If you are among the many looking for innovative ways to make a small space seem visually larger, this information is for you. For some reason, windows always seem to be in the wrong spot, or light seems to just disappear into a room. These spaces can be a challenge to personalize because their size offers fewer design options.

Many modern floor plans place windows in an inconvenient spot, or create unusual ceiling shapes in a bonus room. These areas can be frustrating to decorate, because of the asymmetry. Since we probably don’t want to go to the expense and effort of solving these issues mechanically, today we will offer three tips for making a space seem bigger than it is, using paint.

Sheen Makes the Difference

How a room scatters light makes the difference in a dark room and a light one. Even medium to large rooms can appear small when the walls are painted with flat paint, especially geens, blues, and browns. If a window is mis-located, or the floor coverings darken the room, using a flat sheen paint can make it seem even darker.

Sometimes, however, flat sheen paint can be used for effect, like making a room seem cozier. The opposite is also true, so using eggshell and semi-gloss sheens will usually make the room seem bigger. Light is reflected much easier with eggshell and semi-gloss sheens, because they allow light to bounce around the room.

Draw the Viewer’s Eye

Some home designs place windows in a corner, often making it less effective at illuminating the room. At times this renders the corner useless as furniture and other objects placed in front of it make the problem worse. Worse still, often our eyes are drawn to these areas because they stand out as weird.

Interior designers often use accent colors to redirect attention away from these areas to make the room appear larger than it is. These designers will often use light wall paint colors in combination with deep, rich colors to draw visually attention to an object like a painting. This method often uses window treatments and large mirrors to create the illusion of space.

Use Light Shades for Visual Ambiguity

Light colors seem larger than they are, often because light is reflected more easily. Just as flat sheens reflect almost no light, dark colors make rooms seem smaller than they are. This is often for the same reason, because dark colors absorb light. Dark colors are more effective at defining boundaries, so it is easier to access size. Conversely, light colors often make boundaries more difficult to notice, so our brains fill in the space as large.

Using light colors expands the room, especially since most ceilings are already a light color. Whites and off-whites tend to draw the eye away due to lack of visually stimulating color, which is why most homes have light colored ceilings. Designers suggest adding deep, contrasting colors to these rooms to define boundaries and establish focal points in the room, like a vase.

We can use paint to make the room seem bigger in this situation two ways, depending on the room. For example, if we want to draw attention away from the corner, we can use a wall paint that coordinates with a dense window covering, like drapes or blinds. The eye then tends to blend them together, drawing attention away from both.