Home Lighting

Have you ever been confronted with the dilemma of making a small room appear larger? It is actually a fairly common problem for homeowners, but the good news is that there are plenty of solutions to pursue without having to contact an architect or builder. By simply changing the lighting in your room, the room can feel larger and more spacious. Here are a few simple tips on how to generate this effect.

Turn to Recessed Lighting

When space is at a premium, turning to recessed lighting can be the perfect opportunity to make a room feel larger while not using any space. Recessed lights can be installed in the ceiling of a room and provide large amounts of light without taking up floor and table space. While most people think of recessed lighting as primarily an overhead lighting solution, directional recessed wall washers used to evenly light wall surfaces in living areas and in narrow hallways will create a feeling of increased space.

Use Lighting for Shelving

Darkness seems to make rooms appear smaller than they are. By casting light in all the corners and crevices of a room, details that would otherwise go unnoticed can be accented. This can especially be true for bookshelves, entertainment centers, desks, and more. Try simple track lighting or LED strip lights to better illuminate dark shelving.

Raise the Eye

One simple trick to make a room appear bigger is to create a vertical path of vision for people to follow. When the eye is inclined to look up and down, versus horizontally, rooms appear to be bigger. Try placing lighting fixtures higher up in the room. This could include wall sconces, overhead lighting, and taller lamps. Take the focus off the actual width of the room and push people’s vision upward.

Try Hanging Lights

For a small kitchen or corner of a room , try using hanging pendant lights to make the room look bigger. These look best above a kitchen island or table. Along with saving space, they also capitalize on the previous idea of forcing the eye to see the room vertically.

Take Advantage of Existing Light

Another simple way to make a room appear bigger is to take advantage of daylight Natural light immediately makes a room feel less confined and more spacious. Another option is to install mirrors in a room. Mirrors can reflect existing light and illuminate dark, unlighted corners.