Make your home bigger inside than out

Break out your work pants and call some of your friends to assist – it's time to start decorating!

How to make small spaces look bigger than they are

To view more of this project see "How to make small spaces look bigger than they are"

From when you go flatting in a cramped inner-city apartment to buying a first suburban home, if you're strapped for cash then space is probably not in abundance. Don't fret, however, because that does not mean you are doomed to live in a tiny cramped box until you move, as there are numerous decorating ideas for making even the smallest of spaces seem like a lavish palace in comparison.

Break out your work pants and call some of your friends to assist – it's time to start decorating!

Go big

Interior designers recommend using large furniture to make a room seem bigger. Though it may go against what seems like common sense, certain key items of furniture, such as a bed, make a room appear larger.

Sticking with the bed example, using a large, comfy bed makes you cut down on other cluttering pieces which then brings the focus back to the bed itself as a centrepiece, with space all around it. You'll have floorspace to get up in the morning, walk around, change your clothes or just sit and relax, basking in the breathing space of an unclogged area.

Smart bookcases

Another way to maximise spacial efficiency is to make the furniture itself multipurpose. Rather than a free-standing bookcase jutting out of the wall, if you have the option then make the wall itself the shelves! Shallow shelves that are a part of the wall are great for storing the same things as a normal bookcase, but take up less space.

You could even place them beside and around your centrepiece bed, allowing you to utilise them as bedside cabinets as well as shelves. Being a part of the wall also means wall bookcases can go up higher, using more of the space a wall provides for storage.

Think about colour

There are two things to avoid when considering colour: darker hues and mixed colours. Darker colours instantly shrink a room, whereas a different coloured ceiling and wall allows the eye to define where one meets the other and better judge the space.

Instead, opt for lighter colours such as Resene Black White and use it, alongside similar hues, for both your walls and ceiling. With this type of light colour coating everything, your eye will find it hard to judge where the ceiling is in relation to the walls and it will seem larger.

Windows to another dimension

A great way to open up a small space is to add large mirrors. They use this trick in elevators to expand the space and make it seem like the area is twice as large, which helps people who are claustrophobic. The same effect can apply to your living room or bedroom with the simple addition of a large-scale mirror, or a medium-sized feature mirror.

Like a window to another room, these mirrors will give the illusion that you have more space than you actually do. For your cupboard door in the bedroom, consider a floor-to-ceiling mirror design instead of something solid.

To curtain or not to curtain?

Leaving your windows curtainless will give the room a sense of openness, help bathe it in daylight and introduce a sense of space as the great outdoors is allowed inside. However, it's understandable that you might want a little privacy so curtains may be a must. If that's the case, don't worry because there some great options to choose from.

If you like the elegant look of a solid fabric, try ceiling-to-floor Resene curtains to create a strong line that appears to stretch the window, and thus, make the room seem taller.

Colour mentioned in this article...

Colours marked as "buy in-store" may not yet be available in our online ColorShop, however, the testpots can be purchased at your local Resene ColorShop or reseller.