5 WAYS TO MAKE YOUR APARTMENT LOOK BIGGER

Happy September, vinas! Whether you are moving back into your college dorms and apartment, September is a great time for new beginnings and fresh starts. What better time to reorganize and redecorate your space?! I had the honor of talking to Jacqueline Clair over at York Avenue Blog about her favorite ways to make your apartment look bigger. (Sidenote: I have a serious vina crush on Jackie and her photos, so be sure to check out her blog!)

Here are Jackie’s five ways to make your apartment look bigger:

LIGHT WALLS

“Light colored walls and ceilings are another classic strategy for making a space feel more expansive. While dark walls absorb light and can make a room feel smaller, light colors visually expand by reflecting light and appearing to recede. One exception: if you have a small space that doesn’t get much light (like a bedroom), light colored walls can look dingy and dull. In that case, it can make more sense to just embrace the moody, cozy feeling by painting the space a dark color to channel a cozy, enveloping vibe.”

COHESION

“Another strategy for making your space feel bigger is to try to maintain a sense of cohesion throughout in your decorating. When different areas are decorated in wildly different styles or colors it can create a sense of choppiness, which makes a space feel smaller. Strive to carry elements such as furniture styles, color, and pattern throughout the whole space in order to create a sense of continuity and balance.”

OPENNESS

“Another way of making a space feel bigger is to avoid blocking anything off. When living in a small space such as a studio apartment, it can be tempting to want to block off a “bedroom” area using a room divider. While this can certainly be an effective way of managing your space and creating a visual illusion of two rooms, it can also block light and create a closed-off feeling that makes the apartment seem smaller. In order to make things feel bigger, you can opt out of the divider idea and simply embrace the open plan. It will help your space to feel more light and airy – and therefore expansive! If you are set on dividing the space, one option for doing that while keeping things feeling roomy is to use a light, airy divider – such as a delicate decorative screen (one made of lucite is an option). This way you get the visual feeling of a division without creating a “wall” of sorts that can make the space feel smaller.”

CLUTTER-FREE

“If you’re looking for an easy (and free!) way to make your space feel bigger immediately, decluttering is your best bet. Clutter can be problematic in a few ways, but one of the biggest problems is that it can make your home feel much smaller than it actually is. Removing extra items from surfaces like coffee tables and counters will have an immediate impact in making your space feel more roomy and open. If you’re not ready to depart with your belongings, you can easily stow some decorative objects away in a cabinet or drawer and then switch them out to change up the look of your space when the mood strikes. Clearing away extraneous papers, magazines, pens and other detritus is something that can be done in one go and maintained daily, and though it isn’t the most fun activity, the space-expanding rewards make it more than worth the time and energy!”

MIRRORS

“Mirrors are a tried and true strategy for making a small space feel bigger. By bouncing light around, they serve as an effective tool for visually tricking the eye into seeing a space as larger and brighter than it truly is. One thing to remember is that wherever you place a mirror, it will reflect what’s across from it – so to get the full space-enhancing impact, you can try placing a mirror opposite a window. Also remember that you’ll be seeing in the mirror whatever it reflects – in effect doubling that view – so be sure to place it across from something you want to see twice (a beloved piece of art or a great view rather than a dark doorway, for instance).”

Thank you, Jackie for these amazing tips!

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