14 space saving solutions to make your home feel larger without actually breaking down the walls.

Adding an extension to your house sounds like a great way to enlarge its square footage but it's expensive, time consuming and oftentimes, impossible. If you feel your walls are closing in on you and your worldly possessions are taking over, you can blame it (at least in part) on poor design.

Here are 14 easy solutions to make your home more spacious and bright - even if it's by tricking your visual perception of things.

Image: Rachel Langworthy

1 Floor-to-ceiling shelves

Floor-to-ceiling shelving allows you to clear floor clutter and make use of wall space. A top-to-bottom unit, which can work particularly well in bedrooms, kitchens and living rooms, draws the eye upward and the ceilings instantly appear higher.

 

Image: Monic Richard

2 Light paint colours

Dark, striking wall colours can make a room feel smaller because light can't reflect and make the walls appear to recede. Instead, to open up a room, use whites or monochromatic schemes of greys, creams and yellows because of their light-bouncing abilities.

 

Image by: Stacey Brandford

3 Mirrors

Anything that reflects light is key and mirrors are one of those things. A large floor or tabletop mirror placed opposite a window can instantly expand a room's scope. Just remember that you don't want the mirror to reflect a cluttered or cornered space or its purpose is defeated.

 

Image: Tracey Ayton

4 Get rid of clutter

By taking a minimalist approach to your decor, you can create a seamless and airy space. The easiest way to achieve this is to get rid of barely used items that make a room look too busy. Edit, edit, edit.

 

Image: Janis Nicolay

5 Over-the-door storage

In places like the bathroom and bedroom, you can use over-the-door hooks to store bags, shoes, accessories and your daily beauty needs to eliminate floor and counter clutter.

 

Image: Stephani Buchman

6 Smart furniture

Multi-functional pieces like a drop-leaf table or bed frame with drawers are perfect for maximizing space while acting as storage.

 

Image: Stacey Brandford

7 Windows

Uncovered windows or ones with sheer coverings brighten up a room with natural light and draw the eyes outdoors. If drapes go past the windows, whether vertically and horizontally, it not only gives the illusion that your windows are larger but that the room is as well.

 

Image: Janis Nicolay

8 Scaled furniture

A small space doesn't mean you can't have larger pieces. It's better to have a polished space with one oversized piece than several smaller ones. Furniture should never block pathways or natural light sources and should blend well with the wall colour for uniformity.

 

Image: Robin Stubbert

9 Vertical view

A line of vision that extends from one corner of the house to the other instantly elongates the look of a space's distance. To do this, you may have to open parts of a wall and set furniture on an angle, away from sightlines.

 

Image: Donna Griffith

10 Lighting

Lighting is important when it comes to opening up a small space. Recessed lighting is great because it's visually appealing and bounces light where you need it. If your ceilings are on the higher side, you can alternatively use hanging lights, instead of recessed lighting, to make your room more welcoming.

 

Image: Angus Fergusson

11 Light colours on the ceiling

The ceiling is essentially a fifth wall that shouldn't be overlooked. Light colours on the ceiling open up the above space, complement any wall colour and reflect light.

 

Image: Stacey Brandford

12 Wall art

One large painting as opposed to several small ones makes walls appear larger than they are. Try to hang your wall art at the average eye height so that there's a lot of space above the work, making the room appear taller.

 

Images: Angus McRitchie

13 Flooring

When you lay flooring diagonally across a room, the space instantly looks bigger and whether you opt for hardwood, stone, or laminate, the rule applies for all. To create a seamless look that ties one room into the other, use the same flooring throughout. Dark wood floors will make your space look bigger if paired with light wall colour, trim and moulding.

 

 

14 Pocket doors

Pocket doors slide along a track instead of out like a standard door. By sliding side to side, they take up less floor space and are less likely to obstruct than if they opened outwardly.