Whether you live in an apartment, condo, or small house, you know that small spaces can feel smaller, if they are not fitted with the right scale décor.
One of the most important decisions when you are decorating a small space is the color scheme. Keep reading for helpful tips and tricks on color that will make a small living room feel larger.
Places to Incorporate Color
There are three surfaces where the color will be incorporated: the ceiling, walls, and floor. Each of these surfaces presents different opportunities and challenges, and are the basis of which your decorating scheme evolves. When you're choosing colors, consider the materials as well. For the ceiling of a small room it is best to keep it simple and use paint instead of a potentially busier material, such as decorative tiles. Using paint or large-scale pattern wall-covering on the walls will give the illusion of the space being more substantial, whereas the small pattern, busy printed wallpaper will make a room feel small. Using rugs to accent and add dimension to your wood floor surface or wall to wall carpeting are both good choices, providing the patterns are simple.
Color Schemes
When choosing the colors for a room, there are three basic types of color schemes that you can select: monochromatic, complementary, and neutrals. Monochrome color schemes use the same hue in varying levels of intensity. For instance, in a monochromatic color scheme, light blue could be paired with navy blue, but light blue would not be paired with a dark blue that had more purple tones than the light blue. In a complementary color scheme, the colors that are on the opposite sides of the color wheel are paired together. For instance, red and green would be paired, but red and orange would not. Neutrals are usually low in colors outside of black, white, and beige. Neutrals are sometimes paired with pops of color.
How to Make Rooms Look Larger with Color
In general, if you want to make a small space look larger, colors that are lighter in tone will make an area feel more open, choose lighter variations of color hues to add dimension. If you have crown molding, choose a neutral like off-white, and ceilings paint bright white or slightly lighter toned color from the general color scheme. For the floor, use a light-colored wood, tile, or carpet. Use simple patterns on fabrics and upholstery, decor should not be over-sized and in proportion to the space.
