Make Your Living Room Look and Feel Bigger

Creating the illusion of more space is about creating a sense of openness. Creating space can change the game when staging before putting your home on the Calgary real estate market, or if you are renovating on a budget to sell. Here are a few suggestions to help you achieve that.

Choose The Right Furniture

Furniture that is too large and heavy can overwhelm your room, making it feel small and cramped, but lots of smaller pieces will make your space feel cluttered. You will need to find the balance between pieces that are too large and too small. Streamlined furniture, no matter the size, allows light to flow around it, creating an illusion of space. Furniture pieces that are lower to the ground can open up the space by having space above to make the space feel larger. To create a sense of openness in your room, leave space between the furniture and the walls. When your space is lacking, get creative and use furniture that is multi-purpose, like ottomans that can double as extra storage or a drop-leaf console table. 

Use Mirrors and Light

Mirrors will always create a sense of openness as they reflect light and the space around them, tricking the eye into seeing more space than what is actually there.

If you have a large window in your living room try to leave it uncovered as drapes and curtains can add more heaviness to the room and getting rid of them helps to simplify the space. What about privacy? shutters or cloth blinds are a good option that can keep the space simple and streamlined. If you do have curtains, use a curtain rod that extends past the window frame and is hung as close to the ceiling as possible so you can open them fully to let in the light.

Choose The Right Wall Colour & Fabrics

The colour of your walls and ceilings have a huge impact on how large or small your space will feel. Lighter colours are more reflective and will open up the space, while dark colours will feel heavy and weighty. Any light, neutral colours, not just white, will simplify the space. Painting the ceilings and the walls the same colour will blur the boundaries and make the ceilings seem higher. 

The type of fabric you choose for your soft furnishings and drapery should be lightweight. We want to increase the feeling of airiness in the room. Dark colours and heavy prints will close off the room and make it dark.

Using a limited colour palette for your walls, accessories, and furnishings in the space will stop visual distractions from making the room feel cluttered and closed-in. If you want an accent of colour or wallpaper, keep it to one wall.

Place Your Decor Just Right

Accessories, knick-knacks, and artwork should be kept to a minimum. The more things you have in a room, the more cluttered it will feel. A well-curated collection will have more impact in a small space.

If you’re short on floor space, take advantage of your vertical space and hang shelves. This helps to draw your eye up and make the ceilings seem taller. If you want a large statement piece in the room, choose one large piece of art or a mirror. To maximize your floor space choose light fixtures that can be attached to the walls or hung from above.

Using a large area rug can make a room feel bigger since it won’t visually break up the floor. Rugs help anchor the space and give you a good staple piece to design the rest of the room.