Furniture plays an essential role in the overall vibe of the room. It can make the space appear airy and spacious, or on the contrary cramped and small.

Choosing the right furniture is crucial in your quest to gain some square feet in your home!

CHOOSING THE PERFECT FURNITURE

First of all, remember to always keep it simple, and always lean towards minimalism.

Don’t overload the place with an accumulation of furniture. Prefer one coffee table to three grouped side tables or a sofa to two armchairs.

Accumulating furniture will give the room a cramped feeling and make it appear smaller.

Light and transparent materials

Furniture with dark colors absorb light and appear more voluminous than they actually are, whereas light colors reflect light.

If you install a black sofa in your small living room, it will appear bulkier than it is and draw all the attention in the room. 
You really don’t want that, as it will make the rest of the room appear way smaller!

Instead, go for light colors (cream, blush, light grey…) that will leave your room airy and spacious.

A great tip is to choose furniture the same shade as your walls, so they will blend in them and appear even smaller in the space.

And do you know what catches even less light and space than light furniture? Transparent ones! 

Opt for transparent chairs like the Ghost ones or a transparent coffee table like the Peekaboo from CB2.
Use a clear shower panel or curtain instead of a colored one. 
Being able to see your entire shower will make your bathroom appear bigger.

Be playful in the materials you choose. Think about rattan chairs that will let the light go through. Or maybe mesh elements.

As soon as the light can go through the furniture, you will add an airy feeling to your home!

Anyway, whatever color and materials you choose, avoid patterns! Remember our mantra from the beginning? Keep it simple as much as possible!

Low and clean lines

You can also impact the feeling of your space by choosing perfectly shaped furniture.

First, again, simplicity is your best friend! Avoid complicated lines and curvy and bulky elements. The cleaner, the better.

You need to make the eye travel throughout the room to emphasize the space. And the clean lines of your furniture will be the perfect vectors for it.

More than clean lines, try to choose low furniture.
By leaving a maximum of space above your furniture and under your ceiling, you will focus on the negative space of your home and will make it feel even airier.

For instance, prefer a low bed to a high headboard that will interfere with the empty space.

Exposed legs

Finally, a little trick to make the space feel airier is choosing furniture with exposed legs.

Leaving a maximum of empty space visible is essential to make your room appear bigger.
And when you have exposed-legs furniture, a more significant part of the floor will be visible, again contributing to this spacious feeling.

Opt for an exposed-legs sofa, armchairs, tables, dining chairs, beds, media unit, etc… Every item you can put on its legs, go for it!
The midcentury modern style is an excellent fit for our goal to make our space appear bigger. Indeed, the elements of this style having low and clean lines with leggy furniture, it is perfect for you!

ADAPTING THE LAYOUT TO THE SPACE

I have great news for you!

Do you know you can gain square feet even without investing a single dollar? I’m not kidding! You can make your room appear way bigger just by changing your layout a little!

Making your room appear bigger is just about feeling. 

Of course, you are not adding physical square feet to your home! But with little tips, you are giving your room a feeling of space. And this objective can be achieved just by moving your furniture a little.

To give this feeling, it is essential to keep the circulation in the room flowing.
Never block the pathway with furniture! Even if it seems the best solution, it will break the space, and you really don’t want that! 

Leave the pathway free from every obstacle, and you will be amazed by the result.

Try to push the biggest furniture against the walls and leave the small items in the open space. For instance, in your living room, install the sofa against the wall, and install the coffee table and your armchair in the rest of the room.

Having the massive furniture installed in the middle of the room will break the space, and we now know this is really not a great idea.

The focal point

When you create your layout, you need to think about the focal point of the room.

Usually, it is the most important piece of furniture, like the sofa in the living room or the bed in the bedroom.

But you can also be playful and use a massive wall art or an oversized chandelier as your focal point.

If you have a bigger space, you can use different focal points in the same room, to add rhythm. But in a small room, keep it to a minimum and only use one focal point.

Once you have chosen it, keep the rest to a minimum.

For instance, if you want to bring the focus on a colorful painting above the sofa, the rest of your furniture and decoration should be very simple.

While establishing the best layout for your home, think about this focal point and install it so you can see it as soon as you enter the space. It should drive your eye towards it.

Remember, the rhythm of the room, making your eye travel, is a great tip to make your room appear more spacious.

Finally, if you have a narrow room, an essential trick is being sure your furniture doesn’t touch both sides of the room.

For instance, in your living room, your sofa can touch one wall or the other, but not both. If it does, the space will appear so cramped it would be awkward. And maybe it’s time to change this way too big sofa!

The only exception is in your bedroom where a bed can sometimes touch both walls of the room. It can make the space appear a little smaller, but you can take advantage of it by creating a super cozy feeling, like in a cabin.

Did you like these tips? If you want to learn more about how to make your small room appear way bigger without pushing the walls, download your free guide here.

Are you ready for the next step? Let me work with you to create the perfect home decor for 500$, in 7 days, and 100% remotely!