How To Make A Large Space Look Cosy

Though most people feel it’s harder to work with a smaller space, a large living space comes with its own challenges in terms of décor, lighting and colour. It’s not as easy to make a big living room feel homely or make a large bedroom a cosy space. Here are some tips on how to make these large rooms more comfortable.

1. Tall plants: Tall potted plants placed strategically are the go-to space filler for large rooms. Fill them in lonely corners, empty vertical spaces or near windows. They’ll give the room a sense of being filled and warm. Make sure your plants get the natural light they require.
2. Designate zones: While a smaller room may only have one common area for dining, conversations and a variety of other activities, in a large home, you can afford to split these up. Demarcate spaces into zones for different activities, using room dividers. These could be pieces of furniture, show cases, beaded curtains, or even ethnic wood partitions. Separate spaces can be assigned to a writing desk, a piano, a reading area or even just a relaxation corner next to a window.
3. Pick your anchor: A large room with a lot of smaller pieces of furniture can look scattered if they aren't brought together by an anchor piece. Choose a unique centre table or a distinctive sofa around which you can build the theme of the living area. You can then choose accents and smaller pieces that can be used to complement the anchor piece.
4. Scale your furniture: A room with high ceilings needs taller furniture so that it doesn't look like it is off balance. A tall bookcase or lamp and longer backs on chairs and sofas lend the furniture the height needed to keep up with the height of the room.
5. Lighting: Install a false ceiling with built-in ceiling lights to reduce the height of the room while giving it a warmer and smaller feel. Another option is to have a large centre light, like a chandelier (which could also be your anchor piece) and plenty of other lights strategically placed around the room.
6. Colour: Colour can be used on your walls or furniture to visually break-up the room. Paint your ceiling a shade or two darker than your walls to create the illusion of a cosier room. A two tone wall will draw less attention to the length of the wall; a pop or two of colour with quirky cushion covers or curtain designs will distract people from the large, unused spaces.
7. Use multiple pieces: If you are unable to find a single piece of furniture for a particular purpose, break it up into a couple more and also utilise more space in this manner. Use a two area rug or a set of lamps or even two ottomans as a coffee table to maintain the flow of conversation seamlessly.

Home decor is a tricky business, and one that can just as easily go wrong as it can go right. The secret is to visually divide up the space before installing your furniture so that you have a vision of what the space should be like. Get rid of anything that doesn't appeal to you any more and give your home the look you've always dreamed of!