Small spaces: 5 tricks to make a room look bigger

Light colours reflect more light and make the room lighter and more spacious. Use them where there is most area: the ceiling, the walls and the largest pieces of furniture. It does not have to be white: beige, light grey or a pale wood such as oak do the same job.

Which wall you paint also changes the shape of the room:

• Ceiling lighter than the walls: the room looks taller.
• End wall 1 or 2 shades darker, in a narrow room: the wall seems closer, and the room looks wider and less long.

A mirror reflects the incoming light and the space around it, and gives the room depth and continuity. Placed opposite a window, or beside it, it carries daylight into the rest of the room. It is the simplest step to make a small space look bigger.

A small, dark room looks even smaller. A single ceiling light gives poor light and leaves the corners dark. Combine 3 layers, each with its own job:

• General light: on the ceiling, it lights the whole room.
• Task light: where you read, work or cook, from a table lamp or a wall light.
• Accent light: on a picture, a bookcase or a corner, it adds depth.

With the layers on separate switches, the same room works by day and by night. The right light for each room is in the guide The right light and on the Light page.

The more floor you see, the bigger the room looks. Furniture fixed to the wall leaves the floor in view. Furniture on legs does the same, underneath. Heavy, dark furniture that sits on the floor closes the space in.

Made-to-measure furniture makes the best use of a small room: it follows the walls, goes up to the ceiling and hides what should not stay in view.

In a small room, visual noise builds up quickly. Many objects in the same space tire the eye and the room looks full. Choose fewer pieces and leave tops and shelves with free space. What you use every day stays at hand; the rest goes inside a cupboard.

The living room is where these tricks show most, because it is where you spend most time. Some choices that help:

• Sofa on legs: the 2-seater OPPUS is 230 cm wide and stands on a metal frame with lacquered legs.
• Narrow side table: the CLIPP is 25 cm deep, with a cantilevered top.
• Clear walkway: the measurements around the sofa are in the guide The right sofa.

For the mistakes that shrink a living room most, see the guide The mistakes that ruin a living room, and for a complete living room, the Living room page. For the bedroom, the same principles are in the guide 9 tips for decorating a small bedroom.

More pieces in the Living room collection.