We all have that one room in our house that never seems big enough no matter how much effort we put into trying to maximise its sense of space.
You’ve tried everything: slapped a new coat of paint on the walls, installed some mirrors, added an expansive artwork to the feature wall, but nothing remedies that awful feeling of being cramped when you’re in that room.
Fear not. If you’re one of the many people who have had the misfortune of experiencing the above scenario, then you’re in for a pleasant surprise: there’s still hope.
It may feel to you as though no amount of redecoration will ever do the trick, but there is one last card in the deck you may not yet have played to create a bigger sense of space in your living areas: selecting the right floor for your home.
If you want to create an illusion of space in a living area (or any area for that matter), then this is the right guide for you. In this article, we give you 6 sure-fire ways to enlarge the roominess of an area without enlarging the room itself simply by changing up your floor design.
1. Capitalise on colour with rich, dark tones
Some people fall into the trap of thinking that brighter is better when it comes to room design. Although a pop of colour here and there can most certainly create a lively effect in a room, it won’t do much in the way of creating a more expansive atmosphere, particularly when it comes to flooring.
If you’re one of those people who think bright colours are the way to go, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but you’ve got it all wrong.
The secret to creating a successful illusion of size in a small, otherwise cramped room is to combo up the right wall colours with a dark flooring underfoot.
You should select rich, dark tones in your floor — whether it’s a hardwood, carpet or laminate — and offset it with cooler, more neutral tones in the walls, ceiling, trimming, cornices and architraves.
This simple two-tone look is a tried and tested method to amplify the sense of space in a living area that currently seems to be suffering from a lack of it.
2. Bamboozle the brain with a diagonal floor plan
If you’ve had your floors laid in a horizontal or vertical fashion, then you’ve done the room in which its installed a grave disservice in the size department.
That’s because even the smallest rooms can emit a feeling of spaciousness if their floors are fitted in a diagonal manner.
I hear your brain ticking over: how could that possibly create a greater sense of size?
The answer is simple: science!
When you enter a room with diagonal floors, the widest part of the floor design greets you at the door, tricking the human eye into thinking that the space is wider and more capacious than it is in reality.
In other words, it’s a clever optical illusion designed to bamboozle the brain into thinking the visual imagery of a room is bigger than it actually is! And the best part? This trick can be applied universally across all types of flooring, including patterned carpets, marble floors, natural hardwoods and any other imaginable type of flooring.
Whether you’re getting a new floor installed or you’re renovating an old one, don’t make the mistake of getting it laid horizontally: get diagonal and reap the benefits of a larger-feeling room!
3. Use a larger flooring format
If you want to create a roomy feel without enlarging the dimensions of the room itself, you’ll want to select larger flooring formats for your floor.
Whether it’s laminate, hardwood, tile, carpet tiles or stone that you want under your feet, you should opt for the biggest version possible of whatever style of flooring you’re into.
The reason for this is simple: the bigger the flooring, the bigger the room will feel when you step into it.
If you’re installing laminates, for instance, you can select from a wide range of panels with huge dimensions that are sure to supersize the feeling of your living areas. The Swiss Krono Laminate Floor is a prime example: available in large, wide, long planks, any product from this catalogue is sure to amplify the visual effects of whatever room in which its installed.
The lesson here: select big floors to create a bigger atmosphere!
4. Elevate your storage space
Another great way to increase the expansiveness of a room is to lift your storage up off the floor, freeing up more floor space that would otherwise likely be dominated by dressers, bookcases and the like.
How do you do this, you ask? Mount shelving onto the walls and lift the room’s contents — whether that be books, artworks, ornaments or clothes — onto those shelves.
Not only will this clear your floor space of large, stationary content holders, it also has the added bonus of bringing a touch of modern trendiness to whatever room in which they’re installed. After all, one of the most popular trends in interior design at the moment is floating, minimalistic shelves that protrude from the wall to hold all your little keepsakes and mini-libraries.
You can then place necessary furniture and furnishings, such as lounges and beds, under these shelves to create even more room. The ultimate effect of elevating your storage space is that it will free up floor space and heighten the impression of a room that feels and looks larger than it actually is.
5. Use the same style of flooring across your house
This one’s a no-brainer. You should aim to maintain a consistent colour scheme and flooring style throughout all adjacent living areas in your house. This will have a holistic effect where your overall home feels like one large, single space rather than smaller constituent rooms that seem more like individual parts making up a whole.
Of course, you may need to deviate from your overall plan when installing different floors for different rooms (for example, carpet in the bedrooms or tiles in the bathroom). In these instances, it’s imperative that you select colours that will complement the rest of your home and its overall design.
In other words, maintain a consistent interior design across your house and, where you’re otherwise unable to, make sure you pick colours that match the rest of your home.
In conclusion…
When all other tricks fail to enhance the impression of your room sizes, you may want to look to flooring as a practical and ostensible solution.
Expand the feeling of spaciousness in a room as opposed to expanding the dimensions of the room itself simply by utilising the tips and tricks outlined above.
This could potentially create the desired, upsizing effect you want while saving you tonnes of money in the process.
Plan ahead and use a combination of whatever tips best suit your needs, and watch your living spaces open up and expand before your very eyes!
