How to visually expand the space of a small room. Wallpaper for a small room: choosing colors and textures that visually enlarge the space Furniture in a gray room to expand the space

1. How to visually enlarge a room with wallpaper? Make one of the walls dark, then the zone will fade into the background.
2. More mirrors! They reflect light, create depth and space.
3. Use large and bright prints only in accents, and not on large items.
4. Choose glass, acrylic surfaces. They are looking through.
5. Use light in at least three corners of the roomso that there are no blind shaded places.
6. What colors visually enlarge the room? Paint the bookshelves the same color as the walls and match the curtains. They will merge, creating a single, more airy space.
7. A small room with miniature furniture seems smaller than it really is. Don't be afraid of large items!
8. Hang curtains from ceiling to floor to make ceilings appear higher.
9. Add furniture without backs: ottoman, ottoman, bench do not create visual clutter.
10. How can you visually enlarge the room even more? Lay a large carpet: the eye itself will be attracted to its outer edges, which will give the room a sense of volume.

Wallpaper that visually enlarges the room

If you are thinking about how to visually enlarge a room with wallpaper, remember that small patterns make the space look larger, while large ones do the opposite. Try not to use borders, especially in the center of the wall. Give preference to wallpaper with vertical stripes or plain light wallpaper. One wall can be made darker.

What colors visually enlarge the room

Still not sure how to visually enlarge a room? Another tip is to use more light colors. The less furniture, dark corners and heaps in the house, the more it will seem. Prefer beige, cream, light pink, light green and blue objects and flowers for wall decor. Dark heavy shades will definitely not make your room look bigger.

Of course, without redevelopment, it is impossible to increase the physical size of a small room, but there are many more ways to visually expand its space.

Visual techniques are one of the main tools of designers, which allows you to modernize housing according to the needs of the customer. And here are some of them:

• You can visually make more using light pastel colors in the interior. Cold tones will also help.

• The apartment will appear larger when walls, floors and ceilings are painted in similar light colors.

• Both furniture and curtains should match the tones of the interior. Single-layer, light, translucent curtains, freely transmitting light, will visually expand the place.

• Hidden backlighting, along with natural light, will help create a sense of magnification.

• Use mirrors on the walls, if you want to visually raise the ceiling, then hang one of them horizontally along the wall.

• Choose light furniture that creates a feeling of free space.

• Arrange it in the corners or around the perimeter to free the central part.

• Direct your attention to a specific object by placing it in a far corner. Thus, a feeling of spaciousness is created.

• Remove excess items. Use narrow shelving, vertical cabinets.

• Replace the doors with a folding screen, and 2 small rooms will merge into one large one.

What methods do you know?

Sometimes, in order to increase the space in a small room, we do not have the opportunity to replace the furniture, but there are ways to make the room visually more spacious. To do this, there are some tricks, for example, put a mirror, change the wallpaper or choose compact furniture. Let's take a closer look at them!

1. The presence of mirrors

The first place in the list of ways to increase space is occupied by mirrors. To visually expand the area with their help, you need to select several mirrors at once and set bright lighting.

Instead of mirrors, you can diversify the space with various mirror objects: mirror elements in cabinets, tiles. Mirrored frames in paintings or photographs on the walls are also a good option. Placing mirrors in front of a window will not only make the room appear wider, but it will also let in more light into the room. Recently, many install a mirrored ceiling to increase space. A non-standard idea for a narrow room is to make one of the walls completely mirrored.

2. Gloss on the walls

Gloss sparkling on the walls can also visually expand the room. Even if one wall is decorated with gloss, then, for example, in a narrow hallway, the area will visually increase. This creates the effect of a bifurcation of the boundaries of the room. You can use wallpaper with a small pattern.

3. Stretch ceiling

Also a good option is to install a glossy stretch ceiling. And if you build several lamps into it, then this will visually increase the area even more. The lamp reflects light throughout the room and thus creates the effect of space. Try not to use huge chandeliers. In a room with a low ceiling, you can use vertical striped wallpaper.

4. Wallpaper

5. Light coloring of the walls, play on contrasts

The most wonderful and reliable option is to paint the ceiling and walls the same way so that there are no lines between them. This will create the effect of increasing space. The ideal color would be blue, green or grey.

