When your home or apartment is a bit lacking in the size department you probably understand the importance of creativity when it comes to making everything fit.
While you may dream of knocking down a few walls and expanding out, most of the time this just isn’t practical or even possible.
So until you find that bigger home you’ve been dreaming of…. Put down that sledge hammer!! There are alternative ways of minimising that cramped feeling. This includes reviewing your window furnishings.
Select blinds that are low profile and sit flush with your window
When choosing a window furnishing for small spaces, always be on the lookout for something that is as low profile as possible. This is where roller blinds make a great choice. They provide the slimmest profile while still offering practical benefits and a sense of class to your windows.
Go for a sunscreen fabric to get the benefits of both light and privacy
Let the light in! Making your room dark will make the space feel smaller and repressive. Sunscreens are a great solution for tight spaces and small rooms as, depending on your fabric choice, they can let in lots of light while offering daytime privacy at the same time. The low profile nature of blinds means they will blend into the window from both a visual and a physical perspective. Letting in lots of light is a great way to give the perception of a larger room. You can also wind the blinds up when not needed to let 100% of the light in.
Mount your blinds on the outside of the window frame (outside fit)
Small windows are a typical feature of toilets, laundries and home offices and can contribute to making these rooms feel small. An easy way to combat this is to use an outside fit to mount your blinds. By mounting them above the window and extending the blind beyond the window frame you create the illusion of bigger windows and therefore the room also seems bigger.
Place a mirror on the opposite side of the window
Using mirrors to provide the perception that a room is larger is nothing new. However if you place the mirror opposite your window furnishings then you greatly enhance the effect the mirror has and therefore the perceived space in the room. It also reflects more natural light around the room enhancing the effect
Choose light colours when selecting your fabric
Dark colours can look great and tend to match a lot of modern décor. Unfortunately it does nothing to make a room feel bigger and, in fact, will usually make it feel smaller. Light colours on the other hand can have the opposite effect. Choosing a white or off-white fabric will open up the room and, when combined with natural light, can really transform those small spaces.
Mount your blinds high in rooms with low ceilings
Vaulted ceilings are becoming more popular again as they creates a sense of openness. Unfortunately for most of us we have ceilings that are 2.4 or 2.7 metres high. By mounting your window coverings close to the ceiling in small rooms you can create the illusion that your ceiling is higher, as your line of sight is drawn up and therefore the room appears bigger.
Go with solid colours with textures over patterns
When size counts it’s important to look at all options when it comes to creating the illusion of a bigger room. Patterned fabrics do have a subtle effect on the size of a room and tend to draw the room in slightly. Using solid colours is a visual trick that gives you another advantage when it comes to size. Texture is a great way of keeping some interest.
If starting from scratch go with uniform colours throughout the room
This is a good one to consider when renovating or fitting out an entire room as it involves matching your entire room to a single colour theme. Go for a light colour and look at matching the window furnishings with your furniture, carpet, paint, and any other bits and pieces in the room. It’s the most expensive option but also can have the greatest benefit. The more uniform the colours are throughout the room the larger it will appear due to the lack of contrast
Remove clutter from the room
Creating an illusion of large windows to make a small room look bigger is a great way of improving the appearance of the room however all this good work can be undone when you populate the room with too much ‘stuff’, especially when it is near the windows. This can be tough when it comes to placing your favourite chair or table but as much as possible avoid placing it under the window. Providing an unobstructed view of the window not only lets in as much light as possible but dramatically increases the perceived size of the living space.
