We all want more space in our homes, to feel like we can escape, be alone, or even to make our home feel less crowded when we have people over. Well if your decorating plans (and budget) don’t include knocking down walls or extending rooms, here are a few steps to make your home look bigger just by your choice of paint, furniture and wall art;

Paint

1.    Choose lighter colours as they reflect daylight and artificial light making any space seem bigger.
2.    For an soft glowing effect, use a eggshell or flat paint.
3.    A low ceiling can make a room or home seem smaller so paint that in a light, reflective colour too.

Decorating

1.    Use neutral colours which follow the palette of the light paint colour.
2.    Choose light coloured fabric for your furniture, rugs and light fittings to continue to allow light to reflect around the room.
3.    Don’t use oversized furniture, if the room is small, use small furniture to give an illusion of more space, it just means you may have to wait until you can knock down walls before you furnish your home with large Chesterfield couches.

Wall Art

Decorating in light colors doesn’t just mean using white and beige, instead, pick a color from a piece of wall art and follow that theme.

For example, Avila Reflections II by Susanna Leasure uses a light colour palette to capture the seascape, yet the painting isn’t bland. You can follow the blues of the water and the pink reflections in the water in your decorating choices and use these accents to create splashes of colour.

These pale colours are also contrasted by the reds of the rocks, the dark blues of the deeper ocean, the rich pinks of the sea and the greens of the plants and still this seascape painting is light and reflective as these darker contrasts are used only in splashes to create interest.

You can take inspiration from the colour combinations in this painting when choosing the finishing accessories for your decorating project, or looking at the red trim on a beige sofa or a pink fleck through a cream rug.