Design Tricks That Will Make Any Room Look Way Bigger

Trista - May 21, 2020
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Design Tricks That Will Make Any Room Look Way Bigger
Photo: Accents can do more than accessorize a room. Shutterstock

Homes just seem to be getting bigger and bigger these days; it probably makes you look around your home and wonder how you can open up your space, especially if you have had more children or pets added to your family over the years. Instead of knocking down walls, you can create an illusion of space in each room, so you don’t feel crowded. While you might not have the biggest square footage, you can make people think that you do. There are some fantastic ways to make your rooms feel more significant, and the first place to start is by deciding on each room’s function. Follow these design tricks, and your space will be open and welcoming in no time.

45. Add More Mirrors

Hang up one or more mirrors in a small room. It will instantly increase the illusion of space. Shutterstock

If you have a small space, hang up a mirror — or five! Having extra mirrors means the room will reflect itself. Therefore, if you want an area to look bigger, hang a big mirror, and it will give the illusion that it extends longer than what it does. In reality, it’s just the same walls, but this decor hint will provide you with the feeling of a bigger room. Get creative with your mirror selection and select ones that match your overall style.

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44. Select Your Room Accents Very Thoughtfully

Make sure that the furniture in your small space is multi-functional and has a practical purpose.

Gwen Snyder Siegel, an interior designer, says that your rooms should be multi-functional if you are living in a smaller home or an apartment. She also recommends using pieces around the space that are practical and that will be used daily. She further explains that small spaces can’t take things that have no use as they will begin to clutter the room and make it feel smaller. So, it’s time to reinvent your small space and make it into the spacious dream home you’ve always wanted.

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43. Start With Your Wall Color

Picking a neutral wall color for a small room will open it up.

Starting at the foundation of a space is the wall color. Picking the wrong color for a room can make it feel a lot smaller than it is. This reason alone is why you need to take time to make an informed paint color decision before covering your walls in it. A fool-proof way to make a small room appear larger is by choosing a light color. You have many options with soft colors, and you don’t automatically have to choose white. You can choose from many neutral hues and even something like yellow. 

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42. Making Your Ceiling Seem Higher

Elevate the ceiling in a room by using crown molding to draw the eye higher up.

Once you’ve selected a paint color, this should already open up an area; if you’ve made the right choice of shade, you can move onto the room’s finishing, such as installing a crown molding. What is the point of adding this to a room? Firstly, it is an attractive and elegant design choice to make your room look a lot more expensive. But, it also serves a purpose in making a room look bigger than it is. This illusion is due to it drawing the eye upwards and thus making your ceilings seem higher.

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41. Open Up The Space

Removing unnecessary doors that divide spaces could create the open-plan look you love.

Another tip to expand a small space is to leave the room with an open floor plan. We know that it might not be feasible for you to go and knock down entire walls in your home, but there is another option. You could remove a door that is unnecessarily dividing up spaces. For example, you could remove your kitchen door if it opens up onto your living area. It creates a better flow throughout the space and is ideal for entertaining guests. You’ll be able to interact with your guests and get things sorted for food.

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40. Rip Up The Dark Flooring

Replace dated, dark floors with lighter wooden floors to create an illusion of a bigger room.

Instead of choosing dark flooring in your home, which is quite a dated style, choose lighter flooring. Darker flooring will make your space seem smaller than it is, and just like paint on the walls, the color of your floor has an impact on the size. If you opt for a lighter color floor, you will notice an immediate difference and feel like the room is significantly bigger than the dark flooring. Light and bright is the name of the game and will create a beautiful space to start decorating.

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39. Consider Where You Hang Your Curtains

The placement of your curtains is vital to making the room seem larger than it is.

When adding accents to the room, such as furniture and fixtures, you need to consider the room’s size. If you want the room to seem more prominent, you’ll need to reconsider where you hang your curtains. Instead of placing your curtain rails right above your window, lift them higher to just a few inches below the ceiling. This illusion will fool the eye and make the walls seem higher than they are. You can also choose to forgo curtains entirely and instead treat them to be tinted.

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38. Go Without Curtains For A Change

Removing curtains from a small room could make it seem bigger.

Choosing to go without curtains in a small room could make a world of difference. By having a view of the outdoors that isn’t disrupted by curtains, your space will begin to feel bigger. It will also allow a lot of natural light into the room. If you are set on having curtains, you could also choose to change your curtains’ fabric type. Use sheer fabric curtains as these will allow much natural light to filter through. Your eye will be drawn past the curtains and towards the light instead.

