Clicking into expansion mode

Cloud white paint, landscape paintings, even shelves add big factor


By Patrick Langston, Ottawa Citizen
 
 

 
Want to make that small home feel bigger? Try landscape paintings, says Susan Phillips, owner of Spotlight on Decor (spotlightondecor.com), an Ottawa interior decorating and home staging company.


"Landscapes that draw the eye deep into the picture give you a feeling of spaciousness. You can even hang large pieces in a small area." Just remember that blues and greens, both "receding" colours, should predominate in the art; reds and yellows, not so much. "So that painting of a sunset is really defeating the purpose."

Phillips has an almost endless list of suggestions for small spaces, including Benjamin Moore’s Cloud White for painting trim. "It’s a chameleon colour that takes on cool or warm tones so it works with any wall colour. Use it through the whole house: it brightens up a room and really pushes it out."

Here are other small space tips from Phillips, canadianliving.com and elsewhere.

1. Buy multi-functional furniture: beds with built-in storage, drop-leaf tables and footstools that double as storage areas.

2. Entry tables and the like chew up a lot of floor space; try shelves instead.

3. Pick furniture with clean lines and solid colours; you can add patterns, but small ones only, with throw cushions.

4. Create visual flow by using just one type of flooring throughout (the bathroom can be the exception).

5. Painting an end wall darker gives the room focus and pushes the adjoining, lighter walls out. Paint the foyer, often shoebox-sized in a small home, a light colour to create an immediate sense of space on entering.

6. Mirrors, glass, chrome and high-gloss paint reflect light, opening up the space.

7. Buy dimmers for your lamps: adjusting the dimmers can showcase areas of the room, making the overall space appear larger.

8. See if you can install your home theatre or stereo speakers in the ceiling.

9. Develop clutter phobia. That includes a healthy fear of too much furniture. The more stuff, the smaller a space feels.

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