Ways to Design a Room to Make it Look Larger

Simply hanging a mirror can make a room appear larger.Candlestick in the Mirror image by Arne Bramsen from Fotolia.com

The key to making a small room appear larger isn't throwing away all your furniture. Instead, fool the eye so that it sees more space. You can accomplish this by changing color schemes or rearranging furniture so that it accents a room's largest points. While these methods do require time and labor, they aren't costly.

Paint

According to Kathleen Peters, creator of KatieDid Design, painting a room with light colors always makes a small room appear larger because lighter colors reflect more light. Conversely, dark colors absorb light and make a room appear smaller. Painting a small room's moldings and wall trim a shade that's even lighter than the walls adds a sense of space as well, as the walls appear farther away.

As the design website The Nest points out, wall-to-wall mirrors are an outdated relic of design from the 1970s. To get a similar effect in a more modern way, don't mirror an entire wall. Simply hang a large single mirror to add light and space to a crowded room. Look for inexpensive decorative mirrors at garage sales and flea markets.

When people enter a room, the largest pieces of furniture guide their eyes around the space. If you're looking to create the illusion of space, align large furniture with the largest area of the room: the diagonal. For example, moving a sofa away from the wall and turning it slightly toward the room's focal point brings viewers' eyes toward the sofa and away from a short wall. This will also create storage space behind the sofa. But be careful not to clutter the room, as this will detract from the sense of openness you're trying to foster.