, yellow) advance, making the space look smaller.

For maximum results, use mostly light shades, with a few darker accents for added depth.

4 – Go vertical

Use floor-to-ceiling storage units in white, or pale neutrals. Keep handles and trimmings to a minimum – a minimal, paired-down décor gives a streamlined look to the interior.

5 – Go horizontal

Horizontal lines lead the eye and trick it into thinking the space is large. Create long lines with shelves, Japanese-style panels, or large bands of colour painted around the room.

6 – Maximise light

Plenty of natural light makes every interior luminous, welcoming, and airy.

Choose curtains made of sheer fabric in the same colour of the walls, and mount the curtain poles close to the ceiling, and further out from the sides of the window, so that when the curtains are open the window is completely uncovered.

If the view from your window is not the best, or if you need privacy (e.g. in the bathroom), consider using opaque glass panels for the windows – textured, acid-etched, or sandblasted – to let maximum daylight filter through, obscure the view, and make curtains unnecessary.

If you have very tall windows, set the curtains slightly above eye-level, and leave the top part of the window exposed.

7 – Fake it

Reflect natural light into the room using mirrors – the larger, the better. Large mirrors create the illusion of another room and double up the space.

Use reflective surfaces to throw light back into the room, making it airy and bright – glass, metal, Perspex, lacquer, and glossy finishes.

8 – Clear the way

Be aware of circulation paths, and remove furniture blocking the way – it’s annoying, and can be dangerous.

Avoid using rugs, unless you choose a large one in a solid colour, and clear up as much floor space as possible – e.g. use suspended furniture.

9 – Go big

You might think the opposite, but a few good-sized, simple pieces of furniture look better than lots of small pieces. Take measurements before you buy, though, and keep the size of the furniture proportioned to the scale of the room – large is good, oversized isn’t.

For the same principle, choose one large artwork rather than  several small ones.

If using tiles, prefer large, plain tiles, and lay them diagonally to visually expand the room.

10 – Go blocky

Avoid patterns. Choose plain fabric, or tiny patterns in subtle colours. Use solid block of colours to create the impression of large, continuous spaces; colour-code books and ornaments, and group them together.

11 – Group it up

Cluster furniture together, leaving large areas of the room free. This applies to plants, too, ornaments, and pictures.

12 – Cover it up

Screen off shelves and unavoidable clutter (office files, children toys, electronic paraphernalia) with sliding panels, retractable doors, or folding ones. Think of hiding your computer in a cabinet with a pull-out table, or in a writing-bureau.

13 – Shop smart

Choose furniture that’s flexible (nesting tables, fold-away tables, pull-out boards),  multi-purpose (storage cubes doubling as seating, sofa-beds), visually light (transparent chairs, glass table tops, see-through screens), well designed & well made – cheap products are just a false economy, and they can drive you nuts (I can’t stand bad design…).

14 – Be creative

Think of alternative uses for furniture – e.g. towel rails can double up as screens; shelving units can act as room dividers; window-seats can hide storage.

15 – Shape it up with lighting

Use a combination of diffused and directional lighting to define different areas. If the ceiling is low, avoid pendant lamps and use up-lighters at the corners of the room to lead the eye upward and give the illusion of height. If possible, install recessed diffuse lighting flush to the wall to save space and create a relaxing ambiance.

One final piece of advice: don’t rush it. Before running to the store to buy a large mirror, or buckets of white paint, sit down and think carefully about the activities you perform in a certain room, your priorities – e.g. working area vs.  reading spot – and the look you want to achieve.

Take careful measurements, write down a list of the most important changes you want to make, break it down into a list of things to do and buy, and use that as a starting point.

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This is the first post on a series about interior design, its elements, and the way they can be combined to manipulate space and plan the house of your dreams.

Leave me a comment to let me know if you enjoyed this post and found it useful, and subscribe to Positively Beauty by email to receive all free updates.

Photo Credit: 1 – Shootfactory;  2 – Skona Hem;  3 – Living etc,  Marie Claire Maison;  4, 5 – AtCasa; 6 – Marie Claire Maison

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