Making A Small Apartment Feel Larger Than Life

Do you ever sit on the couch and feel like the walls are closing in around you? Maybe you’ve recently transitioned to working from home or you’re just feeling fatigued from being cooped up for so much of the last year. If you’re starting to feel like the space you have isn’t big enough for your needs, there are lots of quick alternatives that can help make your home appear much more spacious than it is.

Windows

Let there be light! If you are lucky enough to have large windows that bring in lots of natural sunlight, this is a great foundation for making your space feel bigger. One option is to avoid covering your windows with curtains or blinds. Leaving them bare creates the opportunity for the outside light to pour in from all four corners. And as an added bonus, you’ll get views for days!

Of course, making sure you aren’t overlooked and that you have enough privacy is really important too. In those situations, we recommend removing as many obstructions as possible, which means pulling back your curtains and tying them with a ribbon when they aren’t being used, as well as removing any unnecessary decor you have on your windowsill.

Furniture

You may think that smaller pieces of furniture are going to make a space feel bigger, but the opposite is actually true, especially if you are trying to cram multiple pieces into one room. Switching them out for one or two larger ones can make it appear less crowded and therefore more spacious.

In addition, you might instinctively push your furniture back so it’s flush with the wall, assuming it will open up the space in the center of the room, but setting it forward actually creates an illusion of more depth, thus making the space feel bigger than it is.

Another couple of tricks you can use are adding tall items to the room (such as a bookshelf), which can make the ceiling appear higher, and adding exposed legs onto the bottom of couches and chairs, which creates a line of sight underneath them and gives the space the illusion of more height. It’s truly the smaller things that can make a big difference.

Decor

Large mirrors are the first piece of decor we would recommend for any space. Mirrors are functional in the traditional sense while also creating a kind of portal, often doubling the perceived sense of space in a room. They are particularly helpful if you do not have large windows and, with the right design, they can become a great focal point as well.

In the same way we recommended choosing bigger pieces of furniture, you will also want to choose larger pieces of artwork. Remember, clutter is the enemy in small spaces so if you’ve been thinking about installing a “wall of frames”, you might want to consider getting one large frame and turning it into a collage instead!

The final item we want to address in decor are patterns, specifically stripes. You’ve likely heard that vertical striped clothing can make human beings appear taller, and the same is true in interior design! By adding something like a lined rug or blinds with vertical stripes, you can help to elongate a space that appears small.

There are so many reasons a small space can be beneficial, whether budget-wise or due to less time spent cleaning, but they don’t have to feel small. We hope the above tips help create an illusion of extra room and help you refresh the home you’re in.