Colors That Make A Room Look Bigger
Living in a small home? There are a lot of ways to increase the visual appearance of your space, even if you cant increase your actual square footage. This include a wide variety of colors that make a room look biggerand feel bigger, too. By making smart choices with your homes color schemes, you can give the illusion of more space and help make better use of the space that you have, which is a pretty impressive feat for an easy, beginner-friendly DIY that likely wont take more than a weekend or two to complete.
If youd like a bigger room but dont have a full renovation in your budget, weve got your back. Here are the nine colors that make a room look bigger, plus some other helpful tips that can help you increase the size of your space when you cant, you know, actually increase the size of your space.
Even with the best of intentions, choosing the wrong paint color for a small room can make it feel closed in and claustrophobic. In fact, you often dont understand the full impact of color in your home until you work strategically with your color paletteor accidentally choose a color that gives the opposite effect of what you were looking to achieve.
Before We Get To The Paint Colors What Are Other Ways We Can Make A Room Look Bigger
#1: Paint the Entire Room
Most painting tricks to make your room look bigger involve choosing the right paint color but there are other tricks as well that you can use to make a room feel larger, says designer Lyndsay Scott. The first is painting the room all the same color including the woodwork, ceiling, and door. This trick works best when you oscillate the finish of the paint to add dimension. For example, on the walls, we love using Chantilly Lace in an eggshell finish, and also Chantilly Lace on the woodwork and doors but with a satin or semi-gloss finish, Scotts says. As for the ceiling, Scott and her co-founder and co-designer Wendy Robinson say to continue the use of the same paint color, but lighten it by about 20 percent. This way, you are less aware of where the walls end and the ceiling begins.
#2: Opt for an Eggshell or Satin Finish
Natural light makes a room look bigger. This is a fact. So how do you optimize this? By incorporating paints that have a subtle glean that reflects and bounces the light. The subtle gloss of eggshell and satin finishes do just this, capitalizing on rays by putting them to room-widening use. If you want to go bolder, consider a semi-gloss.
#3: Create a Contrast
Choose Between Light Or Dark Color
Light colors indeed make your room appear bright and large. But these colors should not be your only option. Having bright walls may make the room feel boring and featureless. Using a light neutral with the correct undertone will warm and brighten the room.
Dark colors also work magic in small spaces. They make the room feel dramatic, intimate and create an illusion of a large room.
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How To Make A Room Look Bigger With Paint 8 Expert Tricks For Painting Small Spaces
Unlocking the secrets for how to make a room look bigger with paint will help you maximize the perception of space in your home, making even the tiniest of rooms feel more sizeable.
Never underestimate the power of paint. The right color or shade can add value to your home and the wrong paint colors can devalue homes just as easily. How you use them can be equally as transformative to enhance and improve any room it’s just about knowing how.
From trompe l’oeil two-tone walls, to color drenching techniques and using alternative shades for ceilings, there are a number of current interior paint color trends and creative ways you can make a room look and feel bigger.
Easy Ways For How To Make A Room Look Bigger
Your home can have rooms that are too big, too small, or exactly right although that last may seem elusive. It may seem easier to fill a large space with more furniture than making a small space appear larger than it is. In this blog, we look at how to make a room look bigger, and in the process, make it function in ways you never imagined.
There are some benefits to having a smaller space to work with as you are decorating. It is easier to organize, and you need fewer furnishings to fill it up. The services of an interior designer can be invaluable when working with a small space to help you get the most out of your surroundings.
When you are trying to decide how to make a small room look bigger in your home, consider the following:
- Paint and Color
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Make Surfaces Recede With Soft Shades
Light, bright colors are generally favored to open up small or awkward spaces because they reflect natural light and therefore create a sense of space. But there are many lighter tones that can do the trick, it’s not all about the best white paint colors.
“Probably the simplest way you can make a room appear bigger with just a bit of paint is to use pale receding colors that make walls look further away than they really are,” explains , Creative Director at Dulux. “These are soft organic greens and sky blues like Dulux Willow Tree and Dulux Heritage Country Sky. Paint them on all the walls and keep the woodwork in the same color or a delicate off-white like White Cotton.”
“This offers a subtle way to bring color into the home and open up those small spaces whilst connecting the indoor and outdoor spaces seamlessly.
