WITH space being a luxury these days, and living spaces


becoming smaller as the population grows bigger, many are looking into ways and


means to make undersized areas look and feel larger.

Especially with the scarcity of spacious


landed property and huge supply of "doll-house" high-rise living


spaces, it is becoming a Hobson's Choice.

Interior designer Lauren Lim has much to share


on this, small yet vital subject.

"Interior designers have long been faced


with the challenge of making a small room look bigger. The good news is, we


have come up with several tried and tested 'tricks' to achieve this," says


Lim.

From tall chairs to striped rugs, here are


Lim's favourite and affordable ways to make small a little or a lot bigger.

1.


Rug it

With the appropriate rug, you can make a small


room appear bigger by visually expanding the floor area. Avoid heavy patterns,


as these tend to make a room appear cluttered and even smaller.

Your best bet is to go for rugs with simple


horizontal or vertical lines, as this creates the illusion of additional length


and width.

To narrow in on the floor and achieve the best


"floor expansion" plan, the colour of the rug should be lighter than


the walls.

Additionally, keep in mind that the larger the


rug, the greater the illusion. To maximise the effect, the rug should at least


be half the size of the room.

2.


Mirror, mirror

Mirrors are the perfect way to create an


illusion of open flow and make a room look larger than it actually is.

You do not need an entire panelled mirrored


wall to achieve this, but neither is a small mirror going to be effective


either.

The best way to create this illusion is by


placing a substantially sized mirror against the main wall of the room (ideally


the wall you face when entering a room or the wall you are most likely to face


while sitting).

Ensure that the mirror is at least


three-quarters the width of the wall and one-quarter its length. This will


dramatically create depth and space to the room.

3.


Less is more

Generally, the less a floor is seen, the


smaller the area looks. So avoid sofas, tables and beds that completely hide


the floor area they are placed upon. Incorporate furniture with tall, skinny


legs or go for transparent acrylic or Lucite furniture.

Placement of furniture can also affect the


perceived size of a room as well. For example, a large piece of furniture, when


placed diagonally, will make the area look longer.

This is because our eyes tend to perceive


diagonal lines as longer compared to straight lines. Another tip from Lim's box


of tricks is to avoid placing furniture near doors.

The more the space between the door and the


furniture, the less cluttered the area around it will look. This gives the room


a more spacious and airy appearance.

4.


Light it up

Lighting can work wonders for a small room.


The better lit the room, the bigger it appears to be. So, bring in as much


natural light as possible.

If not, artificial lighting can do the trick.


A suggestion is to make use of the "wall washing" lighting method,


which is a technique that distributes light onto the entire wall instead of


just one spot.

Not only does this highlight the wall and make


it look quite cool and out of the ordinary, but when applied on all walls of a


room, it lights up the entire wall area and emphasises the vertical surfaces to


give the surrounding a more spacious appearance.

Lighting that works well and gives the most


beautiful effect with the "wall washing" method includes recessed


lighting and wall sconces lighting.

5.


Go vertical

Incorporate curtains that extend from the


ceiling to the floor. This will automatically influence the eyes to focus on


the height of the room.

When the attention is on the height, the lack


of width in the room becomes less apparent. If the ceiling-to-floor curtain


look is just not "you", try a ceiling-to-floor bookshelf or a tall,


decorative piece of furniture such as a high-back chair, pushed against the


wall.

Perhaps even an elongated artwork or vertical


mural on your wall. All these will work just as well in getting the perceived


additional height of the room into focus, through optical illusion.

What


to avoid when decorating a small room

» Dark furniture



Oak, rosewood and walnut furniture look beautiful but they are also


predominantly dark and make a room look smaller.

» Clutter



Too many things make smaller spaces over-crowded. Better to avoid stacks of old


magazines and unused stuff in the four corners of a room?

» Colours galore



Too many colours intersect a space and make it look smaller. Stick to


monochromatic colour schemes.

» Ornate furniture



One main piece is fine but too many intricate pieces and this will make it look


too busy. Stick to furniture with simple, clean lines that are less distracting


to



the eye.

DID YOU KNOW?



Light colours reflect light to give small rooms a larger look. However, that


does not mean that you have to stick to pale white shades and beige. Soft


colours like blue, pink and green also help to visually recede walls and give


it a larger sense of space.