The eternal question: how to make a space feel bigger without actually having to a) do building work or b) spend a fortune. Terraced houses often have meagre proportions, and though space in the countryside can be more readily available, most modest weekend getaways and chocolate-box cottages aren't vast, so having a few tricks up one's sleeve to create the illusion of more space is no bad thing. The good news is, it can be done with little more than paint and a paintbrush. Whether it's in the finish, the pattern or the colour, there are many devices in designers' arsenals which can turn a room from puny to palatial. We turned to interior designers and paint experts to find out the best ones.
Colour drench
Patrick O’Donnell, Brand Ambassador at Farrow & Ball, suggests that whilst colour drenching seems to be ‘something of a trend these days’ it also offers practical solutions for smaller rooms. ‘You are creating less distraction and contrast but will still get decorative interest by mixing up the finishes, such as emulsion on your walls and eggshell on woodwork’ he says. Tash Bradley, Lick's Director of Interior Design and Colour Psychologist is inclined to agree: ‘it is a brilliant way to make a room feel more expansive. It removes harsh visual breaks, helps the eye travel effortlessly across the space, making it feel larger and more unified. Opt for soft, light tones for an airy feel’, she says.
Or semi-colour drench
If colour-drenching feels like too much of a commitment, try just painting the door in your chosen room the same colour as your walls. ‘This will help visually elongate the space rather than your eye being drawn to an off-white vertical rectangle’, suggests Patrick. ‘The same can be applied to radiators: if you have those rather perfunctory ugly white metal slabs, kill it with paint so it disappears on your wall’.
Go for gloss
‘Gloss paint is another choice to consider when thinking about maximising the sense of space in a room’, says Patrick O’Donnell. ‘The finish will help bounce light and blur the boundaries of where the room ends’. Patrick urges us to remember that ‘cooler colours “recede” and warmer colours “advance” so err towards paler blues and greys and avoid reds or yellows’, he advises.
Choose cooler colours
‘Lighter shades naturally make a space feel open and airy, while cool tones recede, enhancing the sense of space’, says Tash. ‘I love soft blues like ‘Blue 01’ and the minty ‘Blue 02’. They mimic the sky and create an airy, tranquil feel. A green also works well in a small space, as do the soft blush tones of light pinks - they create a cosy yet expansive atmosphere.’
At the other end of the spectrum, ‘deep, warm tones are stunning for creating a snug, cocooning effect, but they do tend to make a room feel smaller’, warns Tash. ‘If your goal is to open up the space, try to steer clear of rich, deep reds, dark oranges, warm browns and beiges, and heavy, ochre yellows. Instead, if you love these shades, consider using them as accents — perhaps through cushions, throws, or artwork — rather than wall colour’.
Paint the ceiling
Farrow & Ball colour consultant Joa Studholme advises that ‘the choice of colour for the ceiling is just as important as that of the walls. You must think of the room as a whole. A bright white on the ceiling will make the walls look darker as well as making you more aware of where the walls end and the ceiling begins; this causes the ceiling height to drop. Either use a complementary white (something with the same base colour as the walls) or if you are braver use the same colour on the walls, woodwork and ceiling – not nearly as frightening as it sounds!’.
If you are opting for a complementary white, Edward Bulmer has some ideas of what will work, and what won't. ‘I would not paint the ceiling a dark colour if you want to give sense of scale’, he says. ‘But I’d also never paint it a white white, just a gentle off white like ’Spanish White', our favourite ceiling colour'. If you are keen to use a hint of colour, Tash, from Lick, suggests sticking to cooler tones, with her favourites being ‘pale blue, soft green, or an off-white with subtle blue undertones. These colours create the illusion of a taller room because cooler hues naturally recede, making the ceiling feel higher and the space more open’.
Paint the skirting board darker than the walls
One thing all designers seem to agree on is that you can create the optical illusion of more space and higher ceilings by using a darker colour on anything that falls beneath the midpoint of the eyeline, such as skirting, and a lighter colour on anything above it, such as cornicing. ‘One's eye stops at the lightest thing we see’, says Nicola Harding, and therefore a lighter colour up top will add a sense of height. In the bedroom above, Nicolas has painted the skirting board a shade darker than the walls, and the cornicing a shade lighter, creating the illusion of higher ceilings.
Stick to stripes
In fashion as in design, stripes are a wonderful tool for altering our perception of a space. In the same way that vertical stripes on trousers can create the illusion of a longer, slimmer leg, the same can be said of vertical stripes painted on to walls. The stripe will draw the eye upwards towards the ceiling (see the above advice from Joa Studholme for advice on what to do with your ceilings to really add a sense of space). This is just the trick that Russell Loughlan has used to make the guest bedroom of his cottage in Deal feel larger: ‘I decided to colour drench the space then hand paint these bold stripes, which are bizarrely very calming and hypnotic and lift your eye up, creating a new feeling of height and space. I think the bold line of colour change ¾ of the way up and over the ceiling again makes the room look bigger by drawing the eye upwards. Here my hand-painted stripes are strong and bold, but if I’m more free with the brush stroke then they can feel softer and mimic fabric for a more luxurious textured feel’, he says. Conversely, horizontal stripes on the walls will make a narrow space space feel larger by ‘widening’ it.
Create an optical illusion
You can use paint to create an optical illusion (otherwise known as a ‘trompe l’oeil’), and increase the sense of space. A tented ceiling, for example, where the stripes leading to the centre become gradually narrower, will trick the eye into thinking the ceiling is taller than it is – just see the above bedroom designed by Turner Pocock. The ceiling has been painted to look like a circus tent using Farrow & Ball's 'Rectory Red' and Paint and Paper Library's 'Slate I'. As the stripes narrow towards the centre of the ceiling, the illusion of height is created.
You don’t have to stick to stripes either – in the above sitting room designed by Buchanan Studio, the ceiling has been painted with a floral motif, no doubt to help blur the lines between the room and the plants that fill it. The whole effect is transportive and creates the feeling of infinite space. A similar motif has been used in the bedroom on the right designed by Amanda Austin, though in this case the climbing rose effectively draws attention to the height of the vaulted ceiling.
It would be remiss at this point not to mention a particularly spectacular dining room decorated by Lucy Hammond Giles. The space is actually rather modest in size, but its painted vaulted ceiling not only visually changes the scale of the space by drawing the eye upwards and highlighting the ceiling’s arch, but also makes it feel rather magical too.
