Photo wallpaper as a way to expand a room. How to visually enlarge a room: learning to play with space and colors. What reduces space in a room

The problem of narrow and small spaces is familiar to many. And everyone tries to solve it differently. Particularly difficult are the selection of finishing materials, because you never know how harmoniously they will combine in the interior of a small room. If you want to make your home cozy, despite the small area, then the best way would be to choose wallpaper for a small room that visually enlarges the space.

What will make a room bigger?

Small-sized premises are characteristic of many Khrushchev-era apartments. And the conditions do not allow for a satisfactory redevelopment - the amount of space remains the same and it will not be possible to create an “extension”. How to visually enlarge a room? There are several simple ways to visually add “air” to a space. First of all, this is the use of curtains and mirrors.

The most correct choice would be light, light and warm translucent curtains. They should be longer than the window and take up space on the floor, thereby creating the illusion of high ceilings.

Mirrors are the most popular and simplest technique, which you need to proceed with carefully. An excessive number of mirrors may not enlarge a small room, but, on the contrary, turn it into a matchbox.

For rectangular rooms, it is customary to place a mirror on one of the long sides. Thus, the space of the room is “trimmed” and it takes on the shape of a square. Typically, a similar problem of narrow space occurs in hallways and corridors.

In apartments, square meters are saved on bathrooms. Mirrors, glass and glossy surfaces will correct this defect. In the bathroom you should abandon frames and use mirror panels - this creates the effect of freedom. Tiles with a glossy finish are used for the walls, the shower is separated by a glass door, and the ceiling is made of mirrors.

A contrasting wall is allowed. To do this, one side of the room is highlighted using a drawing. It is better if these are geometric shapes. What's special? The color scheme of this surface should be calm and not differ much from the general style. In this way, it will be possible to deceive the eye - any person will think that the space is larger than it actually is.

There are several rules for decorating walls with wallpaper:

• Opposite sides can be decorated in the same color scheme, but contrasting them with cold and light shades.

• How to make long walls shorter? To do this, use wallpaper with a small print; it is better to leave a large pattern for short walls.

• Diagonal placement of images on wallpaper canvases will also visually stretch the space.

• The method of different color saturations is also common. To achieve the desired effect, the bottom of the walls is covered with darker tones, and light ones are placed on top. This method is ideal for small rooms with low ceilings.

• It is also possible to alternate wallpaper with and without a pattern. However, to expand the volume of the room, plain canvases should be larger than wallpaper with ornaments.

• It is recommended to use glossy finishes. They create an increase in the area of ​​​​rooms because they have the properties of reflecting objects opposite them.

Expanding a narrow room

One of the most difficult is the decor of a narrow room. And if there is not enough space in it, then you need to select any design very carefully. And before starting any action, you should familiarize yourself with the advice of professionals on how to visually expand a narrow room.

The main problem of such a room is the range of one of the sides. To approximate it, you can use the following techniques:

• Place a mirror on a long wall. This will visually trim the room and turn the rectangular structure into a square.

Furniture to expand the space

Furnishing small rooms also needs to be taken seriously. The correct choice depends on many factors: color, shape, size and style of the individual element.

Avoid oversized headsets. Huge wardrobes and sofas have long been out of fashion. They can be left only because of warm memories. But they can ruin any interior. It is better to turn to things that are stylish and do not take up much space. They can be easily moved, transported or even hidden if the design changes. Also very practical are built-in structures or transformable furniture.

In small apartments and even in spacious houses there are always rooms, the smallest in size, that are suitable for living, but extremely uncomfortable due to their size. Naturally, in order to expand the space of the room, a lot of work will be required. For example, develop a special project, take into account the preferences of those who use the room, as well as the basic rules for creating an interior. At the moment, there are a huge number of ways to visually expand the area, and one of the popular ones is choosing a certain type of wallpaper.

The color of the wallpaper is the most important when choosing this finishing material. To be more precise, you can enlarge a room by choosing colors and shades.

A competent approach to choosing colors makes it possible to create a cozy and comfortable interior.

Warm shades are usually used for living rooms and halls as they help to relax. Juicy and bright help cope with depression, fatigue and replenish energy.

What wallpaper makes a room bigger: style solutions

Visually increasing the space in the interior of a small room is not only the color of the wallpaper, but also its appearance and ornament. Designers allow the use of pastel shades and the presence of a small pattern in such rooms, since the image of a large view is not allowed.

Color palette: wallpaper for a small room

Wallpaper that expands a narrow room is not so easy to choose, since you need to take into account many features, as well as details in the form of furniture and accessories.

