Painting a Room to Look Bigger

By

susanmajp

As a general rule, dark colors absorb light and make an area look smaller. Light colors reflect light and give an area a more expansive look. Often these principles can be countered with furniture size, placement, etc.

If you have your heart set on a dark color, go ahead and try it. It's only paint and can be changed cheaply if you do not like the effect a dark wall gives.

By LRP (Guest Post)

if you can afford have a wall with a large mirror (size of wall w/o frame)
my aunt had one wall with an outdoor scene on it.

By Julie (Guest Post)

Paint the walls & ceiling all in the same very pale colour. I did this & the result was amazing. The paler the colour the better the result will be.

By

Designersheets

Get 2 shades of the same color (should be a light color) that are right next to each other with a slight difference in light and dark. Paint the entrance of the room with the lighter shade, the 2 side walls with the darker color. And the far wall, opposite of the entrance with the lighter shade. If it's a long skinny room make sure the wall with the least amount of footage gets the darker color. And let the color overlap a foot or 2 on the edge of the other walls. it will square it out. The use of mirrors and lighting will also help accent the room. If you want the effect of higher ceilings leave the ceiling white as well as the top 9" to 12" of the walls white as well. It will visually lift the ceiling up. good luck on your choice.