10 Design Tricks to Make Your Home Look Larger
Learn how to work with spatial psychology to trick your mind into believing your home is bigger than it really is
If you’ve painted your interiors white, hung a large mirror and employed every styling trick in the book to make your home feel bigger than it is, all to no avail, it may be time to consider more drastic measures. These 10 design tricks can help transform a cramped, poky property into a home with a spacious, airy ambience. So if you’re planning a renovation, or just want to make some slight tweaks, keep these psychological tricks in mind.
2. Get curves in the right places
In a similar way, you can save worlds of space by ditching traditional space-guzzling staircases in favour of a graceful spiral number such as the one pictured here. These sculptural pieces are best suited for reaching tight spaces, such as attics or mezzanines – imagine trying to carry a couch, double bed or dining table up or down and you’ll understand why. Even though they don’t suit every person or every site, there’s no denying that spiral staircases graciously give small homes more space than they take.
Spiral Staircases Have Their Turn in the Spotlight
In a similar way, you can save worlds of space by ditching traditional space-guzzling staircases in favour of a graceful spiral number such as the one pictured here. These sculptural pieces are best suited for reaching tight spaces, such as attics or mezzanines – imagine trying to carry a couch, double bed or dining table up or down and you’ll understand why. Even though they don’t suit every person or every site, there’s no denying that spiral staircases graciously give small homes more space than they take.
Spiral Staircases Have Their Turn in the Spotlight
3. Add French flavour
We’ve all heard that glass should be your new best friend when designing a home to create the illusion of space. Why? Because its transparent nature allows you to ‘borrow’ views from other rooms by looking through it, instead of limiting your gaze to within the walls of a single room.
Our brains are complex and creative creatures when it comes to interpreting spatial volumes: what the eye sees, the mind often believes. So if your vantage point lets you see multiple rooms instead of just one, you will feel as though you are inhabiting a larger space.
Installing French doors inside and out is a smart and straightforward way to take advantage of this spatial psychology. Better yet, take them right up to the ceiling and opt for sidelight windows on each side of the opening, like these striking black metal-framed glass doors.
We’ve all heard that glass should be your new best friend when designing a home to create the illusion of space. Why? Because its transparent nature allows you to ‘borrow’ views from other rooms by looking through it, instead of limiting your gaze to within the walls of a single room.
Our brains are complex and creative creatures when it comes to interpreting spatial volumes: what the eye sees, the mind often believes. So if your vantage point lets you see multiple rooms instead of just one, you will feel as though you are inhabiting a larger space.
Installing French doors inside and out is a smart and straightforward way to take advantage of this spatial psychology. Better yet, take them right up to the ceiling and opt for sidelight windows on each side of the opening, like these striking black metal-framed glass doors.
4. Open wide
Similarly, the wider the doors, hallways and openings in your home, the more spacious it will feel. Although it can be necessary to delineate different rooms, it is often unnecessary to restrict yourself to an average door width. Wider openings bequeath homes with an open, airy ambience, while smaller thoroughfares can make interiors feel cramped and poky.
Tip: Sliding doors like this barn door can take up even less space because you don’t have to account for the room needed to swing the door open or closed.
Similarly, the wider the doors, hallways and openings in your home, the more spacious it will feel. Although it can be necessary to delineate different rooms, it is often unnecessary to restrict yourself to an average door width. Wider openings bequeath homes with an open, airy ambience, while smaller thoroughfares can make interiors feel cramped and poky.
Tip: Sliding doors like this barn door can take up even less space because you don’t have to account for the room needed to swing the door open or closed.
5. Look up
How to create the illusion of a larger interior is not only about the horizontal plane – verticality can be paramount in making a space feel bigger than it is. Take this contemporary green and white bathroom for example. We’ve all seen bigger and smaller iterations, but there’s no question that the arched skylight visually amplifies the size of the room. Skylights can be designed in almost any shape and size you want, and both fixed and operable types are wonderful tools for enhancing the semblance of space.
How Skylights Have Risen Up the Architectural Ranks
How to create the illusion of a larger interior is not only about the horizontal plane – verticality can be paramount in making a space feel bigger than it is. Take this contemporary green and white bathroom for example. We’ve all seen bigger and smaller iterations, but there’s no question that the arched skylight visually amplifies the size of the room. Skylights can be designed in almost any shape and size you want, and both fixed and operable types are wonderful tools for enhancing the semblance of space.
How Skylights Have Risen Up the Architectural Ranks
6. Knock down a wall…
It’s a known fact that one large room generally feels bigger than two smaller ones, even if they collectively occupy the same square meterage. So if you’ve been thinking of knocking down a non-load-bearing wall, it’s almost guaranteed to make your home feel bigger. Imagine if the living and sleeping zones in this studio apartment were individually walled in – the open-plan space would feel more cramped than cosy.
