How to get spaciousness in a tight space
No matter how many square feet in a house we all tend to want to expand the space. It is instinctive to feel free in a larger volume—it’s in our nature! But even in a tiny room with limited square footage, you can feel comfortable and even boundless. I’ve worked with many tiny condos in Europe and I want to share my personal tricks with you on how to make the space look and feel bigger.
Enlarged scale
The more tiny details you see, the more your eye moves around and scans those items, thus it creates a restless view and distracts us from the bigger picture. I suggest getting rid of small decorative items and replacing them with bigger, monolithic pieces in a single color/finish. Same for the main cabinets and the built-ins: use full-height and full-wall cabinets for the kitchen and the main storing system. First, you’ll increase the amount of storage, and second you’ll create a clean look without distraction.
Mirrors
This one’s a classic trick which has been used for ages in colossal royal palaces. Although a mirror reflects what’s in front of it, it also reflects the daylight, which is the main attribute of any spacious space. I recommend using the full mirror wall all the way from top to bottom and at least five feet wide or even wider. That large mirror can be placed on the wall with sliding daylight or even in front of the window, if the room is lacking in daylight. When you are figuring out where to put the mirror wall, keep in mind that the space will be visually longer or wider and it is something you can play with. (more like a client meeting/blog/friendly conversation)
Textures and layers
When creating a solid background with larger blocks of tall cabinets, it’s also great to add layers. The best way is to get layers with differences in texture, while keeping a single color. Thus we don’t visually break the bigger pieces, but we make them more sophisticated. Another easy way to add texture is to play with textiles and layer them with contrasting scale and tones.
Paint border
One of my favorite parts is working with painting borders. The border between paint colors can shrink or expand the space drastically. For example, having a tall baseboard in the same tone as the flooring will make you feel that you have an additional half foot on each side (you don’t feel that the walls are tight, but that the floor has expanded), or painting the top twelve inches of the wall the same color as ceiling will increase the perception of height. These are all visual illusions which trick our mind. Feel free to find joy in experimenting!
Dark colors
I know, you are probably surprised and expect to hear something about using ‘neutral and light’ pallets, but trust me dark rich colors add depth to the space. Darker colors are great for sleeping rooms and not only, and make you submerge in the space. Just remember, that dark walls and white ceiling will drop the ceiling on your head, so if you decide to go with darkened colors, paint the ceiling the same color. It will definitely blend the bound and immerse you with depth.
