Make a small room seem bigger with our interior designer-approved paint tricks

LEARNING how to paint a room properly can add the illusion of instant square footage to any space.

Just a few simple techniques can lengthen or widen any area – or at least look like it is.

To create the perception of a larger room, it is crucial to create contrast by using light and dark colors. interior design firm HK Interiors.

This trick adds ‘depth’ to a room, making any space instantly appear larger.

Sticking to dark and bright white colors will instantly open up any room.

In the meantime, make sure you stay away from medium shades as those shades have the opposite effect.

It’s also important to remember that not all spaces are equal.

Long and narrow rooms can also be made wider with professional painting techniques, but this requires their own rules.

Light and cool colors deviate, making them appear further away.

Warm and dark colors, on the other hand, come to us.

To make the most of these types of spaces, paint the opposite shorter walls one or two shades darker than the two longer walls.

As they get closer together, the room takes on a more spacious-looking square shape.

Those who want to emphasize the length of a room can use a darker shade on the longer walls.

Some other universal laws for increasing the look of the room include sticking to one color.

This makes the room appear to be continuous.

When multiple colors are involved, our eyes automatically stop at the line where one color ends and another begins.

This creates boundaries in a room, reducing its size.

White is always an “optimal” choice and its reflective properties give any room, whether short or narrow, a light and airy feel.

And finally, whatever you do, stick to stripes.

Horizontal stripes give the impression of a longer wall, while vertical stripes make your wall appear larger.

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