It’s a known fact that one large room generally feels bigger than two smaller ones, even if they collectively occupy the same square meterage. So if you’ve been thinking of knocking down a non-load-bearing wall, it’s almost guaranteed to make your home feel bigger. Imagine if the living and sleeping zones in this studio apartment were individually walled in – the open-plan space would feel more cramped than cosy.
7. … Or swap walls for room dividers
Don’t fancy taking a sledge hammer to an internal wall and embracing open-plan living? Consider using room dividers instead of solid walls to separate zones, while letting your eye roam beyond. What could have become a long, dark hallway in this Sydney home escaped that fate by virtue of the metal room divider, which separates the stairs from the corridor.
We’re not suggesting you ditch the solid walls of your bathroom – let’s remain dignified, folks – but some living spaces and thoroughfares do not necessarily need to be enclosed, and will feel much more roomy when they’re not walled in.
Don’t fancy taking a sledge hammer to an internal wall and embracing open-plan living? Consider using room dividers instead of solid walls to separate zones, while letting your eye roam beyond. What could have become a long, dark hallway in this Sydney home escaped that fate by virtue of the metal room divider, which separates the stairs from the corridor.
We’re not suggesting you ditch the solid walls of your bathroom – let’s remain dignified, folks – but some living spaces and thoroughfares do not necessarily need to be enclosed, and will feel much more roomy when they’re not walled in.
8. Look beyond the perimeter
The same goes for external walls. Just as windows let us ‘borrow’ views beyond the confines of our property, choosing screens instead of solid walls at the perimeter of your home and boundary further extends your sightlines. Giving your eye the opportunity to meander past your home’s perimeter does not mean the eyes of outsiders will invade your privacy. This townhouse cleverly incorporated white perforated metal screens around the facade, which welcome district views but shield its occupants from prying eyes.
Browse more grey-toned bedrooms
The same goes for external walls. Just as windows let us ‘borrow’ views beyond the confines of our property, choosing screens instead of solid walls at the perimeter of your home and boundary further extends your sightlines. Giving your eye the opportunity to meander past your home’s perimeter does not mean the eyes of outsiders will invade your privacy. This townhouse cleverly incorporated white perforated metal screens around the facade, which welcome district views but shield its occupants from prying eyes.
Browse more grey-toned bedrooms
9. Blur the line between indoors and out
In addition to opening up sightlines to embrace views of your neighbourhood, try doing the same with your own outdoor space if you have some. These floor-to-ceiling glass doors visually blur the line between this home’s interior and exterior to make it feel larger, but that’s not all.
Notice how the long joinery element in this living space continues into the great outdoors, and how the timber decking runs in the same direction as the floorboards? These details all help take ownership of this outdoor space, which makes the adjacent indoor space feel larger.
In addition to opening up sightlines to embrace views of your neighbourhood, try doing the same with your own outdoor space if you have some. These floor-to-ceiling glass doors visually blur the line between this home’s interior and exterior to make it feel larger, but that’s not all.
Notice how the long joinery element in this living space continues into the great outdoors, and how the timber decking runs in the same direction as the floorboards? These details all help take ownership of this outdoor space, which makes the adjacent indoor space feel larger.
10. Embrace glass houses
And last but not least, here’s the oldest trick in the book for creating the illusion of space: glass. Don’t restrict yourself to just windows or French doors though; the sky’s the limit when it comes to using glass. And with some clever positioning and screening devices, you can relish the feeling of living large without sacrificing your privacy. Glazing is one of the most effective materials when it comes to making your home look and feel larger than it really is. In this case, seeing really is believing.
Tell us
What savvy tricks have you performed to make your home feel bigger than it is? Tell us in the comments below or like, share and bookmark this story.
More
Browse more stories about how to maximise small spaces
And last but not least, here’s the oldest trick in the book for creating the illusion of space: glass. Don’t restrict yourself to just windows or French doors though; the sky’s the limit when it comes to using glass. And with some clever positioning and screening devices, you can relish the feeling of living large without sacrificing your privacy. Glazing is one of the most effective materials when it comes to making your home look and feel larger than it really is. In this case, seeing really is believing.
Tell us
What savvy tricks have you performed to make your home feel bigger than it is? Tell us in the comments below or like, share and bookmark this story.
More
Browse more stories about how to maximise small spaces
Try this for an experiment: picture a house, a room or a kitchen island bench. Done? Now pause to notice the shape that each takes in your mind. Chances are most, if not all, of the designs you visualised were rectangular or square. There’s good reason for this: these shapes are easier to plot within our homes and suburbs, and many building materials are extruded in rectilinear shapes as opposed to more organic curves.
But in the same way round tables usually fit small spaces better than their square or rectangular counterparts, circular fixtures can too. So if space is limited, think outside the square before automatically designing your fixtures with right angles.