Open Up: How to make your room look larger

Rooms can be deceptively small, as a lot of city dwellers (especially the singles living in rented/shared apartments) may agree with. Where did all that space go and how do you bring it back?

Here are five tips to make your room look larger:

Lights, Colour and SPACE!

It is a well-known fact that light and bright colours are more reflective. Try choosing from a range of pastels and see how immediately the walls pull back and the space seems to flow in. Softer tones of blue and green tend to expand beyond the physical limits of the wall.

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PS: The best way to open up your room is, of course, by using light. If you have access to natural light, go for lighter drapes or none at all. If not use bright lights, maybe several strategically placed lamps instead of a single overhead lighting?

Mirror, mirror and On the Wall:

In the absence of a sizeable window or any other access to natural light, the mirror could be your way to create a virtual one. Angle a large mirror so that it reflects a part of the room and you have a room twice as large reflected on your wall.

A similar idea is to dominate the walls of your room with large, dominating wall décor - a painting, a blown-up photograph, may be even an impressively large decorative wall-piece. The eye is drawn to the decoration on the wall, and not the dimensions of the room.

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FURNISH:

Logic would probably tell you that a small room needs smaller furniture. Contrarily, larger furniture makes your room look larger. The key is not to over furnish. If it is a bedroom, for instance, pick an oversized bed. A wall-to-wall or ceiling-to-floor shelf in the living room space is another suggestion. The eye is drawn to the imposing piece of furniture, passing over the confines of the room's lack of space. Also, it's always preferable to pick furniture with exposed legs - it gives a sense of light and space.

Another handy way to furnish your room is to create a room-within-room setting. Pull your furniture away from the walls instead of pushing them up against them. Try rugs or carpets to separate different areas.

You can also try multi-purpose furniture. A lot of these pieces come with storage options too, so your storage problems will also be solved with one move!

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De-clutter:

Needless to say, the simple act of de-cluttering your room unburdens the room. Relieve your room of all unnecessary and smaller pieces of furniture or decorations, throw away anything that you do not need and will not be using any time in the near future. (Be practical about this!) As a rule, smaller spaces tend to cramp faster, so put in that extra effort to avoid mess.

If you are decorating your room from scratch, devise methods of organised storage. Try multi-purpose furniture and decorations. When looking for decorative items, remember to look for larger pieces- they do not accumulate as smaller pieces do.

PS: Avoid clutter as much as possible, even if it is on the prints of your drapes and sheets. Opt for simple drapes with small, light prints or just plain, block-coloured ones.

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Sign your room:

Despite the above rules, the most important thing about your room is you. Make it your own.

While decorating, go wild. Choose striped curtains for your windows, paint one wall bright yellow. Use a swing for your bed. Arrange furniture in semi-circles or diagonally instead of lining them up with the walls. Use furniture that have wheels or can be configured into another shape.

Beauty may be in the eyes of the beholder, but the space is definitely in yours. It's all about optical illusions.