Painting For Small Spaces: How To Make A Room Feel Larger

Smaller homes can feel larger than life when you include the right paint job, proper furniture, and decoration. Painting for small spaces is an art that may be hard to master but can do wonders for a space. If you are lacking square footage you can use paint instead of paying for a home extension. Homeowners may think that crisp white is the only color that will extend a room, but this blog will share bold colors that can still make a room feel larger.

Navy Blue

Using a deep and rich color on just one wall in a room will prevent it from feeling confining. Navy blue is a sophisticated color that can simplify a space. Incorporating a dark and light paint color into a design can create depth. Using a darker color on the bottom ⅔ of all walls for example, and white the rest of the way to the ceiling will set the illusion of a larger space. Not only is navy blue a great color for smaller rooms, but it also is currently trending in 2023 and 2024. It is most popular in kitchen backsplashes, bathrooms, and primary bedrooms. 

Sleek White

White is the crowd favorite when it comes to painting for small spaces. White reflects the most light and makes your walls recede to create the illusion of a bigger space. If plain white is not on your list of favorite colors, many white paints have undertones of pink, blue, or green to give you an airy space without sacrificing your personality. 
As mentioned above, incorporating white paint with other colors in a room can help extend your space. Having white ceilings or just an accent wall with a bold color can help you continue your colorful home design into a secondary room.

Chocolate Brown

Another modern color that is trending is a rich brown. Using a light brown will help reflect light around the room while still achieving some dimension. Brown can work similarly to navy blue and be used sparingly when painting smaller spaces. Warm neutrals are best used in rooms with lots of natural light. Keeping the windows open or using chocolate brown in a room with a skylight will keep the space from being confined. 

Pastel Tones

Sticking with the theme of lighter colors, using pastel paints can make a room feel larger. Bright colors help to elicit happy emotions and boost your mood. This makes them great for offices, bedrooms, or living rooms. Lighter tones of yellow, blue, pink, or purple are great colors to start with when painting for small spaces. 

Lighter colors like pastel yellow or blush will reflect the natural sunlight around the small space. Using natural light and bright colors to your advantage will help any room feel larger. Using mirrors inside a small space with a pastel background will help maximize even more light. 

Light Brown, Khaki, Or Other Neutral

For homeowners who don’t like the dark look of chocolate brown, choose a lighter hue to help reflect more light. Khaki, sand, light taupe or soft blonde are all colors that can fit in the light brown range. 

Neutrals help to give your furniture the spotlight so the room doesn’t feel overcrowded. Paint colors like brown or grey will add warmth to the space making it feel cozy rather than confining. 

Grey 

Another neutral color option to consider when painting for small spaces is grey. The color grey is very versatile and can be used for a variety of different rooms. Undertones of blue, red, or green can help enhance the look of your grey paint and give a room either a cozy feeling or modern look. 

A warm grey is more likely to help the space feel more inviting, but it won’t necessarily create the illusion of it being larger. Cool toned greys will give you the optical illusion homeowners desire.

Additional Tips

While the proper paint color can go a long way in making a room feel larger, there are some other tricks decorators use to avoid the space looking overcrowded. By choosing a paint color that matches your design aesthetic and using some of these additional tips, you can make any small room in your home feel spacious.

• Use smaller furniture
• Leave small spaces between furniture and walls
• Place wall decorations lower to create the illusion of higher ceilings
• Include large mirrors
• Consider ditching drapes or curtains to maximize natural light
• Try to include vertical furniture or vertical wall treatments
• Keep it simple with clean lines, airy fabrics, and smaller decor