Every interior design project has it's challenges regardless of the size of your home or business. One of the most common questions we receive is "I have a small space and want it to feel bigger…can you help me?" I want to share some tips to help you achieve this without having to hire a designer.
First and most important factor is you need to purchase furniture with clean lines and are to scale for the space you're designing. Clients tend to want to add as much possible to the room since it's limited. However in this case less is more. In the picture below, we replaced traditional roll armed furniture with transitional clean line pieces. We started with two chairs and one sofa and ended with the same amount of furniture. The only difference is the furniture fits the scale of the room and has cleaner lines that make the room more functional.
We also changed the paint color and window treatments to coordinate with the fabric on the sofa to give the room more appeal and a little punch of color. This client was intimidated with pattern but after many conversations she was willing to take the chance with a decorative ottoman. Pattern is always important. It gives the eye a focal point. Don't be afraid of it…embrace it.
Next incorporate glass and mirrors in the room. Mirrors always give the illusion and manipulate the size of the space making it feel greater then it is. Glass also helps because your allowed to see the full scale of the room. For example..in the pictures below we decided to keep the mirrors and glass table. The glass coffee table allows you to see the space and make the room feel greater in size. If a solid wood table was used you would see less of the room and more furniture making the space feel cramped.
Last…take away the clutter. Personal pictures are great but to many in a small room is a distraction and makes the space feel claustrophobic. Same goes with lamps, vases and knick knacks.
To those with small spaces…Keep it simple…Simplicity goes a long way.
Before
After