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37. More Curtain Options For A Small Space

Sheer fabric in a small space allows light inside while still having the richness of a curtain.

If the sheer look isn’t your style and you also don’t want to have the ‘no’ curtain look, there is another option to have curtains but keep your room feeling more massive than it is. When you buy your curtains, keep in mind the color you painted the walls. Choosing curtains in the same color family as your walls will make the room feel so much more cohesive, and because of this, it will seem bigger. Curtains can add a richness and depth to a room even if they are in neutral shades.

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36. Reflect On Your Room

Mirrors are an easy solution for making a room look bigger if they are positioned well.

An instant way to make a room look bigger is by adding mirrors. But, you need to be very strategic when you place these mirrors in the room. If you put them correctly, it could open up the space and transform it completely. The best positions for mirrors in a room are across from windows or door frames. When you walk into a room, it will appear that it goes on further than it does. Also, when you catch sight of the windows in the mirrors, it will be beautiful.

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35. Keep Your Mirrors Clean

Allow light reflection in rooms with the use of mirrors by keeping them clean.

Ensure that you are keeping your mirrors spotless thought as dirty and grimy mirrors can make the space feel small again as it won’t reflect the light from the windows like it would when these pieces of furniture were pleasant and clean. Apart from mirrors, there is another item of furniture that you can add to the walls to open up the space: a bookcase. Of course, freestanding bookcases are the easy option, but this isn’t what will make your room seem bigger.

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34. Built-In Bookshelves Are Made For Smaller Rooms

Save up for built-in bookcases to free up some floor space in a small room.

This option may cost a bit more, but the result will be worth it. By getting built-in bookshelves, your room really will look more prominent. The reason for this is that they will be recessed in your walls, which saves your floor space in a smaller home. Another tip for bookcases and using them to open up your space is to ensure that they do not gather too much clutter. Filling them with books is one thing, but unnecessary junk will ruin the room’s overall effect and the point of the bookshelves.

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33. Say Goodbye To Your TV Stand

Hang your TV on the wall to open up the floor space that was previously occupied by a bulky TV stand.

If you want to save even more floor space, you need to consider where you are placing your TV. Television stands can be an excellent piece of furniture to have, but this could be something you could do without when you are limited for space. Instead of having a TV stand that takes up precious floor space, have it mounted on the wall. TV stands are generally quite large pieces of furniture, opening up some space to add some decor or even storage to the room.

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32. De-Clutter Your Room To Make Space For Important Things

Remove the clutter from a small space by incorporating plenty of useful storage options.

Clutter is the worst thing to have in small spaces, which is why you need to think carefully about your storage options in the room. Clutter will make the room feel smaller, and this is something that can quickly be resolved in your home. When picking out furniture, think about how they will serve you in the space. If you pick out an ottoman, make sure that it doubles up as a storage unit if it has a lid. You can also hire someone to build storage units into the room.

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31. A Bench To Provide Storage And Seating

Use a bench with a lid that provides storage for blankets in the living area.

By keeping the clutter at bay, your room will feel spacious, and you will enjoy the space a lot more too. You could even purchase a bench that you can store blankets, games, and other items that might fill up a room a bit too much. The bench will also be a great place for additional guests to sit without having to have chairs piled up in the corner of the room that takes up space that makes the room feel smaller. These simple changes to a place will change your home forever.

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30. Make Use Of Multi-Functional Pieces

Choose pieces of furniture that have many uses to make the most of your space.

Multi-functional pieces are the perfect things for small homes. You need to make your furniture work for you in the space. Don’t use items that will make it feel modest and that won’t serve a useful purpose. You need to be very conscious of this. To make the most out of small spaces, you need to choose items that can multitask. You probably think that pieces of furniture cannot do this, but they can. For example, choose a bathroom vanity that provides you with storage space underneath.

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29. Buy A Bed With Drawers For Extra Storage

Remove the clutter from your bedside table and put it into storage units.

In the bedroom, you could opt for a bed that has drawers underneath. This hack provides you with storage space for linen, extra clothes, shoes, or clutter that would usually take up space on your bedside table. You might want to pick an island in the kitchen that can be moved on wheels and doubles as a desk. Instead of having a desk taking up space in your bedroom or living room permanently, you can move it if you require a desk spot.

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28. Leave Some Open Floor Space

You don’t always have to put a carpet into a room; just make sure the floor space is as open as possible to make a place feel bigger than it really is.

