These Designer Tricks Will Make Your Space Look Larger

Brightech
Interior Design Inspiration
6 min readOct 11, 2018
Arc Floor Lamps, like the Sparq take up minimal space while delivering maximum light

Try these 10 designer tricks to maximize your living spaces in the most creative ways

Dealing with small rooms is a constant struggle for most of us. City dwellers residing in busy metropolitan cities need to give extra efforts to make optimum use of their space.

However, living in small spaces should not imply coping with a cramped lifestyle. With the popularity of downsized living in recent times, visionary designers have come up with many innovative ideas that help magnify our living space.

Clever color concepts, the right furniture, smart storage solutions, and appropriate lighting are some key elements to make your space look larger than its actual dimensions.

So, we decided to do a little research and present you with these 10 room-expanding designer tricks to maximize your modest spaces.

1. Try Lighter Hues to Paint your Rooms

You may want to give lighter colors a second thought, as they do create an optical illusion that makes your room look larger.

Lighter and brighter colors are capable of reflecting light, unlike the darker shades.

When deciding to paint your room, pick colors like white, cream, light greys, and subtle pastel shades to make your space look open and airy.

Also, don’t forget to paint your wall trims and ceilings with lighter contrast colors like white, to create a sense of an enlarged room.

2. Add an element of Contrast Colors

While it is important to use lighter colors to make your room appear larger, so is the essence of bright and bold contrasting hues.

Adding elements like lamps, showpieces, wooden flooring, throw pillows and rugs in rich, bold colors create an inviting atmosphere for you and your guests.

Contrast colors are fun to play with and likewise help shift the focus from the monotony of the whites and greys.

Also, consider keeping a couple of indoor plants to make your interiors look warm and interesting.

3. Declutter and Organize

You must have a declutter agenda to make maximum use of your living space.

There is nothing compared to a carefully organized room.

Besides, decluttering makes your room look neat and creates an impression of an open space.

Organizing is as essential as decluttering and needs to be put to work together to let you effectively manage your room.

Stack your things neatly in organizers and baskets and put them out of sight unless you really need them.

Keep your floors free of large overwhelming items as they secretly feed onto your space.

Also, be careful not to over decorate, as it might make your room look clumsy and cluttered. Too many artifacts, pictures, paintings or even lamps can overpower your precious floor space and ruin your square footage.

4. Use Mirrors

Use bold mirrors to expand spaces

Mirrors have always played a unique role in visually impacting the space of a room.

Carefully positioned mirrors are a great tool to magnify a small space.

The key trick to use here placing mirrors opposite a light source, like, a window streaming with natural light.

Not an option? Try fixing an overhead light above the mirror and that will work wonders too.

An oversized mirror in your living room, a mirrored glass table top, or even mirrored closets are some of the tips worth trying to make an everlasting impression on your limited space.

5. Add a Ceiling Statement

Chandeliers with multiple tiers add depth

Bold ceiling fixtures like pendant lights or modern chandeliers are an excellent move to spruce up your living area.

Interesting and modern ceiling chandeliers can easily grab your attention to the top and break up the dullness of your white walls.

Contemporary light fixtures add drama and style in a minimalistic decor without looking overdone.

Warm colors for the ceiling, with pop-up statement art such as these, are a stunning way to create the illusion of an enlarged space.

6. Use Smart Furniture

Just like smartphones and techy watches, this is also the era of smart concepts for furniture.

It is the visionary sense of designers that is saving us from the hassles that can come about when dealing with small spaces.

Smart furnishings like those with drop leaf, fold-away beds, and study-tables have been in existence for a considerably long time, but have surged in popularity only recently. Choose furniture that comes with built-in storage options that help you organize better and create more room for you.

Folding and storage friendly furniture is great for studio apartments and even for students living in dorms. They add a value of purpose and are multifunctional at the same time.

7. Opt for Furniture with Raised Legs

Furniture with high legs creates space

The essence of contemporary decor is minimalism.

Furniture built on straight lines and raised legs were introduced to bring in the element of modern design in everyday homes.

Unlike heavy furniture, beds, sofas or chairs on raised legs make your room look more spacious and uncluttered.

So, the next time you plan to pick a furniture, think twice before getting attracted to bulky designs that won’t do enough justice to your space.

8. Improve your Lighting with Tall Floor Lamps

Arc Floor Lamps create a more open, clean space

Lights have more purpose than just to brighten up your living.

Large windows with lots of light are an excellent way to make your space appear larger.

But what if you don’t have access to natural light? Well, in that case, the right kind of lamp will make a huge impact in opening up your space.

Switch your multiple vintage lamps for a couple of modern ones with multifunctional purposes. Lamps that can be additionally used as task lighting, will go a long way for a bright and larger living experience.

9. Fabrics with Small Prints

Keep fabric prints small

Bold pieces of art, contrasting color schemes and smaller prints on drapes and rugs work remarkably well to maximize space.

Complementing your decor with small sized patterns balances the overall decor of your room.

Not only is it visually pleasing but also prevents your statement pieces from loosing out on their individual charm.

Prints on curtains, cushions, and rugs that are in sync with the color palette of your room are crucial to enhance the overall look and feel of your room.

10. Create a Focal Point

If your room is of a challenging size, pick a wall that can act as your focal point.

This will help take off the attention from a room screaming for space.

Paint the wall with an accent color and use it to showcase your pictures, murals, paintings, or artifacts.

You can also take advantage of placing a mirror to aesthetically leverage your space. Use furniture like your couch or daybed against this wall to design your living room around it.

Implementing these designer tricks for your living space will naturally draw the attention away from the size, and make it appear larger than its actual dimensions.

This story originally appeared on our blog. For more design inspiration, follow our blog, or on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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Brightech
Interior Design Inspiration

An online store offering innovative and affordable lighting. We’re here to make your life bright and shiny. www.brightechshop.com