Home space may not be the largest on our little red dot, but hey, we certainly can make the most out of it. Here are some sneaky ideas which you can adopt to make your home look visually bigger than what it actually is. Impress your friends when your 600 sq ft HDB looks bigger than theirs.
Deception at its finest, we say.
1. Furniture with Legs
Furniture, especially sofas, when raised on legs creates a sense of light and space. Being propped up on legs, it allows your eyes to dart through them and look further, making the room look bigger. Besides, furniture with legs make cleaning up easy too, without having to lift sofas or cabinets just to clean the dusty floor beneath. Leave the lifting to the gym.
2. Face Furniture Towards the Window
Our favourite tip. How could we not have thought of it! Try to face seating towards a window. Now nobody will feel claustrophobic being seated less than a metre away from a blank wall.
3. Keep Colours Light
Ever wondered why an all-white room looks bigger? Light colours aid in brightening up the room, creating a sense of openness. Go for light and neutral hues and if it’s your style, go monochrome! Did we forget to add, opening up the windows and letting the light pour in will magically enlarge the room! Natural light is extremely useful in brightening up and stretching the room, making it look larger than what it really is. Trust us, going natural is the best.
4. Flooring
Don't overlook the flooring. Using stripes on your flooring helps your small room look like its going on forever, and ever, and ever.
5. Look up
Just like our HDB concept - if space is limited, build upwards. Opt for high shelving which also has the effect of heightening the ceiling. Not only space is less limited upwards, drawing attention to focus on the upper part of the room creates the illusion of a bigger space. Lead the eye to look upwards now!
6. A Glassy Affair
Instead of using opaque walls, keep it clear by using glass which not only visually frees up space by allowing natural light in, it adds a modern look to your space. Such glass doors/walls/partitions can be used anywhere from the living room to the kitchen to the bathroom and they really work wonders. Just that this new privacy really forces you to keep things neat and organised - come to think about it, not a bad thing too actually. See-through furniture like glass tables and chairs help too, by visually disappearing into the room.
7. Oversized Art Pieces
Yes, we are guilty of assuming the opposite. In fact, using large, oversized art pieces have the mystical effect of making your room feel more spacious. Large art pieces are impactful, and are able to uplift any space effortlessly. Just don’t get too carried and put up too many of such pieces because it’ll make your space look cluttered.
8. Mirror
If you had been a loyal follower of our blog, tsk tsk if you’re not (we’re kidding), you would have noticed that mirrors really have a large part to play in making a room look and feel more spacious. Mirrors reflect light which helps brighten the room, making it look bigger. Useful for checking that smudge in your lipstick or that unzipped jeans before you leave the house too.
9. Double-duty Furniture
Choose furniture which have multiple functions. An ottoman which doubles up as a coffee table. A coffee table which has in-built storage. A sofa which doubles up as a bed (sofa bed). These double-duty furniture saves you space, and save you some dollars too.
10. Sneaky Storage
Some things just should not be seen. You don’t have to show your (slightly) disorganised side to your guests, just your neat, glamorous side will do. Stash away all your clutter in in-built storage and hide them away from the eyes of guests you want to impress, or from pesky relatives who are already critiquing your small dwelling. Our best friend - storage sofa/bed, storage anything basically.
11. Play Around With Size
Bigger doesn’t necessarily always mean better. Don’t get too excited when you find out that a huge piece of furniture could fit in your small space. It can fit doesn’t mean it should! Big sofa, small coffee table? Small coffee table, big rug? Play around with furniture of different sizes and try out different combinations to see what works best for you!
In terms of space, less is really more isn't it?
This article was first published on HipVan.