Home, sweet home

There is nothing better than finding your own place. You can organize it all by your tastes. Always take into account factors like location, size and rent. Unfortunately, it often happens that in the beginning you cannot afford the home of your dreams. I will never forget my first accommodation and the feeling of independence it gave me. Although it was small, the place was cosy and had everything I needed. Let’s not forget that there are always tricks that can create the perception that one place is much bigger than it actually is.

Here are some tips how to make your rooms look bigger!

Stripes are always in style!

Everyone knows, and perhaps has used more than once, the magical illusion that stripes create. Putting striped carpet would elongate the room. Fortunately, stripes can be in any colour and are easy to match with everything in the room. And if you’re into classic, black and white never get out of style.

In addition to carpets, the same trick can be used with curtains. This is extremely useful for apartments that are on the top floor and have some rooms with chamfers. Putting striped curtains would lead to optical raise of the ceiling.

Furniture filling the room? Let’s try it!

A friend of mine told me that in order to make his living room look bigger (and it actually was really small) he has put a couch that completely fills one of the walls. At first I didn’t believe it, but after I saw it… the outcome was marvellous.

Really, filling every inch of the wall with large furniture, such as a massive sofa instead of several small armchairs, has given the room a completely different appearance. The sense of heaping is gone and the big furniture makes the room seem larger, not to mention, more comfortable.

It is time to put a little colour!

Colours show our individuality. Who doesn’t like to be noticed? It’s the same way with your home. Careful, there is a catch!

To make your rooms look larger you better use light colours for the walls and the floor. This does not mean everything has to be white! Simply, it would be better to avoid the saturated colours that make us feel comfortable and cosily, but the room smaller.

If you really love vivid colours, you can always paint the shelves. A good idea is to organize the room by colours. For example, there are several shelves and the things on each of them are in one colour. I personally had organized my books like this. In one place were those with red covers, other — those with blue, etc. Not to mention the fact that you can always add a vase or other accessory to complete the overall vision.

Take advantage of every inch

Rooms are too small and cannot contain all your things? Or you need a bigger wardrobe for your clothes and shoes ( this one is especially for the girls) but the only free space in your home are the ceilings? Well… thinking of an appropriate way to put your things on the ceiling might make you rich. But since we don’t have time to invent new kind of storage, I will tell you a much easier way to keep your things and not throw them away due to lack of space. Multi-purpose items! Do you see that sofa over there or the coffee table in the middle of the room? Now, would you, please, open it… yes, you got it right. The multi-purpose items are perfect for small rooms because all your things are gathered together. Not only you have some more free space but, also, keep your place tidy.

Draw the eyes upward!

Remember that thing about inventing how to hang your things on the ceiling? Well… this is not it but it is at least close. If you install shelves above the windows or the doorways you can put your books and save some space. How are you going to reach them when needed? You can always pull out a ladder and get the desired item. This is certainly doable because you probably don’t need most of these things daily, but on special occasions. Also, having shelves installed that way will draw the eyes upward and the ceiling will look higher, therefore, the room bigger.

Art?

What is a home without a good taste of art? If you are into a gallery wall with many small pieces of art, it is fine. But if we are aiming to create the illusion of a big and spacious home, you’d better hang some large and bold paintings. One of those that make you think what the artist was feeling while drawing it.

What about the bathroom?

Since your place is small, you can’t expect to have one of those stadium sized bathrooms with a jacuzzi. Don’t worry! So far, we have enlarged optically every room at your home, why don’t we try to do the same thing with this one, too? Try to put a clear shower curtain in your tiny bathroom and you will see that the reflecting light makes the whole place brighter and bigger.

It is getting dark outside…

Forget the overhead lights. They pool the light on one space and you unintentionally focus your attention to that place. This makes you feel that the room is even smaller. Instead, use a few smaller lamps to spread the light around the place. Your eyes will be drawn around the room, which now seems more spacious that usual.

Last, but not least…mirror, mirror on the wall…

Strategy, my friends! You always need to plan and organise things in advance. E.g. when you are moving out you need to clean your place. When I was at this situation, I was too busy to do it at my flat in Bracknell, so I called a fantastic cleaning company, or should I just say — Professionals. And I am glad that I did, because after that the place looked like a new and I could direct all my attention to the moving part, not the cleaning. So…back to the subject! As I said earlier — strategy! Choose carefully the places where you are going to put mirrors at home. Placing one across a window not only will make the room brighter but will feel much bigger. Another trick is to place the dining table between the mirror and the window. Looking at the reflection will create the illusion that a whole different space is tucked behind it.

And now is the time to say: Welcome to your new old home! Many of these tricks helped me when I was organizing my place. Hope that they will do the same for you.