Are the walls closing in on you? I could use a little more space right now. Nearly every room in my house has a desk, it’s winter, and my kid just told me she wants to bring in some exercise equipment. So, yeah, like you, I am trying to make every room look bigger without spending a lot. Here are my top seven ways to maximize your space.

1.  Not only does decluttering help you clear your space, it will make your rooms appear larger. That may seem obvious, but wait till you try it! You’ll be surprised how easy it is. Remove the stacks and piles from all the flat surfaces, from floors to dresser tops. When your eye can skim along surfaces without stopping to consider piles, your eye can travel farther, and the room looks bigger. Not sure where to start? Find out why I say to start in the kitchen. 

2. Lift your furniture and show off the floor. The larger, unbroken surface of a floor can give a room a “goes on forever” feeling. To accomplish this, remove small area rugs, remove small tables, and expose furniture legs by raising the furniture or removing skirts and slipcovers. If you are replacing furniture, go for a leggy look, which you’ll find in the trendy mid-century modern looks.

3. Remove unnecessary doors. Older homes usually have at least one door that just doesn’t need to be shut, closing off living spaces. Remove the door and let the light in.

4. You might have heard that a white ceiling appears to raise the roof, but it can also create a hard break with a darker wall color, which can work against you. Soften the line between the wall and ceiling by tinting the ceiling with a few drops of the wall color.

5. Rehang your curtains. Hang your curtains as high as possible, about 4-6” below the ceiling with most hardware.

6. Hang a gallery wall with your favorite art and photos. Just like curtains, you can use a gallery wall to encourage the eye to travel up the wall, creating the visual sense that the room is taller than it is. You can be even more deliberate with this strategy, and arrange your frames lower on the left side of the room and higher on the right side, which takes advantage of the way westerners read, and will naturally encourage your view to travel north.

7. Flip the script. If your furniture is arranged in a conversation grouping in the middle of the room, push the main pieces to the edges of the room. If your furniture is all hugging the walls, try the opposite approach and bring it in a little. While a conversation grouping might be best to draw the eye to a certain part of the room, moving your furniture to the edges will create a large space in the middle of the room. It’s hard to say which approach will maximize the space in your room, but one things is for sure: trying a different arrangement can freshen the space and make it all feel brand new to you.

Are you up for trying any of these tips to see if it makes your rooms look larger? Let me know how it goes.