The walls are painted with light paint, but it is not recommended to use a pronounced white color, which can narrow the room. Do not use too bright colors, they can also visually reduce the room. It is better to choose curtains, furniture and bedspreads in the same range. It is better to choose a floor in a monophonic style, without drawings. Well, if its shade is also light.

6. Drawings in the form of various stripes in the interior

Horizontal stripes are beneficial for lengthening the walls of a room. In our case, wallpaper with patterns in the form of stripes, as well as decor elements in stripes of various colors, are suitable. The ideal option is to hang horizontal shelves on the walls that will help optically expand the space. In addition, various items can be stored on the shelves.

But the vertical stripes on the wallpaper visually increase the length of the room. It is better to use them not on all walls, but on two (not necessarily opposite), then the room will look neat and spacious.

7. Proper lighting

As you know, the more light in a small room, the more comfortable and spacious it will seem. It is better to install light bulbs on the ceiling, which will give brightness to the room and visually increase the area. In the absence of proper lighting, the room will look not only uncomfortable, small, but also gloomy. You can also put a floor lamp in the corner.

8. Furniture in light colors

It is better to purchase compact furniture made of light wood, which also gives the effect of space. Arrange furniture along the walls, not in the middle of the room. The most suitable option would be to use built-in furniture. As you know, low furniture optically lengthens the room.

9. Zoning of the premises

Another way to increase the space would be to use folding or sliding doors. They are suitable for visually highlighting any areas in the room, and they also create coziness and originality. You can use them to separate the room from the hallway or bathroom.

From time to time, each of us is seized by the desire for change. Someone changes their hairstyle, someone starts looking for a job, but there are quite a few people who start renovations in their apartments. Or maybe, regardless of mood, it's time to update the interior? We invite you to think about how to visually change the space of your room. It's no secret that many of us have small living spaces, so we recommend taking the chance to make them a little bigger through color, detail and imagination.

Overcoming space

Imagine that you are in a room where the walls, floor and ceiling are painted in. How are you feeling? Most likely, it’s quite depressing, and it’s not just about dark shades, but also because the space with dark walls (and the floor and ceiling are actually the fifth and sixth walls) looks smaller than it really is. Once you understand how you feel about a black-and-black room, choose light colors for your living space.

Light but not white. Rather, we suggest that you paint only the ceiling in pure white - this way it will seem yours. Glossy paint will also add a sense of flight. But it is better to make the walls a little darker: pearl gray. If the walls are slightly darker than the ceiling, then there will be a feeling that the room is higher than it really is.

There is another option: solve the lower half in darker colors, the upper half in lighter ones. On the border of flowers, you can make a decorative border, but horizontal stripes are not always beneficial in terms of visual expansion of space. We will talk about this a little below.

It is also advisable to choose wallpapers that are plain or with a small pattern - any large accessories on the walls will visually “eat up” the space of the room. Follow the same principles when choosing a carpet.

Light furniture, tables with glass surfaces, cabinets with mirrored doors will well emphasize the "air" in the room. And if only one item in the interior is saturated black (a floor lamp, a table lamp, a couple of pillows on a white sofa), then it will only emphasize the main light tone.

Do you want bright colors? The walls, as we have already understood, are best left in a pastel or cold shade, but you can paint the window sill with bright paint. Or a battery, a cornice, one window frame. It is better if a bright object is be against the wall opposite the entrance. This is how the effect of a displaced perspective arises, a bright object, as it were, draws attention to itself, and due to this, we perceive the space as elongated in its direction, larger than it actually is.

Life in stripes

The stripes on the walls are a pattern that not everyone likes. However, in a small room, it is he who can be the most advantageous: vertical stripes make the room visually higher, horizontal stripes visually wider, diagonal ones wider, but without the feeling that the ceiling hangs over the head itself.

The stripes on the walls can be done independently - with paint, for this it is better to use masking tape. To simplify the work a little, the stripes do not have to be the same width at all - there is room for experimentation. If you have chosen paint, then the stripes can be made in any color: try shades of the same color, and contrasting combinations. If only you, your household members liked it and solved the main task - it made the room not less, but more.

Stripes can be added with curtains and window frames. Try to install those that are not "cut" by the transverse beams, then the frames will also play the role of organizing the interior of the vertical.

