How to make your room look larger

Small rooms can feel confining and uncomfortable. Luckily we can utilize certain design concepts that fool the eye and make our rooms seem larger. Try these inexpensive decorating tricks to make your rooms live bigger.

1. Use Light Colors
Light and brightly colored walls are more reflective, which will help to maximize the effect created by natural light. This does not mean you have to live with white walls. There are a wide range of light colors paints available, such as light green or cream beige.
Once you've chosen your wall color, choose your trim and moldings colors.

Paint your trims and moldings in either the same hue as the walls, or a lighter color. Lighter objects appear closer while darker or shadowed objects appear further away. When you paint your moldings a lighter color, the wall appears further back - thus making your room appear bigger.

Now, don't be worried that your room is going to be bland and uninviting, bolder and darker colors can be be used in furniture, artwork and accessories.
If your colors are already dark, try to move the darker colors to a 'background' role while maximizing your neutral white or ivory. Be careful when using wallpaper. Solid colors are the safest, with tiny patterns taking a close second. Whatever the wall color or finish, we recommend the ceiling in a small room be painted stark white to maximize brightness.

2. Mirrors
Mirrors can have a favorable impact on a room's appearance. A large mirror in the room will reflect light around the room. The mirrors also reflect both natural and artificial light to make a room brighter during the day and night. They bounce light deep into the room, making it appear larger. This is especially effective with near a window so the outdoors can be reflected.
Use glass-front or mirrored cabinet doors to make spaces feel large and uncluttered. Large, expansive mirrors over vanities, mirrored wardrobe doors or a floor-to-ceiling wall of mirrors (combined with our decorating suggestions) can make even the smallest of spaces seem larger.

3. Arrange Furniture At Angles
Arrange some of your larger pieces of furniture at a angle. You don't have to place the furniture at an exact 45 degree angle, often a lesser angle looks best if you can balance the look with another furniture piece.
Setting your furniture at an angle works because the longest straight line in any given room is it's diagonal. When you place your furniture at an angle, it leads the eye along the longer distance, rather than the shorter wall. As an added bonus, you often get some additional storage space behind the piece in the corner, too!

4. Scale Furniture
Keep furnishings in scale with the rooms. In small rooms, use slim rockers, open-back chairs or a simple sofa or love seat rather than overstuffed furnishings to avoid overpowering the space.
There are stores that deal exclusively in furniture for apartments and mobile homes. Despite its slightly smaller size, scaled-down furniture can be beautiful. An open headboard is best for a small room. When furnishing, keep the view at eye level unobstructed. Taller furnishings should be placed at the end of the room opposite its main entry.

Article by Olivia Filipetto, publisher of www.bedroomfurniture.com, providing all you need to know about enhancing your bedroom and buying bedroom furniture.

Basics on Hanging Pictures & Wall Art

An arrangement of favorite, framed photographs, wall art, and collectibles can add personality and warmth to any room. When done correctly, wall art can change the focal point or the entire look of any room.

1. Pictures should hang just above eye level. There is great debate over what "proper eye level" is. Some say "eye level" should be considered as if viewers were standing. Others say "eye level" should be considered as if viewers were seated. Still others say that "eye level" should be determined according to the primary use of the room. (This means, if most of the time people are standing in the space, like a hallway, then "eye level" should be directed at viewers who are standing. In a room where viewers will spend the majority of the time seated, like a living room, 'eye level" would be from a seated position.)

How and where should wall art be arranged? Well, ask yourself where you would like the "eyes" to focus.

2. Creating a group of art or photos on a wall is an excellent way to create an interesting focal point. This task, however, requires extra planning. I would suggest that you map out the way that you would like to arrange your pictures on the floor, first. (This way, you can move them around without leaving nasty holes in the wall!) The secret to arranging art on the wall is simple...balance, balance, balance!

Use a measuring tape to be sure that the distance between several pictures that will hang in a row is equal. Four small pictures on the left of a large picture can be balanced with two medium sized pictures on the right. (Remember: This only works with careful consideration to balance. Be patient, take your time, measure, and plan.)

3. Consider lighting to emphasize your arrangement. When lighting is directed to the arrangement, it commands even more attention. Be careful of lighting that is bright. This type of lighting should be subdued and not produce glare.

4. Add diversity to the arrangement. Use frames and mats that are different sizes and shapes, but compliment one another.

5. Pay attention to "balance" in your entire room. Be careful not to put everything in one part of a room. Leaving the other walls bare will throw the balance of the entire room off.

Article courtesy of : http://www.rentaldecorating.com/