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Creative Tips for Making a Small Living Room look Larger
By Alisa Davis
The living room is typically the space that visitors see first upon entering your home. If the room is dark, crowded and cluttered, it can feel small and less than welcoming, but just by choosing the right colors and furnishings, you can make a smaller living room appear spacious, bright and inviting. Lighter, Brighter, Simpler
Color has a dramatic influence on the feel of a room and it has the capacity to visually shrink or enlarge the space. While beautiful deep colors like navy, burgundy and olive green envelop you, they also make a room appear smaller. On the other hand pale butter yellow or delightful robin’s egg blue brighten a room and make it feel larger. Pale neutral tones like cream, ivory or pale dove gray have a similar effect. Wall color is all-important because it dominates a room just in sheer volume of proportion, but the color of trim and the ceiling are also important. Paint window, door and wood trim in a shade of white and you will immediately ‘enlarge’ the room. The white trim recedes from your eye and makes the walls seem further back than they are in reality. Similarly, painting the ceiling in a shade of off white or a color that is just a shade or two lighter than the walls will make it feel higher; it will also reflect more light, thereby brightening the room. When selecting patterns for wallpaper, upholstery and window treatments remember that large, busy or dark patterns ‘grab’ the eye and interrupt the visual flow of a room, causing your eye to stop and start. This has the effect of making the room feel smaller as well. However, your small living room doesn’t need to be totally devoid of pattern; just keep pattern in scale with the room and the furnishings and use it in restrained doses. Actually, as long as it is not overdone, repeating the same pattern from one area and one material to another will help to unify the room, which conveys both cohesiveness and spaciousness. Furniture: Go for Multifunctional and Sleek
As with pattern, furniture needs to be in scale with the room. Low profile chairs, couches and loveseats will work with the proportions of the room. Look for pieces that do double duty, such as an ottoman that can work as both seating and a coffee table, or side tables with a drop leaf that can be pulled up when needed or left compact. Glass topped tables and lamp bases offer a ‘see through’ quality that keeps the look more expansive. When arranging furniture, be sure that there is adequate space to move comfortably through the room, especially when passing between the coffee table or ottoman and seating. Tall pieces of furniture draw the eye upward, but avoid bulky pieces that are nearly as tall as the ceiling. They tend to loom over the space, making it feel even smaller. Instead choose tall narrow pieces, such as a modern floor clock or glass fronted cabinet that keep the room airy and open. Bright and Light
Use adequate lighting to keep the room feeling bright and place wall mirrors strategically where they will reflect whatever natural or synthetic light the room has to offer. Avoid cluttering walls, tabletops and furniture with too much wall art, accessories or throw pillows. Your goal is to allow the room to ‘breathe’ with wide open airiness. Photo from Flickr - "living room" courtesy of twistyfoldy.net . |
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This intel was contributed by Anna Young
Anna Young
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May, 2012
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