7 Ways to Make Your Home's Interior Look Bigger

We all want more space — or to at least feel like we have more space than we do. The rooms in your home can easily become cluttered and feel small, but there are simple things you can do to open up each room and make it feel and look larger. Here are some simple tricks to doing this.

White is a color that creates a calming, airy feel. Paint the entire room white to achieve this look. This will blur the lines between walls and ceiling, simplifying the space and emphasizing the architecture. If you don’t want everything to be white, pair it with warmer elements like wood or different colors and textures in items like your furniture, rugs and décor. Overall, light colors (particularly white) can make the room look larger — especially if it has tons of natural light coming in, as the white finish will reflect it and amplify the effect.

By allowing lots of natural light to come in and creating a wide-open view, windows can open up your space. Windows can brighten the room and allow the sun to highlight the architecture of your home. At Pella, we have many different, versatile window options that can boost your home's natural light and fit your style. With some of our windows, you can even mix and match their interior and exterior colors. For example, we can provide a white interior to match the room and brighten the space, while having a different color on the exterior to fit your style if you don’t want it to be all white. We also can stain our windows so that you can add that hint of natural wood to the room for a warm accent. Along with that, our special shape window replacements can allow you to design and install windows that will lengthen the room, creating a feeling of even more space. We also offer windows with thin, sleek frames and grille-free window options that can let in more light and provide an unobstructed view.

Certain window treatments can help make a room feel larger. Because of their lightweight fabric, sheers are a great option to make a room feel airy and light. This fabric is better than heavy fabric that can weigh down your room and make it feel smaller. When you open up a window, this breezy fabric will flow around enhancing the effect. In addition, hanging your curtains or sheers high above your window, closer to the ceiling, will trick your eye into thinking your ceilings are taller than they actually are. With so many different styles and colors of sheers, you will be able to apply this trick to any room!

How you arrange your furniture also plays a part in how spacious a room feels. Working with your room’s angles can help with this as well as playing around with decorations. You want to accentuate vertical and horizontal lines in the room in a way that creates length and a feeling of openness. You also want to create a sense of balance in the room. Lightweight, light-colored furniture with long legs can elongate the space and make the room feel larger. Use multi-functional furniture to reduce clutter — for example, an ottoman can be used as a seat, table, footrest and storage container.

A room's focal point draws attention in and acts as a centerpiece, leaving you feeling like the room is large and well put together. Once you pick the focus of the room, you can arrange your furniture in a way that makes it stand out. For example, if you have a fireplace in your living room, you can arrange couches or chairs to slightly face it and direct attention towards it. Focal points can also be things like the view from your beautiful windows, vaulted or angled ceilings or anything you want to draw attention to such as artwork or statement furniture. Avoid picking more than one focal point though, as this can separate the room. Also, don’t forget about the importance of framing the room and lighting around this focal point to truly master the effect.

Adding mirrors to smaller rooms is a great way to trick your eyes into thinking a room is bigger. Mirrors reflect the light and view from your windows, creating a sense of openness and making your room feel more spacious. Mirrors are also great for many other tips we listed above. Try using tall, thin mirrors to accentuate vertical lines in the room to make it feel taller or horizontal mirrors to widen the room. You can choose a large mirror that is leaned against the wall for décor and to open the space, or you could use multiple small mirrors to add some character.  

Overall, to make your room look bigger, keep it simple! Too many decorations can lead to clutter and less space. In addition to the number of items you incorporate in your room, you will want to keep this same mindset when it comes to styling the room. You don’t want to have overly busy patterns and colors, instead, use these as accent pieces in the room. You will also want to have a few pieces of furniture instead of crowding the room and walkways with many different pieces. You can still have the same amount of seating with minimal furniture too.

Whether you want one room to feel bigger or your entire home, there are many different tips and tricks to achieving this. You can do one or all depending on your style and the look you are going for.

As for your window needs, Pella is here and happy to help. Request a free in-home consultation with one of our window replacement experts or visit your local showroom to see our products in person.