While you might be inclined to purchase a beautiful rug or have a carpet put into your home, this may be a wrong choice. If you want to have a carpet, keep it in neutral tones to compliment your walls and overall color scheme. The bonus of not having rugs or carpeting is that bare floor space helps make a room look bigger. If you’re worried about guests damaging your floors without having a carpet, perhaps ask them to take off their shoes when they come in and have a shoe rack at the door.

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27. Give Your Furniture Some Space

Free up corners in your small room and pull furniture away from the walls to make it feel larger.

Everyone always feels the need to push their furniture right up against the walls of a room. You may think that this is creating more space, but it’s doing the opposite. Did you know that moving furniture away from walls can make the area look bigger? Your items need space, and make sure to keep corners of rooms open and free of obstructions. Experts also say that you should avoid kitty-corner placement of things as it comes off as it was too big to fit correctly into the room, and this will ruin the big effect you’ve worked hard to create.

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26. Work With Color In A Small Space

Choose a consistent color scheme for a small space.

When working with color in a small space, make sure that it is consistent. Cohesion goes a long way to making a room feel spacious. You don’t have to have everything in the same color, but make sure that your hues complement each other. Having shades and tints from the same color range will make a small space look larger and make it look more elegant. Choose one color scheme and stick to it. Also, use this tip when you have rooms that open onto each other to create a better flow.

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25. Make Use Of Clear Accent Pieces

A glass table could work beautifully in a small space, and this is a fool-proof way to open up a room.

You can never go wrong with clear accent pieces in a small space. Like curtains, sheer is a good option; transparent furniture pieces are a great way to open up space in a cramped room. It could mean buying a glass table or chairs. By inserting furniture and accents with clean lines into the space, it creates the feeling that the room is a lot bigger than square footage. You could also use glass vases and trinkets to bring in a clear aesthetic to the room.

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24. Buy A Clear Shower Curtain

Let the light into your bathroom by getting a clear shower curtain.

Another room in your home that could benefit from clear accents is the bathroom. Bathrooms are generally the smaller spaces of a house or an apartment. It is why things like glass shower doors and glass sinks work so well in them. If you don’t have a glass shower, but you have one with a curtain, change out your shower curtain for a clear one. Transparent curtains increase visibility in your bathroom, immensely if this helps make a window visible in the space instead of blocking it with an opaque curtain.

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23. Patterns Might Have The Opposite Effect

Avoid patterned carpets and furniture in a tiny room as it can make the room feel smaller.

You might think that you can liven up the small space with patterns elsewhere by introducing clear accents into your room, but you might be wrong. They can work for you and against you depending on how you can use them. Using a patterned carpet or furniture could make it feel smaller, which is the opposite of what you have been working to achieve. Instead, if you are set on having a pattern, choose just one accent piece per room in your house.

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22. There Is An Exception To The Pattern Rule

Stripes are the only pattern that can work in a small room if you use them correctly.

If you want to choose a room pattern, some will work better in small spaces than others. Stripes are the exception to the rule in small spaces. They can help to make the room appear larger. You could purchase curtains with stripes on them, vertical ones, in particular, that will draw the eye upwards. A striped rug would also work well in a small space as it creates an optical illusion of extending the floor space.

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21. Use A Dining Room Table As An Accent Piece

Extendable dining room tables are the perfect solution for an entertainer in a small room.

A great accent piece for a room if you love entertaining is a dining room table. Unfortunately, dining room tables take up much space, and that isn’t good if you are already short on square footage. There are solutions to this space problem, in any case. There are genius creations that are expandable tables. It means that when you need more space, you can have it, but when you have guests over, the table can be transformed to accommodate everyone whom you have invited to the party.

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20. Add An Extra Table Leaf

Dining room tables that are extendable are an excellent option for people in apartments.

All you have to do with these tables is install the additional panel it comes with, and you can even complete this simple task while you are prepping for the party. This extra panel can be stored easily, which is a good option for someone living in an apartment. An excellent tip for furniture picking in small spaces is low-slung pieces. We know that everyone is drawn to beautiful chairs with high backs and tall lamps, but these just won’t work well in small spaces and won’t help you make the area feel larger.

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19. Consider Your Lighting Choices In A Small Room

Be considerate when choosing your lighting for a small room, select table lamps, or standing lamps.

Instead, go for low-slung pieces that will help to create the feeling of your ceilings being taller. It will also help to make the room look larger because visually, they are occupying less space to the person entering the room that tall furniture would. Speaking of lamps, this is also another item that you need to consider in a small space. Lighting is crucial, and your light source is just as vital to make the area feel roomy. You may think that overhead lighting is the solution but think again.

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18. Create Visual Stimulus In A Small Room

Let your eyes gaze on beautiful lighting around the room to make it look larger.

