10 Tips to Make Your Home Seem Larger and Brighter

Nobody wants to live in small and tight spaces. Everyone wants an airy and large home. This is one of the reasons why people decide to design their homes themselves. They want to accommodate their preference of having a larger and brighter looking living space without having to pay more money to make it bigger.

Make your home seem large, airy, and bright by following these simple tips:

1. Use natural light to your advantage.

Let the sunshine in. Light makes interiors seem bright and large. Having windows strategically placed in areas around the house where the sun shines is a good way to make your living space appear larger. Windows will create a visual connection between the outside world and the inside of your home.

See to it that your windows are clean and sparkling. They let the sun in and make a room feel bright and airy. Formulate your own cleaner by combining two parts water and one part white vinegar. This way, you will save money while naturally keeping your windows clean.

Arrange your furniture in such a way that they don’t get in the way of the light coming in through the windows. Choose furniture that will be the main focal point of each room, like a fireplace in the living room or the table in the dining room. Make sure that the focal point is not obstructed by other furniture or other accessories.

You can place small plants by the window. If you plan on bringing in larger plants, don’t forget to trim hedges and trees so they don’t prevent the light from shining through.

2. Use natural and light materials            

Natural materials like wood, cotton, and jute make homes feel open and airy. Choose decor, upholstery, and furniture made largely of natural material. These materials give off a soft and warm vibe, which will make your living space spacious and fresh-looking.

Avoid velvet, wool, fur, and other heavy fabric. Aside from their heavy aesthetic, these materials usually absorb heat and make the room feel hot and uninviting.  Go for lighter picks like line, cotton, and lace to make a small room seem brighter and more open.

3.Use curtains strategically.

Windows do most of the job in making the room look bigger by letting natural light in, but for it to work well; the curtains used must be compatible with the windows. Opt for long curtain rods that extend beyond the sides of your window casing. They make windows look larger. They also allow you to draw the curtains clear to the sides so that they don’t get in the way of the incoming light. Moreover, you can mount the rods high up to make windows look longer.

Avoid heavy curtain material. Go for sheers; they offer privacy but let in a lot of light. Heavy curtain materials and colors will absorb the natural light, weighing the room down and eventually making your home look smaller.

Plain colored curtains are the safest way to go, but you can opt for curtains with a vertical design or pattern. This will add the illusion of length and will make your ceilings look higher. As much as possible, choose curtains with a similar shade as your wall to make it look clean and consistent.

4. Use mirrors to your advantage.

Placing mirrors around the house is one of the popular ways to make your space look larger. Put mirrors across windows so they can reflect the natural light of the sun. Try getting a wide or elongated mirror for a more effective illusion.

If you have spacious walls, make a gallery wall with mirrors of different sizes for a unique and eclectic touch.

If you have a cramped hallway, put a mirror at the end of the hall. This will make the corridor look larger.

If you have limited wall space to put the mirror on, you can try putting mirrors on cabinets. This will still work in making your space look and feel larger.

5. Reduce clutter.

 A room with clean minimalist looks appears bigger, cleaner, and brighter. When there are lesser objects in the living space, people will focus more on how spacious the room is.

Style shelves in such a way that they showcase a few beautiful pieces. Don’t put all your books or décor out. Too many things on display will make a room look small and disorganized. This will also allow for greater dust accumulation, which makes a space stuffy.

Carefully choose a color theme when it comes to picking decorations for your space because too much color makes the room look busy and therefore make it look smaller.

Avoid displaying too many art pieces. Opt to mount just a few select pieces to give your walls a more expansive feel. If you can, choose one large painting or photograph instead of placing small but numerous pieces. Fewer art pieces mounted on the wall will provide more area for the natural light to reflect from.

Moreover, make sure that your floor is clean. If you must put rugs, limit it to one piece, preferably a light-colored one, so the floor will look more spacious.

When you have too many items, periodically check which items can be thrown or given away so you can keep only those you can actually use in your home.

6. Use furniture with storage space.

Choose pieces that do double duty as storage space to control clutter. Use the furniture to keep non-essentials out of sight. There are several multi-functional furniture such as couches or beds with drawers and hidden storage, which you can use to store extra items like books or magazines.

There are different kinds of foldable furniture you can invest in so you can use the extra space for any physical activity or gathering. Some foldable furniture you can invest in are foldable dining tables, countertops, and even beds.

If it is safe for you to install one, have glass tabletops to make the room feel open. This can specifically look good in living rooms or receiving areas.

Having the perfect furniture is not enough. You should properly plan where to put your furniture and create balance in a room. You cannot put too many heavy-colored and large furniture in one side of the room while only putting 1 or 2 in the opposite side.

7. Opt for a neutral color palette for your walls, floors,        and ceilings.

Lighter hues tend to “open up” space and make it look bigger. Add pops of colors through accessories and furnishings to make your rooms brighter and more cheerful.

Using white is the way to go, but if you prefer other colors, you can opt for light colors like blue, green, pastel, or off-white, in order to make the walls brighter and more reflective for the natural light to bounce off from.

For the flooring, use whitewashed wood floors, natural and neutral toned tiles and light-colored carpets. It keeps your floors looking classy while making the floor appear spacious. When choosing the type of flooring you want to be installed, take the color of your walls in consideration. They have to be compatible with each other in order for the illusion to work.

8.Use multiple light sources.

Sometimes, natural lighting can only do much, and it is not always consistent. To remedy this, augment natural light with multiple light sources. Add task lighting, spotlights, under-cabinet lighting, and accent lamps to illuminate nooks and supplement overhead lighting. Install dimmer switches to control brightness.

Of course, you can only use natural lighting to your advantage during the daytime. So, how can you make your living space look bigger even during the night? Use these light sources to mimic natural light during nighttime.

9.Scale down your furniture.

Heavy furniture tends to make a room feel cramped. Opt for pieces that have slimmer profiles. Look for sofas with long legs and tables and chairs made from acrylic, glass, or wrought iron for a lighter and roomier effect. Try buying chairs and sofas with exposed legs rather than the closed types.

This way, it will create an illusion of extra space.

Keep yourself from getting tall furniture which reaches the ceiling. This can make the ceiling appear lower than it is

Strategically place all your furniture and make sure not to put them right beside each other. Otherwise, your space will look compact and stuffy. Give them their own space.

Moreover, do not place big furniture in front of pathways because it will make the room appear blocked and cramped. You have to make sure that when people view the room from the entryway, they will see only one focal point.

10. Use French doors.

Heavy solid doors limit the visual space of homes. Opt for interior French doors instead of heavy solid doors. French doors operate the same way as windows. The glass panels add visual space to a room. Remove doors in between connecting rooms like the kitchen and the dining area, or you can use sliding doors as partition.

Like windows, you can put light curtains in order to maintain privacy.

These are just some simple and easy ways to make your living space appear larger and brighter. You can do this on your own with proper planning and strategy.