And some more tricks

Light plays a very important role in the organization of space. If your room is small, and even poorly lit, then there will be a feeling that the walls are literally shrinking around you. Just do not try to solve this problem by acquiring a more massive and voluminous one: it will just make the ceiling visually lower. A large ceiling lamp is acceptable if it hangs on a long suspension. Let's say right away that such a solution is not suitable for every room, but if a small room plays a role in your apartment, then a chandelier can be placed above the dining table.

If you are installing ceiling lights, you can place them around the perimeter of the ceiling or in such a way that the light from the center of the ceiling is distributed to the sides. This visually expands the space of the room. You can also distribute small halogen lamps around the room: they can illuminate the shelves in the closet, the corners of the room, etc. If the walls are light, then this will also be in your favor in terms of the visual solution of the space.

Important decision

It remains to choose which material is more suitable for your updated room - paint or wallpaper. Here, as they say, the choice is yours: what do you like to work with more, what are you more used to. We can also give a recommendation for a ceiling coating - we suggest you choose a glossy paint. For example, you can take ultra-white paint, as suggested by the Belinka brand. It gives the surfaces a shade of snowy whiteness, just the right one to make the ceiling appear higher. It can be applied even in one layer, and it will already look very tight and lie flat.

You can choose paint or wallpaper to decorate the walls, and paint has one major advantage: you choose the shade (or shades if you apply stripes or paint the walls in different colors) that you like or need. With paint, you can almost endlessly pick up a color, mix until you achieve the desired result. And if you already have furniture that will stand in the room, choosing the shade of paint for it is easier than the tone of the wallpaper.

Modern interior paints, such as Belinka, can be applied to decorative plaster, textured wallpaper, and cement boards. Thus, you have a great opportunity to "play" with the pattern of the walls. And in order for the paint to lie on the wall evenly and hold for a long time, we recommend that you pre-treat the walls with an acrylic primer.

So, starting repairs in the room, take the opportunity to change its space, visually enlarge it. Just a few small secrets, a couple of details, and you get an updated room. Try it and the result may exceed your expectations.

*The article was prepared by specialists of the Belinka trademark

The choice of finishing materials for the repair of a small room is not such a simple matter, especially if you want to at least visually enlarge the room with wallpaper. And here you can not be guided by any one principle of visual expansion of walls and raising ceilings. In real life, it is fashionable to achieve the desired effect only when the color ratios and the overall gamut, proportions and lighting work together. Interior designers also use some finds that give an additional spatial effect, which is worth talking about in more detail.

Techniques that create the effect of increasing space

In modern city apartments, it seems to tenants that there is not enough space in a particular room. Traditionally, most of all "deprived" of free square meters:

• hallway;
• bedroom;
• children's;
• kitchen;
• bathroom.

But even in a large apartment or a country house there is always a room that it is desirable to make more at least visually. Redevelopment is not always effective, especially by combining a room with a narrow balcony - additional meters filled with furniture and large plants only clutter up this place. When there is too much furniture and small items in the house, even wallpapers that visually enlarge the room will not help. Yes, and mirrors, traditionally expanding the space, will only increase chaos and disorder in any room.

Tip: Use glass shelves and folding furniture, and small items should be sorted and organized on racks and shelves.

In a house cluttered with cabinet furniture, it always seems that there is not enough space and even air is not enough, and in a half-empty and well-cleaned room, one can even breathe easily. In part, this is not only a feeling, and oxygen is absorbed by the microflora that lives and actively reproduces in old things. So getting rid of old things is useful not only for the sake of visually increasing the space.

When updating a room, even before making repairs, it is advisable not only to take out the old bulky furniture, but also to replace it with a new, lighter one. But when buying new interior items in a small room, it is important to consider:

• the general style of the apartment;
• the functionality of the room and its lighting;
• the age of the people living in the room;
• the overall color scheme and shade of wallpaper that increase the space of the room;
• number of family members, their interests and preferences.

Often, the expansion of space is solved in the most obvious way - the removal of a wall or partition between adjacent rooms. They are also recommended to be replaced with glass doors, folding stained-glass windows or a transparent wall.

Curtains play an important role - voluminous multi-layer curtains with draperies cut off part of the space. But the transparent tulle, as it were, dissolves in the air and lets in a lot of light and air. And it was also noticed that a large window expands the rooms with any wallpaper.