Table lamps and floor lamps are the way to go in a smaller room. Overhead lighting makes the room look smaller. This trick is because overhead lighting creates one focal point in your room. Table and floor lamps help draw the eye to other areas of the room. Because your eye is having to look around the room, thanks to the floor lamps and the table lamps, it creates the striking appearance of being a much bigger space. Another thing to consider when hanging is art on the walls.

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17. Forgo The Gallery Walls

Opt for larger pieces of art in a small room instead of a gallery wall of small frames.

Gallery walls are great in larger spaces, but they don’t have the same effect in a small room. Instead of creating a gallery wall, choose a single piece of decor to hang on the wall. You don’t want to make visual clutter on the walls in small rooms. Pick one or two large pieces of art or decor for your room instead of a bunch of small frames. A great tip is to get a painting or picture that is almost as wide as your sofa to hang above it. Also, make sure to put it at eye level to enjoy its effect.

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16. Pick Big And Effective Furniture

Large pieces of furniture can work well in small spaces if you use them properly.

Just as you should instead pick a couple of large artworks for a small room instead of lots of little things, this goes for your furniture as well. Instead of using small chairs and tables, pick larger pieces. Your small items are making the space look small. Get more significant pieces and learn to limit the number of furniture items you have in the room. Pick a couple of articles that you love in the space and leave it at that. Gianna, the interior designer, says that “larger pieces keep a small space uncluttered.”

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15. Match Your Furniture To Your Wall Color

Choose furniture that compliments the color of your walls to make the space flow.

One of the best tips for furniture in a small space is to match it to your wall color. It is so simple and easy to make your area feel bigger with this excellent tip from interior designers. There is a reason for this. Matching your furniture to your walls is essential. Why? If there is too much contrast between these, your furniture might appear to be clutter rather than design choices. This action then makes the room small again, so match your furniture to prevent this.

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14. Furniture On Legs Work In A Small Space

Furniture on legs gives room for a lot more light to flow into the small space in your house.

Our last furniture tip is about the legs of furniture. In a small room, you want to shop for furniture that has legs. When the table is lifted like in this manner, it creates space within the room and allows for more space illusion. Another fantastic bonus of furniture on legs is that it allows for light to pass underneath it because it is raised and uninhibited. It is a helpful hack for making people in the room think that it is larger than in reality.

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13. How To Organize Your Shelves

By organizing shelves by color, you will create a more put together and less cluttered decor style.

cluttered. This trick is not only for design purposes but for mental ones too. Our brains automatically see clutter in a busy space, but when it’s organized properly, it works brilliantly. A simple organizational hack can go on a long way on your shelves. This hack will result in your shelves looking so much neater. You should organize your shelves by color. Make sure you put things that are alike in the shade next to each other to achieve this.

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12. De-Cluttering Will Give You Space

De-cluttering a space is not only suitable for the room, but your head space as well.

There is no time like the present to de-clutter your space. One of the main ways to make a space look bigger is to clean it. When an area is overloaded with things, it will seem small, even if it is a reasonably large room. Make it a point to de-clutter whatever you can, and you’ll notice the difference in your room immediately. Clutter also makes people feel stressed, and then you’ll start to feel boxed into the room. Keep things that work and get rid of what doesn’t.

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11. Space Is A Beautiful Thing In A Home

Work with the square footage you are given and not against it to achieve a beautiful overall appeal.

There are so many amazing tricks to make a small home look more substantial. It’s all about being thoughtful about your design choices. You don’t need to spend millions on a mansion to have a beautiful home. If you are thinking about your design aesthetic, it could look incredible. Space is the best thing in a home, and you need to give rooms the space to breathe. Look to sites such as Pinterest for inspiration for small offices and follow these incredible tips to make the most out of your home or apartment.

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10. Choose The Right Art

A large piece of art can pull together a room and make it feel larger. Shutterstock

The size of canvas prints can play a pivotal role in how large the room feels. A large luxurious piece of art looks great above your bed, no matter the size of the rest of the room. A small room can still be a place to showcase great pieces of art. Instead of overwhelming your walls with smaller photographs or paintings, pick a simple large-scale item or wall accent to make the room feel bigger. If you still want a gallery wall, limit the photo display to one wall, and simplify the wall with larger-scale items on the other walls. 

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9. Use Clever Contrasts Of Color

The right colors can give the optical illusion of a much bigger space. Shutterstock

When selecting the right palette for your small room, consider playing with hues that contrast with the living space’s overall look. Light colors can make a room look bigger and brighter because they are more reflective and inviting. You can optimize this effect by selecting soft tones of off-white, blue, and green for a more inviting atmosphere. You can also paint the wall trim and moldings in a lighter color than your walls, which gives the impression that your walls are farther back than they are. 

