How to Use Paint to Make the Size of a Room Look Bigger or Smaller
- 1). Choose a lighter color to keep small rooms feeling spacious. Light doesn't have to mean white walls. Go with pale yellow or light sea-foam green to give rooms a sense of openness. Select a rich, darker color to make a large room feel smaller. A dark color, such as forest green or navy blue, will instantly make walls feel closer than they actually are.
- 2). Select a color that is warm to give your large rooms a cozy feel. You don't have to go with dark colors to make rooms feel cozy. While shades of red add excitement and warmth, golden tones will give large rooms the same warmth without the dramatic effect of a dark color.
- 3). Paint the ceiling a darker color than the walls to make a large room feel smaller. Add height to a small room with a light ceiling color. Lighter colors draw eyes up, making rooms feel bigger. White lends an air of spaciousness and it provides you with a crisp, clean color that will go with any other color you put on your walls.
- 4). Paint walls a color from outdoors that shows through your windows to make rooms feel larger, because they blend with elements beyond the walls. Match trees or other greenery with a lighter shade of green. This color is stimulating and it brings energy to small spaces. Matching blue from the outside will make rooms feel airy instantly.
- 5). Choose a different color for molding and trim to break up large sections of wall space. This will make larger rooms feel less spacious because there are no big areas of color to make guests feel lost. Paint walls and trim the same color in smaller rooms to create the feeling of more wall space and room.
