How to Make Room Look Bigger With Paint

    If you live in a small home or apartment, you probably know how hard they can be to decorate. Besides getting the right scale of furniture (not to mention triple-checking the measurements), the size sometimes limits furniture and art placement. But even if you’re limited by space and natural light, paint color can have a big impact on your small living quarters. Here are some designer tricks for making any room look bigger with paint.If you live in a small home or apartment, you probably know how hard they can be to decorate. Besides getting the right scale of furniture (not to mention triple-checking the measurements), the size sometimes limits furniture and art placement. But even if you’re limited by space and natural light, paint color can have a big impact on your small living quarters. Here are some designer tricks for making any room look bigger with paint.

      Paint your ceilings, trim, and doors the same color throughout the home. And make them at least a shade lighter than your wall color.

Likewise, use the same paint color throughout. It’s sometimes tempting to paint bathrooms or bedrooms a different color from the rest of the house.

However, using a single color (or a range of closely related hues) gives your space a seamless look. This encourages your eye to flow smoothly as you move from room to room.

      It’s true that using one color on your walls makes rooms feel bigger. But that rule is made to be broken by an accent wall. Accent walls create an optical illusion, drawing the eye to a single focal point.

There’s a variation on this theme, which you can use in rectangular rooms. Rather than painting just one wall a contrasting color, paint the two long walls a darker shade than the two short ones. (Darker can mean a couple of steps up the paint chip, or flat-out dark like charcoal, black or navy.) By emphasizing the room’s length, you can make it feel bigger.

      When you choose a paint, you’ll have to pick a finish. But how do you know, out of the variety of options, which is right?

Flat paint is matte – meaning it has no shine. High gloss, on the other hand, is nothing but shine. Eggshell, satin, and semi-gloss fall between those two extremes.

Stick with an eggshell or satin. The slightly glossier finishes reflect the light, making space look bigger. And choose semi-gloss for trim and doors. The glossier the paint, the more durable and easier to clean it is, making it perfect for these high-traffic areas.