How is wallpaper used to visually expand a room?

When choosing wallpaper for a small room, it is important to focus not only on the type of wallpaper, but also on the features of the room itself. Usually, the narrowest wall most of all needs to increase the area, but it can be “doubled” with mirrors on the adjacent plane, and the room can be pasted over with light wallpaper of warm colors.

Blue ceiling wallpapers that increase the space of the room seem to open the sky above. In this case, ceiling chandeliers are not used. But this technique is not suitable for people with a fear of open space. But such a ceiling looks very picturesque with sprigs of cherry blossoms or hanging needles on photo wallpapers. Then not only the effect of expanding space and open sky is obtained, but also a feeling of closeness with nature is created. The effect of the starry sky on the ceiling is also appropriate in the bedroom.

In a small room, the arrangement of flowers from the bottom up also plays a big role. The floors are preferably darker, plain or with a pattern of natural wood. Dark ceilings always seem to hang visually, and with light floors there is a feeling of "upside down". This is a special design technique that is appropriate in an avant-garde interior or for solving some other artistic tasks. Sometimes in a small square room, striped wallpaper is glued diagonally on the shelf, and this is also a special creative approach, as if expanding the room.

The combination of wallpapers of similar shades or the same color, but differing in texture, looks original. However, only a professional interior designer can predict the final result. So it's not worth experimenting, especially when you don't know which wallpaper will visually enlarge the room. But even if there is a desire to try your creative inclinations, it is better to use classical techniques. For example, dark shades should be in the lower plane or the first third of the walls.

A dark large pattern on a light background of wallpaper often looks spectacular only in rolls, and in a small room it is too full and creates unnecessary ripples. But the rare large flowers on the wallpaper are very effective only on one wall, the others should be light, and the background of all rolls is of a common shade. Then a large drawing, as it were, pushes this plane further, for example, when large lilies or poppies are drawn behind the head of the bed in the bedroom.

A very large wallpaper pattern requires sufficient space, otherwise it will narrow the walls or, as it were, break the room into fragments. A light large pattern on a dark background looks elegant and noble. A very effective combination of a golden pattern on a burgundy background or white and golden curls on blue was often used in palace interiors. Betting on contrast must be done very carefully.

Good examples of which wallpaper enlarges the room - photo:

Plain wallpaper with a jacquard effect also looks good, that is, a glossy pattern on a matte background or vice versa. It is perceived as 2 different colors, while the space is not overloaded with patterns. Thanks to the glare and the high light reflectance, a dark color in a glossy finish is always perceived as lighter, even when the wallpaper is black. This technique is widely used in classical and historical style.

It is traditionally believed that striped wallpapers visually lengthen the room, that is, they raise the ceilings and increase the length of the walls. But this does not always work out, it all depends on the width of the stripes, on the frequency and pattern. Large stripes break up the space, while small stripes often create an unpleasant ripple in a small room, especially if this is not justified stylistically. Sometimes the expanding effect has an alternation of segments of striped wallpaper with plain ones.

An interesting effect can be achieved if you use photo wallpapers with a 3D effect, when a distant perspective on one wall leads to nature, and on the other hand imitates a door. True, you get the feeling of a passage room, but it will seem much larger than it really is. Even more impressive are the artistic wallpaper collages and visual illusions, where the three-dimensional image seems to be moving all the time. However, suspicious and shy people, as well as individuals with mental disabilities, such wallpapers are contraindicated.

Choice of wallpaper colors

If you are interested in how to enlarge a room with wallpaper, pay attention to the properties of color. The perception of shades is individual for everyone, but there are general principles. For example, the cold part of the spectrum expands the space, the warm part narrows it a little. But this does not apply to very light shades, which are always perceived as giving space, light and a lot of clean air.

Pale and light shades of yellow, peach, caramel, milky and beige look very cozy and friendly. They elevate mood, stimulate the digestive tract and stimulate appetite. And pale green, gray, light blue and metallic silver, on the contrary, suppress appetite, relax, plunge into drowsiness and apathy. They are not recommended for people prone to depression and mood swings. Although bright colors help fight depression and chronic fatigue, they sometimes overload the nervous system.

