Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, co-founder of the popular interior design website, Apartment Therapy, offers some useful tips and ideas, such as:
1. Edit, edit, edit – Leave some breathing room. Emptiness allows the eye to rest. Every space will feel bigger if you leave some things out.
2. Hang curtains – Take doors off and replace them with a curtain. Doors are an impediment to flow, and take up space when open.
3. Arrange closets carefully – Well-organised closets are essential. And if there’s no lighting, install it – a closet is only 50 per cent useful if you can’t see in it.
4. Let there be light – Have at least three points of light at eye level in each room. By giving eyes multiple focus points, lamps expand a room, creating depth and space.
5. Use rope lighting – Buy LED rope lighting and put it anywhere – in your closet at shoe level, as up-lighting on top of kitchen cabinets, under cabinets for counter lighting.
6. Make a mirror image – Mirrors make any room feel more expansive, and they double the light.
7. Create contrast with colour – Stain the floor dark, use light colours on walls, and paint the ceiling a lighter white. This helps the eye travel up the walls, giving a sense of more space.
8. Include oversized elements – Don’t be afraid to go big. I know a woman with a tiny bedroom who built a huge four-poster bed. It turned the room into a truly glamorous boudoir.
9. Reach new heights – Floor-to-ceiling curtains make walls seem taller and windows larger. Do this with your shower curtain, too, to create the impression of a big, luxurious shower.
10. Wash your windows – The eyes stop at a dirty window, but the gaze travels out through clean glass.