Work With The Light: Choose Light Reflecting Paint Colours
Step back and examine your room.
Which walls have direct, natural light on them from the windows?
How does the light move across the room during the day?
Each Little Greene colour has a Light Reflective Value and this describes how much light will be reflected by the paint colour.
Space-expanding whites, like Loft White , pale blues, like Echo , and cool greys, like Flint , do the job of reflecting light back into the room exceptionally well and create a sense of increased space.
Also consider painting kitchen cupboards, skirting boards, window frames and bannisters in a gloss finish.
Use Intelligent Gloss or Traditional Oil Gloss, to reflect light in otherwise matt schemes and darker corners.
Pearl Colour Kitchen: LRV 62
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Should Ceilings And Walls Be The Same Color
If youre struggling with your homes paint color, youre not alone. Deciding what to do with your walls is a big decision and it can be hard to commit to something especially if youre not sure how itll look in the end.
One question that comes up a lot is this: Should your walls match your ceiling?
In other words, should they both be the same color? Its a tricky one, so we asked a fellow expert for her advice.
Heres what she said:
I think that, in general, having all the vertical things be the same color and all the horizontal things be the same color creates a sense of cohesion and simplicity. You can also get really creative and do things like painting the walls white and using wallpaper on the ceiling .
There are no right or wrong answers when it comes to painting its all about finding what makes you feel good.
Still not sure what to do? Head over to our list of pros and cons of painting your ceiling the same color as the walls.
How To Make Any Room Look Bigger With Paint
If you have a small living space, it can often be hard to decorate without the area feeling too crowded. The scale and number of pieces of furniture play a significant role in making the space visually larger. To create the illusion of even more space, the paint colors and applications you choose can also visually add square footage.
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Soften The Color Above The Picture Rail
If you’re lucky enough to have architectural details such as picture rails in your home, use this feature to your advantage by contrasting the color above and below. Choose a softer alternative to stark white if you are decorating with a strong color below the rail, because often the harshness of white can actually draw unwanted attention and therefore not help to make the gap work to your advantage.
In the same way that skirting boards in stark white can gain unwanted attention, so can the area above the picture rail and ceilings, so a softer gradual fade of color helps to soften the line. Ruth explains, “many choose to use bright white in smaller spaces assuming white will make the room appear larger, however light neutrals and soft colors used in a tonal scheme will have the same effect whilst not appearing too stark or cold.”
How To Add Height Through Paint
Paint colors arent one size fits all. So, choosing a paint color from a list of the best hues for small spaces may backfire. Instead, choose a paint color with the right undertone for your particular area. The undertone is the color under the color the blend of pigments used to create the final color you see. For example, gray paint can have blue and green undertones or beige and tan undertones.
Matching the undertones to the other elements in your home, such as the flooring and cabinets, will help ensure a seamless look and can help a room feel larger. Assessing paint samples in your home in different lighting is best to determine what undertones will work best in your space.
In addition to ensuring the undertones are all cohesive in your space, there are some tricks you can employ to create additional space. Painting horizontal stripes are one way to make height. Light floors, walls and ceilings can also help a room feel more open and airy.
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Opt For Pale Paint On The Floor
Painting original floorboards in a light shade will help to create a sense of space by figuratively pushing the floor away from the ceiling and all four walls.
It’s well known that an all-white color scheme is ideal to make a room look and feel bigger thanks to the airiness and light reflecting properties and Ruth offers her advice on decorating with an all-white scheme: “If you wish to use a white, opt for a well-balanced, warm white rather than a stark, bright blue tinged white. Silent White is a perfectly balanced, neutral-warm white. Use with its lighter and deeper versions on other walls, the ceiling, and trim to add softly-spoken depth to the room.”
Disguise Storage With Paint
One of the most effective ways to organize a small space is by providing plenty of storage. To make a room look bigger with paint, simply painting these storage units and shelving in the same color as the wall is a great way to make the extra storage blend in with the color scheme. This will make the room feel more spacious and is one of the best ways to make small living room look bigger when you can’t cut down the amount of ‘stuff’ needed in the space.
“Tall storage furniture such as a bookcase or walls filled with shelves can quickly eclipse a room,” explains Michael Rolland, Interiors expert, and MD at The Paint Shed. “An easy way of disguising it is to paint it. Try painting this furniture or shelving the same color as the walls. This will allow them to blend into their surroundings, not making them look too daunting in a small space.”