Light pastels and transitional tones are the perfect solution to increase the space, especially when there is no need to emphasize the pronounced "cold" or "warm" part of the spectrum. The greatest effect can be achieved when all the objects in the room are of the same color, and there is a minimum of furniture in the room. For this, the following shades are perfect:

• color of natural sheep wool;
• light sand;
• milk or cream;
• ivory;
• pale yellow;
• soft peach;
• pale orange;
• beige light;
• light pink;
• shades of light wood, etc.

Light cold shades not only visually expand the space, but also give a feeling of emptiness, sometimes even perceived unfriendly. Therefore, when choosing wallpaper, you should listen to the advice of your family and close associates, and not just rely on personal preferences. For example, lilac or pale purple and blue "aqua" are not pleasant for everyone in terms of atmosphere. But it is visually easier to enlarge the room with just such wallpaper.

Tip: Do not abuse an excess of golden color - an excess of "gilding" often looks vulgar and vulgar, as if emphasizing the mercantile interests of the owners of the house.

When choosing the color of the walls, they also focus on where the windows of the room go. If the room is on the south side, then use matte wallpaper in cold colors. Accordingly, when the windows of the room face north, it is better to choose light warm shades with a glossy effect.

Take into account the fact that the color of the wallpaper will be different in daylight and artificial lighting. For example, pink wallpaper with a lilac tint will seem warmer and darker during the day, and the room will be slightly smaller than the actual dimensions. But in the evening they will be more beautiful and cold, with a blue tint, but such a room looks a little more spacious.

How does wallpaper texture affect spatial perception?

Iridescent and shiny wallpapers always give more light and, as it were, push the walls apart. It has been noticed that walls with a mother-of-pearl effect, Venetian plaster or silk-screened wallpaper have this effect. The effect can be enhanced with stretch glossy or mirrored ceilings. But this only works with light walls, and there should not be many small details in the room, otherwise they will “double”.

Textured wallpapers with a small pattern are preferred for a small room, while smooth ones with a small pattern are more suitable for a large room. Beautiful relief patterns in themselves distract attention from the volumes of the room, as visual analyzers seem to glide along intricate lines. At the same time, the ceiling must be a tone lighter than the wallpaper with a pattern that visually enlarges the room.

When the design of the room is built on contrasts, in which it is supposed to combine different wallpapers, the uneven lighting is also taken into account. So, for example, the wall farthest from the window looks darker, and in order to balance the proportions, it is better to make it lighter, with an interesting texture. The combination of different wallpaper textures in one shade always looks more noble than smooth rolls of different colors.

Tip: If several rolls of wallpaper are sorely lacking during repairs, and it is not possible to purchase them in addition, use the effect described above, or make an unusual collage of different wallpapers.

You can, for example, cut out large silhouettes of a male and female face from different wallpapers, as if striving for a kiss. Such a romantic plot will look like an art object - without a hint of a lack of finishing materials. And such a drawing will also subconsciously distract from the real volumes of space.

Do not re-paste the entire room or hide the lack of wallpaper behind bulky furniture or obsolete carpets on the wall. It is better to make an original panel of wallpaper on a central solid wall without a window, or hang a large picture with a perspective, as on the canvases of Levitan or Shishkin. This will expand the space better than the other accept. And in a room where a marine theme is appropriate, it is recommended to hang a large picture with an endless expanse of water against the background of blue or blue wallpapers in blurry shades. This will also visually expand a small room.

1. If it was possible to use at least some of these tips, but there is no desired effect, you should reconsider your preferences for the style of the premises. Some styles look somehow empty, for example, minimalism. It also suggests a bright space with large windows and minimal furniture, which is the best way to "expand" the room.

2. Use secret cabinets, sliding screens and partitions, behind which it is easy to hide all the small things that literally “absorb” the space. Although it seems that it is impractical to “cut off” a whole piece of the already missing square meters, they will help to visually expand the space cleared of rubbish. Complement a small room with large or long and narrow mirrors - the effect is guaranteed.

3. In a small room, multifunctional furniture such as transformers or samples with folding planes is appropriate. If necessary, it will be possible to remove the countertop, fold the sofa to the most compact state, or put the chairs one-on-one.

4. Wall mural is a popular way to increase the volume of a room, but it all depends on the pattern itself and its location.