Original ideas from Better Homes and Gardens
Change Spatial Perceptions
When you can’t physically expand a room, try a few tricks to make rooms appear larger. Paint walls and ceilings the same light hue. Install wide planks or big tiles diagonally on floors. Heighten short walls with vertical boards or stripes.
Pay Attention to Dimension
Be space smart when selecting furnishings; compare different pieces’ widths, depths, and heights to determine which pieces will accommodate your needs without crowding the space to be furnished. Armless chairs and sofas take up less room than traditional upholstered furnishings but are just as comfortable.
Float Your Furniture
Arranging living room furniture in the center of a room makes a lot of sense. It frees a room’s outer edges for placing cabinets, sideboards, and sentimental pieces that are pretty, but not essential to how the area functions. These types of arrangements keep family and friends close, promote intimate conversations, and when centered around a substantial coffee table, make it easier to share snacks
Maximize Possibilities
Got a large room that’s not living up to its potential? Strategically place tall bookcases or shelving units as partitions that divide one space into two. Use area rugs to stylishly define spaces within one room that host different functions, such as dining, seating, and game playing. Arrange floor-to-ceiling cabinets or tall dividers to frame out an alcove big enough to hold a desk or kitchen table and chairs.