Use paint to create a continuation of color further by choosing a tone that matches the upholstery of the sofa and other soft furnishings. This will create a seamless wall of color that will help to prevent the space from feeling overcrowded and enclosed.
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Which Colors Make A Room Look Bigger
Small rooms can be tricky to improve. Besides the limited space, having too many items and furniture can make it even smaller. What you dont know is that colors can have a huge impact on the size of your room.
If you have a small room, you can make it look even bigger by the choice of colors. Dark colors usually make rooms smaller. But lighter colors such as the shades of nudes or white can make rooms look fresh, cozy, and breathable.
Stark White
Naturally, white is an obvious choice for making a small room feel lighter, bigger, and cozier. It makes the interior a classic and timeless piece. Eggshell or satin finishes are the most popular when it comes to the white shade.
The simplicity of white makes it easier for you to decorate your room because it matches almost all other color combinations. With white walls and ceilings, you can choose from dark, bold, to colorful furniture.
Whats more, it works regardless of your choice for aesthetics. Whether you want a modern kitchen, a minimalist room, or a country-inspired living room, white makes a great palette for any part of your home.
Light Taupe
If you are not willing to go entirely white, you can go with light taupe. This neutral color makes a small room look bright and airy. It is still bright enough to allow light to reflect in every wall but it also adds a touch of warmth.
Blush Pink
Dark Navy
Cool Gray
Earthly Ochre
Sea Green
This way, you can enjoy heaven and earth right in your small space. Perfect, isnt it?
How To Make A Small Room Look Larger With Paint
There might be certain rooms in your home that are rather small. Perhaps you have a few small bedrooms that youd like to make look larger. There are ways that you can do this by using particular painting techniques. Keep reading to learn how to make a small room look much bigger than it actually is.
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Do Accent Walls Make A Room Look Bigger
An accent wall is a wall within the room that has been painted or decorated differently than the rest, therefore becoming an accent, or drawing attention towards itself. For example, an accent wall could be as simple as being painted a different shade or even an entirely different color, or it could have a different pattern design. It could also even be made with a different material.
Basically, an accent wall is different from the rest, and it stands out in one way or another.
This can be a really cool design idea to make your room unique, but will an accent wall help your room look bigger?
There is actually a bit of a debate regarding the answer to this question, as it can depend on what the accent wall looks like, and the effect that it causes. In some situations, an accent wall might make the room look smaller, by closing off a side of the room and trapping the light with a dark color or pattern.
However, as a general rule, accent walls will tend to help make a room look bigger. This is how it does it:
Does A White Ceiling Make A Room Look Bigger
White ceilings are one of the oldest tricks in the book for making a room look bigger, and its guaranteed to give the optical illusion of a larger space. The white ceiling will reflect the light, making the space look bright and airy. It will also reflect the other colors in the room, so if the walls are painted a light blue, for example, then the ceiling will have a slight bluish tone. This will help draw your eyes upwards, blurring the distinction so that the ceiling looks much higher than what it actually is!
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Tips For Painting To Make A Room Look Bigger
Even with the right colors, theres only so much you can do unless you:
- Paint the ceiling a lighter shade than the walls. Visually, the ceiling will appear higher and give the room a little extra perceived space.
- Using the same color on all the walls can make a room look bigger. What that means is that if youre trying to make a small room appear larger, its probably best to save the accent wall you always wanted for a different room. When you have an accent wall, the eye naturally pauses at the change in color and it creates a definite boundary.
- Paint adjoining rooms in the same color. This tricks the eye into envisioning the next room as a continuation of the first room so the space feels larger.
- Keep most of the colors in the room within the same color family, but paint trim and other details in a different shade than the walls.
- Use horizontal or vertical stripes to elongate or heighten a rooms appearance. Contrasting colors create the illusion of depth.
How Can I Mix And Match Colors For A Room To Make It Look Bigger
Interior designers recommend painting the lower parts of your room, such as the baseboard trim, using darker colors. More neutral colors are best for walls and brighter colors for your ceiling. This color scheme is extremely useful for small rooms and low ceilings because having lighter paint on the upper parts of the room opens it up.
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