Make Your Living Space Look Bigger

Over the years, the downsizing trend has been picking up all over the world, and that should come as no surprise. There are many reasons why you would want to downsize your living environment.

Homeowners and renters nowadays know that living in a smaller space means a more convenient lifestyle, but also less financial stress.

What’s more, a smaller space forces you to adhere to some healthy lifestyle habits.

If you used to be a hoarder, a small living environment will help you keep the space clutter-free and organized. But that’s just one out of many benefits that downsizing brings to the table.

That said, sometimes a small house or a comfy apartment can start feeling too small. When that happens, the last thing you should do is move.

Instead, you want to play around with the décor to transform every room to make it look and feel more capacious, positive, and serene than before.

Let’s take a look at the best styling tips to make your small living space bigger and brighter.

Make your rental more capacious

Let’s start with what’s arguably the biggest problems renters face nowadays – making the place your own.

If you’re a renter, you know that you can’t make any grand changes to your living environment, simply because you don’t own the place.

But that doesn’t mean that you can’t make it look more capacious with a few smart décor tricks.

If you are renting something like a serviced studio apartment that already has all the basic amenities, all you have to do is make some small but impactful changes to the space.

You can start by introducing new linens and covers in bright hues and soft textures.

This will help brighten up the place, which is a great way to make it look bigger. Next, make all the furniture and décor hug the walls to free up as much space as possible in every room.

Let plenty of light saturate the apartment and switch out the light bulbs if the hue is too dark. Opt for lighter hues and let the light travel through the space by keeping the doors open between rooms.

Use smart décor to brighten up small rooms

Whether you’re a renter or a homeowner, there is no denying that making a small room feel bigger is a difficult task.

However, it doesn’t have to be such a tough task if you use the right décor. For example, by replacing dark mats in your bathroom with colourful bath mats, you can easily make the room feel more open, brighter, and more spacious than before.

You can apply the same approach to every room, and focus on opening up the floors with light colours.

This, along with white and off-white walls, creates a bright foundation that allows you to play around with the rest of the décor and use various colours and textures.

Master the art of de-cluttering

In a small space, there can be no room for clutter. Unfortunately, the modern lifestyle has taught us to want way more stuff than we actually need, and so things start piling up.

Do you need more than a sofa and an armchair in a small living room? Does your small kitchen need so much cabinetry for enough cutlery and cookware to feed a small army? Certainly not, which is why you should learn the art of de-cluttering and banish clutter from your life.

This will help you keep your space and your life organized, it will make your home feel and look bigger, and it will bring positivity and functionality to your daily routine.

Don’t be afraid to throw out or donate the things you don’t need, rent a self-storage unit for the things you can’t part with, and put the things you have out of sight in some smart storage around the space.

Optimize the lighting throughout 

Lighting plays a key role in shaping the look and feel of the space, and setting the ambiance in every room. By controlling the lighting, you can make the space more intimate and cosier, or brighter and more open than ever before.

Ideally, you should be able to maximize the amount of natural light permeating the rooms.

If you own a small house, then don’t be afraid to install skylights wherever you can. Don’t forget to maximize the brightness with colourful rag rugs and bright décor.

If you’re renting or you don’t want to invest in bigger windows and skylights, then make sure to use light curtains, pull up the blinds, and optimize the artificial lighting.

Go modular across the board

Last but not least, always think modular and functional. By making the space more functional, you will have no problem clearing the space and creating a more capacious floor plan.

Luckily, nowadays you can use modular furniture, décor, and smart storage units for every room in the house.

From foldable furniture and office desks, to under-bed storage and floating shelves, along with multi-purpose furniture like a hollow ottoman, smart décor and storage can completely transform your living environment.

Wrapping up 

Living in a small house or apartment is very rewarding, and it’s good for you in the long run in so many ways.

That said, if you’re having trouble making your small space feel just a tad bigger, then don’t hesitate to use these tips to create a more capacious home.

Peter is a lifestyle and decor writer at Men-Ual magazine, living between Europe and Australia. Follow Peter on Twitter for more tips.