2
MIRROR, MIRROR
Mirrors are the perfect way to
create an illusion of open flow and
make a room look larger than it
actually is.
You do not need an entire panelled
mirroredwall to achieve this, but neither is
a small mirror going to be effective either.
The best way to create this illusion is by
placing a substantially sizedmirror against
themainwall of the room (ideally the wall
you face when entering a roomor the wall
you aremost likely to face while sitting).
Ensure that themirror is at least three-
quarters the width of the wall and one-
quarter its length. This will dramatically
create depth and space to the room.
Space
and
perception
1
RUG IT
With the appropriate rug, you can
make a small roomappear bigger by
visually expanding the floor area.
Avoid heavy patterns, as these tend tomake a
roomappear cluttered and even smaller.
Your best bet is to go for rugs with simple
horizontal or vertical lines, as this creates the
illusion of additional length andwidth.
To narrow in on the floor and achieve the
best “floor expansion” plan, the colour of the
rug should be lighter than the walls.
Additionally, keep inmind that the larger
the rug, the greater the illusion. Tomaximise
the effect, the rug should at least be half the
size of the room.
5
GO VERTICAL
Incorporate curtains
that extend from the
ceiling to the floor.
This will automatically
influence the eyes to focus on
the height of the room.
When the attention is on
the height, the lack of width in
the roombecomes less
apparent. If the ceiling-to-
floor curtain look is just not
“you”, try a ceiling-to-floor
bookshelf or a tall, decorative
piece of furniture such as a
high-back chair, pushed
against the wall.
Perhaps even an
elongated artwork or vertical
mural on your wall. All these will work just as well in getting
the perceived additional height of the room into focus, through optical illusion.
4
LIGHT IT UP
Lighting canworkwonders for a
small room. The better lit the room,
the bigger it appears to be. So, bring
in as much natural light as possible.
If not, artificial lighting can do the trick. A
suggestion is tomake use of the “wall
washing” lightingmethod, which is a
technique that distributes light onto the
entire wall instead of just one spot.
Not only does this highlight the wall and
make it look quite cool and out of the
ordinary, but when applied on all walls of a
room, it lights up the entire wall area and
emphasises the vertical surfaces to give the
surrounding amore spacious appearance.
Lighting that works well and gives the
most beautiful effect with the “wall washing”
method includes recessed lighting andwall
sconces lighting.
Light colours reflect light to give small rooms a larger look. However, that does not mean
that you have to stick to pale white shades and beige. Soft colours like blue, pink and
green also help to visually recede walls and give it a larger sense of space.
AUGUST 29, 2014
>Décor solutions thatmake smaller spaces lookbigger andbetter
WITH
space being a luxury these days, and
living spaces becoming smaller as the
population grows bigger, many are looking
intoways andmeans tomake undersized
areas look and feel larger. Especiallywith the
scarcity of spacious landed property and
huge supply of “doll-house” high-rise living
spaces, it is becoming a Hobson’s Choice.
Interior designer Lauren Limhas much to
share on this, small yet vital subject.
“Interior designers have long been faced
with the challenge of making a small room
look bigger. The good news is, we have come
upwith several tried and tested ‘tricks’ to
achieve this,” says Lim.
From tall chairs to striped rugs, here are
Lim’s favourite and affordable ways tomake
small a little or a lot bigger.
3
LESS IS MORE
Generally, the less a floor is
seen, the smaller the area
looks. So avoid sofas, tables
and beds that completely hide the
floor area they are placed upon.
Incorporate furniture with tall, skinny
legs or go for transparent acrylic or
Lucite furniture. Placement of
furniture can also affect the perceived
size of a room as well. For example, a
large piece of furniture, when placed
diagonally, will make the area look
longer.
This is because our eyes tend to
perceive diagonal lines as longer
compared to straight lines. Another
tip from Lim’s box of tricks is to avoid
placing furniture near doors.
The more the space between the
door and the furniture, the less
cluttered the area around it will look.
This gives the room a more spacious
and airy appearance.
DID YOU KNOW?
Dark furniture
Oak, rosewood andwalnut furniture
look beautiful but they are also
predominantly dark andmake a
room look smaller.
Clutter
Toomany things make smaller spaces
over-crowded. Better to avoid stacks of
oldmagazines and unused stuff in the four
corners of a room?
X
X
Colours galore
Toomany colours intersect a space and
make it look smaller. Stick to
monochromatic colour schemes.
Ornate furniture
Onemain piece is fine but toomany
intricate pieces and this will make it look
too busy. Stick to furniture with simple,
clean lines that are less distracting to
the eye.
X
X
What to avoid when decorating a small room
