You can create the illusion of more space with colours and decor
Do you feel your home is cramped and claustrophobic though there's enough space? Though a room is big enough, you may still feel it's cluttered. You may wonder how people living in tiny houses make great living spaces of their homes. Well, it's all in the effective use of design elements.
Extending personal
space
In everyday life, the concept of personal space plays a vital role in social interaction. Personal space is the area around a person's body into which others may not come. But this 'bubble' varies from person to person - while for some the bubble may mean two feet, for others it could be four feet. Similarly, this concept can be extended to space within one's living environs. Though it doesn't translate into not allowing people into one's home, it does affect one's perception of space within the home. R Harsh's home looks quite empty to any person but to him it's got the basic necessities and he vehemently says he's not adding any more furniture. "I have always lived on my own and every few years I move cities because of the nature of my job. I have basic furniture and I definitely am not looking at sprucing up my home. I love having empty space around the home - it gives me freedom of movement and a feeling of being free."
Creating 'space' at home
There are numerous ways in which you can create a feeling of spaciousness within the home. One popular idea of course is the use of mirrors around the home. Large mirrors give the feeling of expanded spaces and double the visual width of the room. The use of long, wide mirrors is quite apt for places like hallways, entrances, dining rooms, living rooms, home gyms and bathrooms. Adding a nice frame or design along the edge of the mirror gives it an elegant, artistic touch.
In case you are building a house, have fewer walls as this will also create more space in the home. Architect and interior designer Mary Paul suggests the use of glass to create an illusion of space. She says, "instead of walls between rooms you can have glass partitions. You can go for a pebbled partition, that is having pebbles between two sheets of glass, and use that instead of a wall. Or you can go in for a low wall or ledge and have creeper plants over it." Use French doors and windows, making sure that there are plenty of windows. More windows not only mean more light but it also adds a feeling of space to the home.
Mary also suggests the use of pastel colours in home decor as another option open to you saying, "lighter shades make spaces look bigger." Colours are quite eye-catching in interiors and they make any room warm and cozy. You can make a small apartment look spacious by using the same colour but in different juxtapositions. Cooler shades like blue, green and lavender will make objects appear farther away. For instance, complement blues with golden neutrals and pink, yellow or red accessories, or with white. Thus, opt for bold blocks of cool colour. And instead of leaving your ceiling white, you can add colour to give it depth. Follow a similar theme with upholstery and furnishings too.
The use of lights also contributes to how your home looks. There are a variety of lights one finds but some of them can be used effectively for creating space. While uplighters are used to define an area, downlighters bathe walls with light thereby making a room look bigger. Reflective lighting is a directional source and bounces or reflects off a wall or ceiling.
At the end of a day you should look forward to coming back home. So take some time out to create that space which you wouldn't want to trade for anything in the world.
Create more storage space…
No matter how much space we have, we still seem to lack storage space. Here are a few ideas to create storage space and not clutter your home
If you have a bay window or an alcove, make a window seat with a flip lid so that you can store things in the space below
If you have a home office, then create a single wall unit that will accommodate everything from your PC to fax. This will not clutter the room and give you more space to keep things
The area under the stairs is very useful for storage of items like linen and towels
Buy box beds, especially for children, so that you can store their toys and other items easily Choose space-saving appliances such as wall-mounted phones
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