A familiar saying throughout the years is "let's open it up" "we want to make it more open and spacious". Fact is that everyone likes larger rooms. You won't come across many people who ask you to find a home with the smallest rooms possible and make it feel cramped. No, you hear about people who want the rooms to feel open so they can move around in.
So how do rooms become more spacious and open
after getting rid of the unnecessary clutter. There is a variety of things that can be done. Some working alone, some working in concert with the others. But each room is its own.
The variables that can be worked with are paint, furniture, decoratives & wall hangings, windows, and flooring. Most everything can fit into these categories one way or another. Let's go into these five in more detail.
Paint - One of the more logical paths to follow for open-ness. Stick to shades of the same color. Nothing striking which would clash with other colors in the scheme of the room. If possible, try to stick with neutral colors and lighter tones. Lighter tones can also reflect light to brighten up a room, while the darker tones absorb the light. You don't always have to play it safe either, go off white. There are plenty of light colored paints: creme, beige, light toupe, eggshell, ivory, linen, etc.
Furniture - Just say no, to oversized furniture. Filling a room with furniture makes everything seemed cramped. Also couch with fabric extensions to the ground have a visual effect of being larger and more bulkier than furniture with slim legs that stand out. Also glass furniture such as desks also helps since it has both the see thru quality and the light reflective nature. However, glass objects such as desks don't work in most areas since most other furniture tends not to match.
Decoratives & Wall hangings - This can hold many things mirrors, lights, paintings, other art. Put a suitable mirror in a room and find the best place for it. Sometimes it may have to be moved several times to find the best place. Mirrors help the spaciousness and reflect that light. Speaking of lights, hanging ceiling lights pull the ceilings down. Easy to associate with here as when you see a hanging light coming down on a pole, there is an inherent quality to pull it just like someone would pull those lights with the chains. Floor and desk lamps can work wonders. Depending on your room size/shape, artwork can be carefully fit in, just make sure it is balanced with something else, other artwork/furniture/possibly lamps.
Windows - Don't let drapery/curtains fool you. Sometimes a bare window with perhaps just small blinds can make a room more open than drapes. Especially when the drapes are full of folds and stick out from half a foot to a whole foot of space. Whether its one window or two windows on two walls, these billowing drapes stick out and become big objects in the room. Also let windows act on their own behalf. Don't cover them up by having objects in front of them to obstruct their light. Light reduction makes a room look smaller.
Flooring - Perhaps one of the easier ones to understand. Flooring should be uniform throughout. Make sure the room's flooring does not stop at the doorway. If there needs to be carpets or bath carpets, try to match the shade. It doesn't have to be matched perfectly, in some spaces a shade of the color can do extremely well. This advice can work with wood flooring, laminte, vinyl, and tile. This open flooring is probably the easiest one to spot on how to make look better.
These are just a few tips to open it up. More information can be found in the links below.
Stylecaster
Buzzfeed
Remember if it doesn't look right one way, keep trying. But make sure its something you like!
Huntsville Metro Area Homes
