5 Design Tricks That Will Make Your Small Space Feel Big

5 Design Tricks That Will Make YourSmall Space Feel Big

Here in the South Bay square footage is a hot commodity. We gladly give up space for better location. And why not? With the beach as our backyard, we are living the dream!  However, this sacrifice often creates some tight spots that can force you to get creative when maximizing space.

Small roomsaren’t the easiest spaces to work with. They’re usually crowded, with limitednatural light and awkward layouts. Whether it’s your living room, kitchen, oryour bathroom that’s cramping your style, here are a few DIY tips that homeownerscan use to make any small space seem bigger — no wall demolition or majorremodel required:

Brighten the Room

Bring asmuch light into the room as possible. Bright rooms always feel more open andinviting than dark and drab ones. Paint the walls and ceilings the same colorto add the illusion of square footage. Too many colors can make a room lookchoppy, breaking it visually into different compartments. This can have aconfining effect, so keep it simple and stick to light colors. If you have awindow in the room, use sheer window curtains to bring in as much natural lightas possible. Additionally, install flush-mount wall and ceiling light fixtures to increase both space andbrightness.

Add Mirrors

Mirrorsreflect light and help open a space up by creating depth. Install multiplemirrors, large and small, to make the room feel more expansive.

Streamline Storage

Tightspaces don’t often come with great storage. Keep it as flush with the walls aspossible, because anything that juts out will chop up space and close an areain. Consider installing recessedshelves. With a little bit of elbowgrease (and some help from a construction savvy friend) this space saver goes along way in both design and function. Additionally, place shelving high up inclosets for rarely used items. In the kitchen, you can create an adjustablecooking area with roll-away islands or pantries for more functional space.

Get Rid of Clutter

Nothing crowds a space faster than clutter. A good rule of thumb is if you don’t need it there, store it elsewhere – especially when it comes to the bathroom! If your bathroom is your area of concern, reduce what you keep in there down to the bare necessities. This also applies to the rest of the house. Remember, if you haven’t used it recently, there’s nowhere else to put it, and it doesn’t bring you joy (thanks Marie Kondo!) – Get Rid of It!

Choose light-colored flooring

Even if your walls and ceilings are light and bright, a dark floor willnegate their effect and close the space in. Keep theflooring light to create a spacewith a bright and open flow.