Have a room in your home that feels small and closed off from the rest of the house? Live in a small studio and are struggling to make the room feel open and welcoming?
If you’ve tried every option out there and still can’t get the effect you want, don’t worry! Often people overlook the easiest solution to making their home look bigger: the flooring!
Below are some handy tips and tricks that will allow you to completely open up your home and give any room a whole new look.
Quick Flooring Tips To Enhance Your Small Space
Be Careful Of Dark Colors
Although dark colored flooring can work in many circumstances, it may not be the best choice for a small room. If you match dark flooring with dark walls and dark furnishings you may find your space transformed into a cave.
Dark flooring with the wrong fittings can feel extremely claustrophobic. To make a small space feel comfortable, you need to open it up. To do this, consider using lighter colors to make the space brighter and more welcoming.
Create Continuity in your Home
Continuity can be applied to one room, your entire home, or even to build a link between your outdoor and indoor spaces. To achieve continuity in your home, consider the following:
- Use the same light color on both the walls and the floor
- Use similar colors/patterns between rooms, with one consistent color or feature
- Avoid large patterns that create ‘noise’
If you live in a small home with outdoor space, you can create the illusion of more space overall by adding continuity or ‘flow’ between the interior and exterior. A simple way to do this is to choose flooring that matches the exterior flooring. For instance, if your exterior deck is made of dark wood planking, consider dark wood flooring inside. Even with closed doors, you’ll find the space is being projected through the glass to make the room seem larger.
Tips for Flooring Materials
Carpets and Rugs
Colors
One of the most important parts of selecting the right carpet is choosing the appropriate color. If you would like to make the room you are carpeting look bigger, then lighter colors are best. Some of the most popular ones include:
- Super White
- Nomadic Taupe
- Mercury
- Horizon
- Sandstone
Selecting pastel colors, white, or off-white allows the light to reflect, creating the illusion of a larger space. Contrasting colors or complimentary colors can enhance this effect.
Patterns
Patterns can be a risky choice for a small room. Large patterns create ‘noise’ in the room, similar to that of having lots of brick-a-brack or objects. For larger rooms, this can create a cozy area with lots of visual interest, but it’s hard to manage large patterns well in a small space.
If you want to try it anyway, try a large pattern that has muted shades, such as large stripes of similar colors. Tone-on-tone carpeting gives subtle shaded patterns which will not distract from other parts of the room. Structured-grid and cut-loop patterns are great to enhance a small space without making it too busy. These types of carpet can be used throughout your entire home resulting in a coordinated effect that makes your home look bigger than it actually is.
Wooden Flooring
The Difference Between Planks and Strips
When it comes to wood flooring, there are a few tips and tricks that can make your room look bigger. Whether you have a small or just very narrow room, using wide boards can give the impression the room is larger.
Once again, the color will have a huge effect on the room. If you go for darker boards you may find the room to be quite cold and small. On the other hand, lighter boards can enhance the size of the room making it look more open.
Laying Planks the Right Way
But, what about the way the floorboards run in your room? Making a room look bigger is not just about the color or the width of the boards. By laying the floorboards in a specific way, you can create an optical illusion of more space. A great way to make a narrow room look longer is to lay the floorboards at a right angle to the longest side of the room. If you have a small box room, running the boards away from the eyes will give the illusion of depth.
Stone or Tiles
Shapes and Sizes
Tiling is a great way to keep a clean home. Tiles and stone flooring are easy-to-maintain and great for households with children. But the best part about tiles is that they no longer have to leave your home feeling cold.
Today, you can find tiles in all shapes and sizes. As with any other patterned floor, larger, bolder sizes add the feeling of space to the room. Alternatively, you can alter the sizes of each tile. With the right professional help, you can make an optical illusion with a variety of shapes and sizes.
Color and Orientation
It’s worth noting that the less noise on the floor, the bigger the space will feel. Therefore, you must keep grout lines to a minimum with large, light tiles. Some of the tile types Carpet To Go offer include:
- Glazed
- Unglazed
- Porcelain
- Cost-Effective Alternatives to Stone
To further increase the feeling of space, you can match the color of the tiles and the color of the grout. As with carpet or any other flooring, choosing a lighter color will reflect more light and give the feeling of space. One of the best ways to use large tiles in a small space is to lay the tiles diagonally.
Get in Touch with Carpet To Go
If you need advice on the best types of flooring for your small living space, Carpet To Go can help! Our team of experts will give you great insight into our services and small space flooring types available today. Contact our team at Carpet To Go to get a free consultation and quote today!
