7 Tips to Open up Small and Narrow Living Spaces

We tend to pick up decorative pieces at random and end up wondering where the hell to put them. So they go everywhere. Stop doing that! Get rid of things you are not totally in love with and divide the rest in groups. Display just one group at a time and put the rest away. This way you have something fresh periodically and not too many decorative items taking up valuable space.

With small spaces it is important not to spread stuff on the floor as it leaves little room to move around freely. In this case, walls can be put to good use. Put up shelves in corners, but not too many. Use smaller walls for a picture or two, keeping the frames simple and not too big. Too many will end up dwarfing the walls.

Lean furniture can be just as (and sometimes more) comfortable than large bulky sofa sets. You don’t need sets, trust me. A simple sofa and a couple of armchairs do very nicely. You can also throw down a floor cushion to make your living space more welcoming. If possible go in for see through centre and coffee tables since they create an illusion of size.

Light is your best pal in a little house, use it well. Take down those heavy drapes. Let natural light take over the job of expanding your living space. Where it is hard to come by, go down to the hardware store and look at the wide range of lighting options to brighten up your living space.

You can actually multiply lighted areas by putting up mirrors. Place them to reflect well lit corners and walls and it will create an illusion of light coming in from multiple directions. Mirrors also add depth to rooms making them appear longer or wider. Framing mirrors can make them look like windows if they are reflecting an outdoor scene.

I know dark colors bring along that happy feeling. But paint a wall dark and watch how it narrows your vision. You need to go in for soft pastel hues. White and cream work very well as they reflect light, making the space look bigger. And yeah, just one color please - we don’t want the rooms to look tacky, do we?

Lines and stripes create a visual elongation. When you choose fabric for your sofas and chairs go in for stripes or designs that follow the linear pattern and remember to use it top to bottom not side to side. The same goes for wallpapers too. Stripy wallpapers are brilliant at making your ceiling mover higher up. Just don’t pick up stripes that are too thick. That can block out sections of wall defeating their purpose.

So you see it is not all that difficult to have a lot of free space within a little space. It only takes a little imagination to transform your little apartment and it costs little. How do you plant to open up the tiny spaces in your house?

Top image source: st.houzz.com