Knock down interior walls
Knocking down interior walls could help to make rooms flow into one another so that you’ve effectively got one giant room. An open-plan layout could have other advantages such as allowing more light into central rooms and allowing people to communicate between the kitchen and living area. However, it can make your house quite noisy, so you may want to consider glass partitions for home projects like this, as it can help to allow more light in whilst also preventing that echoey effect that you often find in large rooms.
Removing interior walls is no easy task – there could be wiring or piping within the wall that you need to consider. Load-bearing walls may require a cut-out to be made rather than removing the entire wall. In most cases, it’s safer to hire a contractor to remove interior walls. Be wary that removing walls could mean less space for shelves or cupboards so weigh up whether you can lose this storage space.
Add extra windows
Rooms with little or no windows often feel smaller and more claustrophobic. This is because windows add depth to a room by connecting it to the outside world. The bigger the window, the more spacious you’ll make the room feel. You could even consider replacing a downstairs room wall with a glass door.
Like removing walls, installing extra windows is no easy task and is best carried out by a professional. A window that has been professionally fitted could damage the structural integrity of the wall and so could be dangerous.
Get rid of clutter
Too much clutter could also be making your home feel smaller by making it appear more crowded, so don't forget to declutter. Consider hiding items away in a storage unit or getting rid of them permanently. Put up shelves to tidy your household items. There may also be bulky items taking up space such as unused gym equipment or reminders of past hobbies such as old musical instruments – consider whether you really use the items or if you’re just clinging onto them for aesthetic value.
There are lots of ways of disposing of your clutter. You could simply hire a skip and throw away items or you could sell you clutter on second-hand sites such as gumtree.com. There may even be places to recycle old and broken items for cash. You can also donate items such as books and clothes to charity shops if you’re feeling generous.
There are lots of ways of disposing of your clutter. You could simply hire a skip and throw away items or you could sell you clutter on second-hand sites such as gumtree.com. There may even be places to recycle old and broken items for cash. You can also donate items such as books and clothes to charity shops if you’re feeling generous.
Buy multi-purpose furniture
Some furniture has dual purposes, which can free up space in your home by not having to need as many appliances. This could include buying a washer-dryer instead of having an individual washing machine and tumble dryer.
Furniture that doubles up as storage can be particularly effective. An ottoman footstall or sofa with in-built storage could prevent you from needing a separate storage unit in your living room, making your home appear less cluttered and more spacious.
Buy collapsible furniture
There are also collapsible furniture options to consider. You may be able to buy a dining set that folds away like an ironing board – this could be stored away in a cupboard when you don’t need it freeing up floor space. There are even collapsible beds on the market that could be ideal for freeing up space in a bedsit.
Use more vertical space, less floor space
The amount of floor space in a room can have a big impact on how big it feels. Limited floor space can make people feel as if they have no room to walk around. One way of maximising floor space is to use more vertical space instead. Rather than opting for a sideboard or a chest of drawers in a living area, try instead opting for shelving on the walls – this will give you the storage space you need, whilst freeing up floor space. Rather than placing a TV on a TV stand, consider similarly hanging this on the wall with a hanging shelving unit below for storing your TV box/DVD player/games console.
You can also hang cabinets up on the walls in various rooms. A wall cabinet above a bathroom sink instead of a cabinet below can be great for maximising floor space in this room.
In a kitchen meanwhile, hanging up items to free up countertop space can have a similar effect to freeing up floor space. Instead of using a knife block or a jar for storing utensils, consider a magnetic strip or a rack on the wall. Hooks and pegboards can also come in handy for hanging up items.
Pull furniture out from the wall
Sometimes pulling furniture such as sofas and storage units slightly out from the wall can create the illusion that a room is more spacious that it is. This is because it gives the impression that the room has space left to expand. That said, don’t pull out furniture too far – this can make it look awkward and make a room feel messy and cluttered. An inch or two is all you need.
Buy furniture with legs
Furniture with legs can also create the illusion of more space by creating more visible floor space. This can be a great trick in a cramped bedroom – beds, wardrobes and chests of drawers take up huge amounts of floor space and by raising them onto legs, you’ll immediately make the room feel more spacious. Almost everything can be placed on legs from sofas to freestanding bath tubs.
Putting furniture on legs can also have other advantages such as making cleaning easier. You can even put furniture on wheels to make it easier to rearrange, but be wary of adding too many wheeled items of furniture as you could risk your home feeling like a hospital ward.
Choose an oversized rug
When it comes to rugs, bigger is often better when trying to make a room feel more spacious. A tiny rug in the centre of a small room can highlight the fact that it’s confined (it can also run the risk of looking like a bathmat). Consider a large rug that takes up most of the room and let furniture overlap it. By showing that the room is big enough to contain such a large rug, it can make the room feel strangely bigger. Large rugs are more expensive and they may need to be delivered, which can put a lot of homeowners off, however, the added impression on the room is worth the commitment.
Use bright colours
Rooms that use bright colours are more likely to feel airy and spacious. When trying to make a room bigger, ensure that the walls are a lighter colour such as white, cream or light blue. You can also choose a bright carpet or a light wooden floor. Bright colours will also help to reflect sunlight on a bright day. This could help to make a room with a small widow feel less like a cell by maximising the natural light coming in.
Embrace the magic of mirrors
Mirrors have long been used as a way of making confined spaces seem bigger. The larger the mirror the better the impact – an entire mirrored wall in a bathroom could make the room feel double the size, whilst a mirrored wardrobe can be a great way of expanding a bedroom outwards.
Sites like drench.co.uk have a great selection of frameless bathroom mirrors. Frames make it more obvious that it’s a mirror, whilst no frame can help to create more of an illusion that it is, in fact, another space in the room.
Mirrors can also be placed opposite windows to give the effect that there are two windows in the room. Not only can this make a room feel less claustrophobic, but it can also help to bring more natural light into the room.
Create depth with landscape art
Artwork containing scenes of landscapes can create the same impact as a window by creating an extra sense of depth. This can be particularly effective with large paintings.
You could even consider an entire wall mural. Sites like mural24.co.uk can create custom murals of whatever scene you like whether it’s an urban cityscape or a sunset over the sea. This could be great for bringing a poky apartment living room alive.
Even something as simple as landscape themed wallpaper can make an impact. Bright nature or city themed wallpaper is great for a narrow hallway, helping this space to feel bigger.
Great tips - clearing out the clutter is big one for most people
ReplyDeleteI love all of these tips! I've applied most of these to my small office space, but never thought of pulling furniture from the wall before - great shout!
ReplyDeleteOliver x
I love these ideas. Will bear the rug tip in mind as I'm buying a new rug soon.
ReplyDelete