Small rooms can be very inconvenient. Whether it’s your office, bedroom, reading nook, or any other space, it’s good to make it as comfortable as possible. After all, nobody likes to feel like they’re being smothered by four walls. Being organized may seem like the big picture here, but there are a few tips involving decorating on how to make the room in question more pleasant.

Decorating a small room can be a fun way to get your creative thinking going.
Decorating a small room can be a fun way to get your creative thinking going. Image source: Master Bedroom Design

The Furniture

You don’t necessarily need to have small furniture. Sometimes that only makes the room look even smaller given the quantity of home furnishing you’ll be using. Smart furniture with strategic placing can go a long way in helping save space. Also, pay attention to the function the furniture has. It’s always better to get furniture that can do double duty such as a bed with a headboard storage that will help you organize your room and keep close anything you may want or need while in bed.

For a small room, find storage where you can.
For a small room, find storage where you can. Image source: PB Teen

In addition to function, it’s suitable to create zones in the room. That is: arrange your furniture in a way that creates separate zones for different activities. A subtle placing of a carpet or a chair can do easily make a clear separation between zones. You can have the relaxation zone on the carpet, with an armchair or pouf, for instance, and your desk and computer (or your work zone) will be on the hardwood floor.

Creating
Creating "zones" in your small room can help make it feel bigger. Image source: HouseBeautiful

Use Light Colors

Using light colors doesn’t mean you won’t be able to use any dark colors in your decorating as well. The light colors are for the walls and the floor. Combining white walls with a black sheet on your bed will create an eye-catching contrast and the focus will be on the details rather than on the room size.

Decor objects, art, rugs, or even small a mobile can have a darker color too; just make sure you’re combining the shades. It wouldn’t make too much sense to paint the walls a light yellow and then buy a dark green rug for the floor.

Using light colors on the walls can help open up a room and make it feel bigger.
Using light colors on the walls can help open up a room and make it feel bigger. Image source: Small Place Style

Use Lamps

A well-lit space always looks bigger than a dark corner. Along with letting the light in through windows during the day, a nice way to keep the illumination going at night is by using lamps.

Using recessed lighting or wall lighting will help free up table and floor space.
Using recessed lighting or wall lighting will help free up table and floor space. Image source: Papo de Design

Table lamps will take up too much space on your table and light fixtures hanging from the center of your ceiling will call attention to the proportions and size of the room. So instead of using those, replace them for wall lamps or sconces. These will make your room look bigger plus it will give it a vintage look.

Center the Room

Most people think that to make a room look bigger, they should move the furniture to the corners and leave everything close to the walls in order to have space in between them. However, if you’re able to find a balance in between all the furniture, you’ll also be able to notice it really is a better use of space.

Pull your furniture to the center of the room to make it seem bigger.
Pull your furniture to the center of the room to make it seem bigger. Image source: Home Designing

Floating Shelves

They’re not exactly the newest trend, but there’s a reason why they’re so popular among small room decorators - they’re extremely practical. There are different sizes and shapes and even though floating shelves usually used to organize books, you can use them to display and organize whatever it is you have around your house.

Using floating shelves will free up floor space and add style to your small room.
Using floating shelves will free up floor space and add style to your small room. Image source: Apartment Therapy

Mirrors

There are a few ways to use mirrors:

  1. Put a floor-length mirror behind a piece of furniture
  2. Put a mirror behind a source of light
  3. Put a mirror across from a window
  4. Use mirrors as stylish decor as well as practical necessities
Mirrors are a wonderful way to create the sensation that a room is much bigger than it is.
Mirrors are a wonderful way to create the sensation that a room is much bigger than it is. Image source: Decor Pad

You can also put two mirrors on opposite walls, which will make the room seem larger by giving the impression of more space, more items, and more light. However, the multiple reflections can become a bit confusing or annoying.

Under Bed Storage Containers

If you don’t have how to invest in a bed with built-in drawers and shelves to save space. You can always find some storage containers to organize materials, shoes, toys, books or even clothes and put them under your bed.

Use storage containers under the bed to hide seasonal clothing and other rarely used items.
Use storage containers under the bed to hide seasonal clothing and other rarely used items. Image source: Funn Pics

This information comes along with the idea you don’t need to display everything you have. It’s better to leave some space in between furniture and decor items to trick your eyes into believing there is more room than there actually is. If your bed doesn’t have space under it for storage, use nightstands, bookshelves, and cabinets instead.

Cabinets and bookshelves make great places to store items.
Cabinets and bookshelves make great places to store items. Image source: Paris Nights and New York Lights

Draw Attention Up

The idea is to draw attention to the top of the walls and the easiest way to do that is focusing on vertical decor. This can be something as simple as getting longer curtains and hanging them close to the ceiling line.

Hanging curtains close to the ceiling draws the eyes up, making the room feel bigger than it really is.
Hanging curtains close to the ceiling draws the eyes up, making the room feel bigger than it really is. Image source: Houzz

Another idea is to add striped wallpaper or a striped carpet. Decorating your ceiling (or the top of your walls) is also a smart way to make the room look more spacious. You can use stripes on your ceiling, dots around the top edges of your walls, or paint the ceiling a different color than your walls. The main idea is to draw the eyes up to the ceiling.

When you first start trying to decorate a small room, you may think there’s not much you can do to make it seem bigger. However, once you put any (or all) of these tips to work, you’ll find that it just takes a little bit of patience and creativity to make your small room comfortable, homey, and bigger than it really is.

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