21 Ways to Make Your Living Room Seem Ginormous

21 Ways to Make Your Living Room Seem Ginormous

Holiday season is basically “everyone inside” season. Either you’re curling up with a good book, buried under the blankets with a warm drink or inviting your closest friends and family over to celebrate. So it’s expected that your space is about to feel tighter than normal. And that’s why we have a few ways to make your living room feel large enough for all those presents and turkey-stuffed party goers.

1. Create a Gallery Wall: Round up a few of your favorite prints and pictures and hang them all together on one wall. Make sure you hang the frames tall and slightly spread out (as opposed to in a tight clump) to make the wall feel expansive. (via Domaine)

2. Hang a Chandelier: Suspend a light or chandelier in your room to give it a feeling of grandeur. Hanging it closer to the ceiling will also draw the eye up, making the room feel taller. (via Chatelaine)

3. Make a Statement Wall ($129): Nothing says “big” like a statement wall. Use a print, paint or wallpaper, but choose one wall and make sure the image isn’t too busy. Even better if the pattern you choose is striped vertically, which gives a wall visual length.

4. Paint Walls White: White reflects sunlight, making a room feel more fresh and open. White is the perfect color for the majority of your walls (the exception being that awesome statement wall). (via Centsational Girl)

5. Hang Curtains Higher: Instead of hanging curtains right where the window molding stops, hang them either to the ceiling or slightly below the ceiling, so they still are touching the floor. It also helps if you use a longer rod. The taller drapes draw the eye up the wall and the wider rod will make the windows feel larger. (via Houzz)

6. Use Large Art Pieces: The real key to making a room feel larger is to play tricks on the eye. Large art pieces do that well — in a beautiful, bold and tall sort of way. (via Mango + Salt)

7. Mirrors: Mirrors may be one of the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to making a room feel larger, but a giant, strategically placed mirror also gives a room stylish flair. (via House Beautiful)

8. Tall Lighting: If you aren’t able to hang a chandelier, use standing lamps. It still draws the eye up without any ceiling install. (via Emily Henderson)

9. Lay Down A Rug: A simple way to ground, yet expand, your living room is to lay down a large rug. (via Anthropologie)

10. Statement Furniture Pieces: Rather than cluttering and cramping up a room with too many furniture pieces, pick a few you love and stick with them. Whether they are large or patterned, they will set the groundwork for the entire room. (via Domaine)

11. Round Tables: Instead of a traditional rectangle or square coffee table, opt for a round one. The curves of the circle create better flow within the room. (via Lulu Belle Design)

12. Clear Furniture: Whether glass, acrylic or something in between, clear furniture reduces the visual chaos of a room. Plus, it looks really pretty. (via Style Me Pretty)

13. Tall Greenery: Show the world your green thumb. Not only are plants good for your health, the tall ones can make your living room feel larger. (via Better Homes + Gardens)

14. Consoles: If you’re having storage issues and need to find a place to put all your favorite copies of Dad Magazine, a console below your window will get the job done. It gives you great shelving, and you can stack things on top of it, again creating vertical visual interest. (via Apartment Therapy)

15. Paint the Ceiling: Stay away from dark colors (which will make a room feel smaller), and add a light ceiling color, which can open up a room and draw people’s attention up — the real key to making a room seem larger than real life. (via DENY)

16. Storable Furniture Pieces: If you’re really short on space, forgo any other huge furniture purchases and have practical pieces you can store and pull out as needed. (via All About Orange)

17. Sofa Shelf: Make your sofa feel really impressive by adding a skinny shelf behind it. It’s a great way to store or feature items without cluttering up the space around you. (via I Love My Rug)

18. Use Furniture With Legs: Furniture with fabric wrapped around the base can feel heavy and boxy. Opt for chairs and couches with legs, which help you see from one side of the room to the other and give the room a more spacious, airy feel. (via Wit + Delight)

19. Floating Shelves: Using floating shelves can feel lighter than a heavy bookcase in the middle of your living room. Build them vertically to make the room taller, or horizontally to make the room feel wider. Or both. We vote for both. (via Better Homes + Gardens)

20. Warm Neutral Palette: Sticking with a neutral palette not only feels warm and inviting, it also creates cohesion. The light colors will better reflect light and make the room feel more open. (via Sycamore Street Press)

21. Convertible Furniture ($500): It’s always great to have furniture that serves more than one purpose, but that is especially true when making a room feel larger. Store extra clutter in a convertible coffee table or create seating for several with just one couch.

Now you tell us: how do you make your living room feel larger? And… go!

Original article and pictures take pixel.brit.co site