Luxury is often equated with bigger, so these two go hand in hand. However, this can be tricky to achieve in a small apartment or home. Fortunately, there are a lot of tips and tricks that you can follow to make your small space appear bigger. Here are seven ways to make your home appear both bigger and more luxurious.
#1: Declutter
The number one rule when it comes to making a small space look bigger is to declutter. Clutter definitely makes a space feel more crowded than it truly is, and taking the minimalist approach can make your home look both bigger and more luxurious. The minimalist decor style is still considered trendy, as many people still gravitate towards this style.
#2: Use a Light Color for Your Walls and a Dark Color for Your Doors
A common trick used to make a small space look larger is to use lighter colors when painting your walls. Your walls are the largest parts of a room, and a lighter color will allow more light to reflect across the room, giving the appearance of a larger space. At the same time, contrasting colors can also make a room appear larger. Paint your doors a darker color than your walls to help with the illusion of creating space— this trick also gives your home a touch of luxury.
#3: Focus on Accent Pieces When Decorating
Your small space may not be big enough for you to go all out with your decorations, so it’s best to keep it simple. However, simple doesn’t mean boring— you can focus on accent pieces when it comes to decorating a small space. Update your hardware (i.e., cabinet knobs and drawer handles) in your kitchen and bathroom, and switch out your lighting fixtures for a more elegant look. You can still decorate your space with vases, artwork, and books, but you’ll want to keep it to a minimum.
#4: Hang Your Curtains Higher
Another trick you can use to make your small space appear leather is to hang your curtains higher than normal. Curtains are typically hung right above the top of the windows, but hanging them one to two inches below the point where the ceiling meets the wall will make your ceilings appear taller. Just make sure that the hem of the curtains is long enough to touch the floor— just barely brushing the floor so they won’t appear cluttered.
#5: Use Larger Mirrors
When it comes to making a room look bigger, one of the oldest tricks in the book is to use mirrors. Mirrors retract sunlight, allowing the light to give the illusion of a more spacious room. Larger mirrors produce more light, while also giving your space a more luxurious look. Antique mirrors with gold trim will really add that luxurious quality.
#6: Continue Your Flooring Type Throughout the Home
Using the same type of flooring throughout your entire home gives the illusion of your space looking and feeling bigger. Wood flooring is often considered to be the most luxurious-looking type of flooring, and you can use vinyl flooring (some patterns look exactly like wood) throughout your home since it’s sturdy and waterproof. You can still use rugs in some rooms, like the living room and bedroom(s), to help ground the furniture and add interest.
#7: Install a Sleek Residential Elevator
Not all small spaces are single-story homes, as many multi-story homes are built upward to save space, as opposed to being built in a more outward direction. With that being said, a small home elevator may be a great addition to your home. It may seem to defeat the purpose of making a small home seem larger, but today’s residential elevators are much sleeker than they were in the past. An elevator in your home also provides a touch of luxury, as well as creating a safer way to travel between floors for those with limited mobility.
All of these are easy and affordable ways to create the illusion of more space and give your home a more luxurious look. Many of these upgrades (a home elevator, continuous flooring, updating your hardware and lighting, and a new paint job) will also add value to your home, in case you want to sell your home in the future. However, they’re also good for you to enjoy yourself. So try out one or more of these tips to make your home look and feel bigger and more luxurious.
