How to Make a Small Space Seem Bigger (Part 1)

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Use windows and mirrors to make a space feel big

Confined spaces are so…confining, and many people find it almost impossible to feel comfortable in them. Unfortunately, many of us cannot afford to live big homes with expansive rooms and picture windows. But do we small-house-dwellers have to put up with that feeling of being boxed in? Not at all! In this article, I would like to describe a couple of strategies to make small spaces feel bigger and more relaxing.

While being in small room or space can make a person feel ill at ease, a mere glance outside the window provides instant relief. Why? I believe it’s mainly because looking out the window enables the eye to focus on a more distant scene.

So here is one way to make ourselves forget that we are in a small room: get a view of the outside world! Open those windows​ and curtains! If the window glass is frosted, replace it with clear glass.

If there is some concern about security or about the heat, cold, rain, dirt, insects and noise getting in, then leave the window closed. The important thing is to be able to see outside.

If privacy is an​ issue, install a partially transparent curtain, such as the roll-up shown below:



Select a curtain that gives you the right balance between transparency and privacy. It should be transparent enough to allow your eyes to focus on the scene outside the window.

But what if there is no window? This is where a mirror comes in handy.

Just like a window, a mirror enables our eyes to focus on distant objects. This is because the scene reflected in the mirror appears to be more distant than the mirror itself. As a result, looking at the mirror almost feels like looking out of a window. 

Shown below are examples of how I use mirrors in small spaces.

A wall-to-wall mirror can have a dramatic impact on a room. This small bedroom appears to be double its actual size!
Apart from expanding the visual space, the wall-to-wall mirror has other important benefits. It makes the room brighter and more cheerful, and it doubles as a huge and convenient full-length mirror.

Below, the mirror is like a window that invites people to "look out” from this small dining area. The position of the mirror is key because it affects the visual impact. Here, the mirror is mounted a bit high in order to hide table clutter.


In the following example, the big mirror draws attention away from the plain wall by offering “wide-screen” views of interesting features on the opposite wall. The mirror is mounted high in order to hide floor clutter.

Related article

How to Make a Small Space Seem Bigger (Part 2)

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