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Whether your house is large or small, you probably have at least one room that you wish was more spacious-looking. Luckily, with a few well-done design tricks like choosing the right window treatments and color schemes, you can create the illusion of space to design a room that looks open and airy - even if it isn't.
|  | Lighten Up!
One of the best tools to create the illusion of space is provided by Mother Nature herself - sunlight. So don't block it out! Dark, heavy draperies are a no-no. Try sheer window shadings that will gently diffuse the light that flows into the room without stifling it completely. Shangri-La Sheer Horizontal Window Shadings allow light to gently diffuse into the room, while giving the room a very soft, inviting look. Or consider Ballet Performance Drapery Sheers, which billow down into flowing folds of fabric while softly diffusing the incoming light.
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Store with Style
One of the most important things to remember when aiming to make a room look larger is to get rid of the clutter! Sure, those figurines that are scattered around the room fit in with your design theme, and the carefully fanned magazines makes for easy access and entertains guests. But when they're filling up your small room, they're making it look even smaller.
Collect figurines and other ornaments and display them in a glass cabinet, or on a shelf. By keeping them contained, they become organized and less "cluttery". Find a coffee table with a flip top or shelving underneath to store magazines, remotes, and other clutter. With things orderly, the space that is in view will feel neat, clear, and open. Do a Walk-Through
Try this exercise: walk into the room from all different walkways. What do you run into? What do you see? Now stand in the middle of the room, and look to the walkways and evaluate what you see from there. If you see furniture and other home decor accessories blocking the path into and out from a room, it's going to look small and feel cramped. Try moving these things toward the outer margins of the room and away from the natural walkways. You'll open up the space and make the room feel larger. A good rule of thumb when arranging the furniture: the more of the floor you can see, the bigger the room will look.
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Choose Color Carefully
The right color scheme is critical to creating illusions of airiness and size. In general, lighter colors are key to opening up a room's space because of their natural reflective properties. So, neutral colors like whites, creams, and beiges work well, and you can also consider cool colors like light greens or blues. Check out the 32 fresh, new fabrics in our Ballet Performance Drapery Sheers collection. Made up of neutrals and other Fashion Forward colors, you're sure to find a color that will work for your home.
Go monochromatic when decorating; your walls, ceilings, floors, furniture, and window treatments should be within the same color family. The idea behind a | monochromatic look is that furniture and other objects will be less interrupting to the eye when they blend with the space. This doesn't have to spell boring for the room, as you can still choose a bold color for few key accessories, like lamps, artwork, and other small accessories, to keep things interesting. Worried that your color scheme has already been set by dark-colored furniture that you're not ready to replace? Not a problem! Simply maximize the opportunities that you do have for neutral coloring - paint and light are the most economic design solutions so focus on your walls and windows. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall
The key here is reflection. Mirrors reflect natural and artificial light to make a room appear brighter. So don't be afraid to make the most of these great designer's best friends! Large mirrors on the wall, over a vanity, or even mirrored cabinet doors will contribute to the illusion of space and airiness. Glass objects do a similar job, so glass tables can also help to keep your room open and spacious. | |
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