How to make your living room look bigger..

People looking to buy a new home always state, when asked, that they need more space, so when viewing potential homes, the size of rooms – or the apparent size of rooms – is a key factor in their immediate response to the property.

When preparing your home for sale, creating the illusion of light and airy spaces is extremely helpful – nobody wants to move into a home they see as cramped and difficult to furnish. So, how do you make your living room look bigger? Follow these six quick and simple steps and prepare to be amazed.

1. Minimise

It might seem obvious, but any space will seem to shrink if the furniture in it is too big. There’s little you can do about a sofa set that takes up a lot of room, but if you also have an armchair, it might be worth relocating that for the period your home is for sale. Also consider the benefits of decluttering. Strip 2 out of every 3 items you have placed on shelves or windowsills, remove that stack of magazines, it’s definitely time to box up and donate/sell/archive your old DVD collection, and make sure any books on shelves are neatly lined up, none stacked on top. You could even reorganise by colour – that’s a fun half hour that will have instant style results. Remove all your photos – no wedding snaps, no baby pictures and definitely no photos of elderly relatives. Yes, that might seem harsh, but people can’t project themselves into your space if it’s already filled with you. 

2. Add a mirror

Find a smart wall mirror of a similar depth to your window, and place it on an adjacent wall, close to the window, so it catches the light and gives the impression of being a second window. It’s an optical illusion that will bounce more natural light into the room, giving an immediate impression of space.

3. Remove the rugs

We all love a rug, and they’re perfect for adding colour and interest to a room, but they also break up the flow of a space, reducing the floorspace to separate squares. By removing the rug, you allow the viewer to absorb an immediate impression of the room size, unhindered. It’s also a good idea to clean the carpet, just in case your rug is handily placed to hide those wine stains…

4. Clear out the curtains

Nip to Ikea, invest in some sheer drapes and replace your existing window dressings with something soft, light and minimally intrusive. Keep them drawn across the windows to blur the light and avoid intrusion of real life from outside.

5. Review your paint choice

When you’re selling your home, you need to make it palatable to all. Neutrals won’t offend anybody, and a bright white – walls, ceiling, woodwork and doors – will immediately give an impression of space. Add light colour throws and cushions to furniture, and attack all flat surfaces with polish and a duster, to raise a shine. Interestingly, very dark colours can also enhance the feel of space in a small room. A rich dark, dark blue, such as Farrow & Ball’s Hague Blue, has the magical effect of making walls seem to disappear. Anything set against this colour will stand out, so be sure to follow point 1, and strip out any extraneous clutter. If the thought of all four walls in such a deep shade is too much, consider painting one wall, and any shelving that sits on it. By taking shelving to the same colour as the wall, it will lose any prominence and fade from view.

6. Make sure there’s a clear path to the sofa and window

Don’t allow any furniture to get in the way of stepping through the doorway and moving immediately to the sofa, or the window. Once you live in a house, it’s rare you will head straight to the window to see what’s going on outside (unless you’re a curtain twitcher… Not judging) but when viewing a home this is something the majority of people do. If you can, offer a direct path to at least part of a window, even if it means losing that very handy little side table.

(Picture used from St Edmund Church, Whalley Range).

Eddie – Friday 24th June 2022.