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8. Bring Your Furniture Forward

A few inches of space between your sofa and your walls can make a huge difference in perception. Shutterstock

When mapping out your room, it can feel natural to push all the furniture up against the wall. You may think you are adding space, but it makes everything look and feel cramped. Push it forward a few inches, and you will give the appearance of much more open space. What to do with the extra space depends on what you need it for. A bonus would be to maximize those few inches with a do-it-yourself console table to slip behind the sofa or bed. A few scrap wood pieces can be fastened together for an L-shape console to pull together the look that is as useful as it is beautiful.

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7. Hang Shelves Near Your Ceiling

Figure out a place for overhead storage to expand the use of your smaller room. Shutterstock

Readers can rejoice because stocked bookshelves can be quite the statement piece in your small room, especially overhead. This concept is because they draw the eyes upward. This great design idea could include building shelving around your bedding toward the ceiling and then recessing the bed. An added perk is the structure that can double as a bedside table so you can be surrounded by all of your favorite reading materials, knickknacks, and photographs. Overhead shelves can also work in the living room, pantry, kitchen, and any other room that could use extra storage space.

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6. Choose The Right Accents

Accents can do more than accessorize a room. Shutterstock

Accents add personality to any room, no matter what their size. When you decorate smaller sized rooms, you should follow what interior designers call the “cantaloupe rule.” Decorate accents that are smaller than the fruit tend to overwhelm and crowd. Opt for larger pieces to draw the eyes around the room. Another idea would be to group smaller items and place them strategically. You can also group them by color or type to add different dimensions as another way to make your room more attractive. Make a statement with your accents that are sure to invite compliments.

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5. Optimize Empty Space

Sometimes, what you don’t have in space can speak volumes. Shutterstock

You may not need to add much to create the feel of a bigger room. You may not need to put in anything at all! Some space on a shelf can have the same effect as an open concept room. Not every inch of the shelf needs to be used and covered in knickknacks. If you want to make your room look bigger, leave some new spacing on your shelving. Rugs and carpeting may protect your floor, but some bare space can give the illusion of a bigger room. Make sure your floors are more visible by creating a pathway in the room.

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4. Add Some Greenery Plants That Will Bring Life

Plants not only brighten the room; they also can make the living space feel larger. Shutterstock

When strategically placed, plants are a great addition to any room in your house because they bring life into the space. If you are being stuck indoors, the presence of plants can be a great way to add dimensions to your room. Plants can hang low, sweep the ceiling, and spread out to places you want to draw the eye. You can drape plants on the wall or place a couple of them on a suspended shelf. Another option is placing a tall plant to create the illusion of height. If you prefer, you can also put in fake plants for the same kind of effect.

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3. Opt For Low-Slung Pieces

Trade out high-backed chairs and tall lamps for pieces that are low to the ground. Shutterstock

Just because you have used it before does not mean it suits well for the space you live in now. Typical high-backed chairs and tall lamps can be ill-informed choices for a small room because it directs your eyesight upward. Instead, opt for low-slung pieces that counterbalance with your ceilings to make them look taller. Not only are these furniture pieces ready, but they also do not carry much visual space. Choose wood designs with a beautiful wood finish and a compact design to make a chic fit for your living room or bedroom.

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2. Simplify Your Bedding

Use simple bedding tricks to make your bedroom feel like a much bigger space. Shutterstock

Where you rest should be an inviting place that is calming and relaxing. Choosing the right bedding is important to maximize the visual aesthetic you are trying to achieve in your sleeping space. While you may be tempted to choose bold and heavily designed comforters and as many pillows as you can fit on your bed, the complex bedding setup can overwhelm your bedroom and make it feel cluttered. Edit down to what you need and opt for modest bedding set up with light-colored tones that compliment the rest of the room.

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1. Don’t Be Afraid To Break The Rules

Your room is all yours, so make sure it reflects your personality, even with unconventional pieces. Shutterstock

A living room is supposed to be for that – living. Rooms have their specific purposes, but there is no one way to decorate them. They do not have to be equipped with pieces that are typically found in living rooms. Unexpected furniture and a quirky layout can make the space feel more fun and open. There are no hard and fast rules about design. Take this opportunity to show off your personality with a few conversation pieces, like a daybed over a sofa, a hammock in the bedroom, or a repurposed coffee table. The sky’s the limit!

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