How to Create the Illusion of Space

Creating the illusion of space

The dilemma of decorating a small room is something we’re familiar with at Brewers Decorator Centres. Whilst many of us crave light, bright and spacious surroundings, achieving them can seem tricky when your budget doesn’t extend to actually extending.

Fortunately, help is at hand! Creating the illusion of space is achievable with some simple insider know-how.

@flipping.lesters

Use lighter paint colours

Often, the default solution to making a room look larger is to paint it white. And there’s logic to this! Generally speaking, darker colours will absorb light while paler colours will reflect light.

Painting your walls a lighter hue of your favourite colour will help rebound whatever light you have – natural and artificial – to create an overall feeling of space.

@beetrootandblack

Paint walls, trims and ceilings the same colour

Reducing the amount of contrast between your wall surfaces is a sure-fire way of creating the illusion of space. Painting walls, trims and ceilings the same colour help ‘blur the lines’, making it harder to see where one surface ends and another begins.

If the one-colour approach is not for you, try opting for a trim colour that is complementary to your wall colour but darker. By contrast, your walls will appear even lighter.

@awholenewbuild

Use reflective surfaces

Welcoming as much light as possible into the room will help create a spacious surrounding. A well-placed mirror goes a long way, but often other surfaces that can reflect light are overlooked.

Opting for a wallpaper with a hint of metallic or a reflective surface is one stylish way of helping rebound light around your room. When choosing fabrics, consider shinier silks and velvets, which alongside a select few glass, gloss or metallic accessories will help reflect light.

@makingmymidterracemagical

Emphasise the horizontal and the vertical

Stripes: they apply to home décor just as much as fashion! A horizontal stripe or chevron stripe wallpaper can be used to create the illusion of a wider wall, whilst a vertical stripe wallpaper can help create height.

If painting, why not get clever with your colour-blocking? Paint horizontal stripes or even a single horizontal band along one wall to elongate the space. If painting the wall behind your bed, paint a faux headboard and extend this up the wall for a dramatic illusion of height.

@candlesticksandcathair

Streamline and raise your furnishings

Avoid heavy, solid furniture and opt instead for pieces with less visual weight to create space in your room. Choose furniture with raised legs and tables with narrower legs and ideally glass or reflective tops.

If furnishing your windows with curtains, opt for full-length ones with the pole positioned closer to the ceiling to maximise the feeling of height.

@jm_paintanddec

Use one flooring

Painting the floors in your home a consistent colour throughout will make rooms look far more spacious. Not only will it help create flow from room to room, but it will help knock down those visible walls, creating a unified space.