Five steps to make a small room look bigger
Somewhere in your home there’s probably a room that feels so small it’s hardly worth counting toward your home’s square footage. You’ve exhausted all the decorating tips to open up that space: light-color walls, strategically placed lamps, sheer curtains and furniture rearranged so many times that even the dog doesn’t know where to sit — and it still seems as though the walls are closing in.
If you think you’ve run out of decorating options, don’t worry, there’s an often overlooked solution that will make a small room look bigger: installing the right kind of flooring. The right flooring not only creates the appearance of more space, but it’ll give your room a whole new look.
When choosing your floors, follow these 5 tips to make your space feel larger than it is:
- Select wide planks instead of strips
- Choose a contrasting wall color
- Install flooring diagonally
- Keep your flooring consistent
- Select long planks
Select wide planks instead of strips—A strip refers to a board that is 3” or less, a plank is above the 3” mark. A wide-plank traditionally is 5” or more. Selecting wide planks for your floor will make the space seem larger. Fewer seams mean less of a distraction; it creates an open pattern that looks less busy and confining.
Choose a contrasting wall color— Selecting a wall color that contrasts with your floors will make your space look noticeably larger. If the floors are white, but the walls are dark, the room will appear larger. Conversely, the floors can be dark and the walls light and the room may appear larger. Keep in mind too that lighting plays a big part.
Install flooring diagonally—Laying flooring diagonally across your room will make it look bigger. This rule applies for both wood and tiles. If this look isn’t particularly for you, another trick is to lay the boards parallel to the longest wall. Running the boards this way helps elongate a room.
Keep your flooring consistent—Join connecting spaces with the same type of flooring. Using a consistent design throughout your home will give the illusion of having more space. If you need to change flooring materials, stay within the same color family.
Select long planks—Increase the appearance of more square footage by selecting longer planks. Woodwrights engineered planks are available up to 14,’ and our solid wood planks up to 16.’ Opt for an ‘on-site’ finishing process to avoid a micro-bevel (gives the appearance of seams between planks). Seamless floors enhance visual space.
