How to make rooms look bigger with paint and wallpaper
We all crave the feeling of space.
However, if spacious living rooms and bedrooms are a little out of reach in your home, look to the clever use of colour. Thoughtfully chosen colour schemes can create the illusion of more space.
Discover inspiration for wallpapers and paint colours that make a room look bigger, and learn how to use them in your space.
Create a united front: Make walls seem longer with subtle tonal variations
Painting walls and woodwork in the same colour, or slight tonal variations, creates a monochromatic scheme. This approach seamlessly stretches the look of the walls from the floor to ceiling.
Continue the same colour across doors, door frames and cornices to further create an uninterrupted feel to a room.
Consider the Colour Scales collection for 48 sophisticated neutrals, organised into 12 families. Each family has four shades with colours stepped in strength to achieve a harmonious colour combination when used together.
Or look to the Green collection, in association with the National Trust for an uplifting palette.
Work with the light: Choose light reflecting paint colours
Step back and examine your room.
Which walls have direct, natural light on them from the windows?
How does the light move across the room during the day?
Each Little Greene colour has a Light Reflective Value (LRV), which describes how much light the paint colour will reflect. You can use this scale to choose the right colour to make your room look bigger.
Space-expanding whites do the job of reflecting light back into the room exceptionally well and create a sense of increased space. Opt for shades such as Loft White (LRV 92) for a bright, expansive feel. Or consider the subtle hues of pale blues like Echo (LRV 77), and cool greys, like Flint (LRV 66).
Also consider painting kitchen cupboards, skirting boards, window frames and bannisters in a gloss finish. Use Intelligent Gloss or Traditional Oil Gloss, to reflect light in otherwise matt schemes and darker corners.
Explore the importance of room orientation when selecting paint colours.
Pearl Colour Kitchen: LRV 62
Browse Pearl Colour 100
French Grey Living Room: LRV 55
Browse French Grey 113
Grey Bathroom using Shallows: LRV 76
Browse Shallows 223
French Grey Living Space, with French Grey Pale: LRV 73
Browse French Grey Pale
Don't be afraid of the dark: Use dark paint colours to create a cocooning space
People instinctively avoid dark colours when looking to create a feeling of space, as they fear it will make their room appear smaller.
But, conversely, very rich blues (like Hick’s Blue) have an almost bottomless depth that our eyes find hard to focus on. These shades create a sense of a wall being further away than it actually is. You can also achieve this focal point illusion with dark greys (like Dark Lead Colour) and fathomless greens (like Jewel Beetle).
Dark colours work especially well on walls at the far end of rectangular living spaces. Using dark paint behind headboards in smaller bedrooms can make the room look bigger.
Emphasise the vertical: Introduce vertical stripes to create the illusion of height
If your ceilings feel too low, elongate the feeling of height by using vertical stripes on your walls. This illusion will naturally draw your eyes upward, making smaller spaces feel more expansive.
Combine striped wallpapers with fresh white ceilings for an uplifting look, making smaller rooms feel larger. Or, alternatively, use paint to create wide vertical stripes on uninterrupted walls.
Painted tongue and groove panels have the same effect and provide a smart yet casual look for all rooms of the house.
Learn more about painted panelling to make a small room look bigger.
Tented Stripe: Rubine Ash
Browse Tented Stripe - Rubine Ashes
Sage Green Woodwork
Browse Sage Green
Pale Lime Wooden Stripes
Browse Pale Lime 70
Salix Bathroom Walls & Ceiling
Browse Salix 99
Focus on flooring: Paint floorboards to elongate a room
Painted floorboards instantly create longer looking rooms because of their ‘in-built stripe’, which draws the eye along the room’s longest length.
All paint colours on the Little Greene chart are available in two hard-wearing finishes suitable for flooring. Choose Intelligent Floor Paint, a water-based alternative, for a slightly lower sheen and a drying time of just two hours.
Look for light reflective colours to enhance this vital feature of the room and make a small room look bigger.
Explore our guide on how to incorporate floor paint in your scheme.
Light up the room: Use lighter colours closer to the ceiling
In small spaces, stick to the dark-to-light rule:
Keep the darkest colours towards the floor, disappearing to a shade of white by the time the colours reach the ceiling.
Lighter ceiling colours give an open and airy, cloud-like feel to the room where colours disappear to almost nothing.
The dark-to-light rule gives an instant sense of space in an otherwise tiny room.
(Pictured Shelving (Top to bottom): Down 242, Rubine Ashes 243, Dash of Soot 244, Perennial Grey 245, Dolphin 246, Knightsbridge 215, Chimney Brick 247)
For bespoke interior design advice on how to make a small room feel bigger, contact our expert Colour Consultants. Or visit your nearest Little Greene showroom.