Adding spaciousness without actually adding more physical space can be quite a challenging undertaking. You don’t have to move walls and add more space to make your home look spacious. Neither do you need to buy new furniture and accessories or fixtures to achieve the required result. 

 

All it takes is to make a few changes in the arrangement of the furniture and fittings in the rooms, yet keep to the functionality of your home keeping in mind there are other people other than your self who use your home and consider it theirs as well. Consider their needs by getting their opinions and listing their priorities as those are important too. When you as a family have decided your individual requirements of space, you may have to at some point compromise to make all the requirements fit in.  

 

Clutter can make a home look crowded and small. Getting rid of clutter is half the job done in gaining more space. Move out pieces of furniture which are inappropriate to the functionality of the room,to other areas that have better use for them. Placing the right type of furniture and other items that enhances your home décor in the right places will add to the glamour and space.  

 

When rearranging, consider arranging large bulky pieces against the longest wall areas. Remember that furniture that have their legs exposed, will add to the spacious look rather than fully upholstered bulky pieces. Besides when re-arranging, ensure that the furniture you place is arranged in such a manner that allows enough free space, you don’t want anyone falling or tripping over and hurting themselves now do you. Your family should be able to manoeuvre easily around the house.   

 

Choosing the correct lighting and colour can create a great change in bringing a spacious feel to your home. Select lights that will not throw a shadow and ones that gives a shady look. Soft lights in certain areas will give the room a warmer atmosphere. Placing light fittings on the walls are better suited if your ceiling is low. Lights fitted on a low ceiling will make the ceiling seem lower than what it really is. Use as many mirrors in your decor as mirrors reflect spaciousness and by focusing lighting on the mirrors will save on electricity bills as well.  

 

Choose a lighter colour than the colours of your walls and the upholstery of your furniture for the ceiling. Remember that light colours add to spaciousness while dark colours are good to bring depth to a room if you want the room to appear long. There are some lovely new shades to choose from, but make sure it matches the overall appearance of the room and blends well with the upholstery and curtains. Curtains should be light and airy and selected to match the furniture and overall appearance of the room. Avoid heavy drapes with too much clutter. These keep out natural light and air and don’t help in keeping energy bills low. Apart from spaciousness a small room requires as much air circulating through it to keep air in the room from becoming stale.  

 

Last of all make sure that clutter does not accumulate and your home is kept clutter free. Therefore it is essential to train yourself and your family in maintaining a tidy environment which will in turn help to improve the spacious appearance in your home.

 

(Text by Sylvia Page)