Making your choice is not easy, but it is possible, and you can make a room with the smallest dimensions voluminous and at the same time stylish.

Living in a cozy and comfortable room is much more pleasant than experiencing discomfort from staying in it.

What wallpaper is suitable for enlarging a room? The most diverse, if combined correctly, in accordance with the rules of design. In such rooms, you can only use light-colored wallpaper, without patterns, but as a last resort, vertical stripes and not too large prints are allowed.

Such rules can not only upset you, but also limit the choice of materials for finishing the room. What to do if you want to use your imagination and decorate the room in a stylish and modern way? You need to pay attention to wallpapers that contain a combination of contrasting shades, images of different sizes and even their appearance, for example, vertical or horizontal.

You may also find it useful: choosing the right wallpaper color for the kitchen

Basic rules in choosing shades

1. Not very dark shades are best suited for a small room, as they hide up to 45% of the illumination.
2. Optimal colors are pink, peach, green, bluish and cream.
3. A good option for decorating a small room would be to choose textured wallpaper that has slight relief. It is embossed wallpaper that helps create differences, play of shades and colors.
4. If there is glitter on the wallpaper, this is one of the best ways to expand the space.
5. It is necessary to take into account the lighting of the room, and to be more precise, its appearance. You should not choose fluorescent lamps with a cold tone, as this will only aggravate the situation.

In addition to the color of the wallpaper and light, you should pay attention to the choice of furniture colors, since it is the so-called main accent of the room.

Decor rules: types of wallpaper for a small room

Naturally, each person has his own preferences regarding shades, colors, and the type of wallpaper.

But, despite the wishes, there are rules for decorating the room:

1. If you stick dark wallpaper in a too small room, it is quite possible that soon your favorite dark blue or bright scarlet color may become not your favorite, but aggressive and annoying. That is why, when choosing a material, you need to be guided not by your wishes, but by the recommendations of the designers.
2. There is no need to choose purely light walls or only those wallpapers that contain the same pattern.
3. It is much better to combine them using moldings, which will ensure the creation of an ideal interior that can expand the room, increase the height of the walls, and also make it attractive.

In small rooms, the main thing is not to forget about installing additional lighting in the form of spotlights, sconces, and floor lamps, but choosing a chandelier that is too large and massive will only reduce the height and narrow the area.

Photo wallpaper in a small room: expanding the space wisely

For those who are faced with the problem of increasing space, there is an excellent modern solution - and this is photo wallpaper. Such modern products allow you to create an optical illusion, a visual expansion of space, as well as a significant increase in space.

At the moment, there is a huge selection of photo wallpapers in colors, finishes and varieties, and most importantly, they are different in size and you can choose a picture with an open window on a meadow where a pony is grazing, or a picture in the form of an underwater world. The choice of wallpaper directly depends on the owner of the room or the designer.

To enhance the effect of visual expansion, it is worth placing in the room only low pieces of furniture that will not clutter the room, but on the contrary will make it more airy and unusual.

In addition, photo wallpaper is an original way to decorate a room, since you can choose the most unimaginable designs at will. Among the assortment there is the opportunity to choose a print for children, for adults, as well as three-dimensional pictures that will become an elegant addition to the interior.

Wallpaper that expands the space in the interior

When combining wallpaper, materials and their colors, you need to make your choice as carefully as possible, because a little carelessness and all your work will go in vain. If you confuse a large pattern with a small one and make too many large ones and don’t use the small ones at all, then the room will narrow and lower.

Some people believe that if you paint a room in one tone, it will be larger, but this is far from true, because monotony is a symbol of boredom and routine, as well as a narrowing of space.

That is why the best option for choosing wallpaper that expands space is to buy a material that already combines patterns, tones, colors and even different shapes.

How to arrange a small room (video)

In conclusion, we would like to add that in dark rooms that are located on the poorly lit side of the house, it is advisable to glue wallpaper with vegetation, for example, with a bamboo print or with palm trees, and also add spotlights around the entire perimeter. Thus, you can expand the room, make it more vibrant and bright, which is what was initially required.

Examples of wallpaper for a small room (photo)

As you know, the best way to expand a room is to connect it to an adjacent room by knocking out partitions. But this decision is not easy for everyone: the volume of construction work, problems with legalization are intimidating, and sometimes there is nothing to connect the existing premises to. What to do then? In this case, you need to think about how to visually enlarge the room and what techniques to use to make it visually appear larger and lighter. It is these secrets that we will reveal to you today on the “Dream House” website.

Expanding the space: room colors and geometric patterns

Probably, everyone knows from school that a light color makes an object visually larger, while dark objects visually decrease in volume. We definitely apply this postulate in the design of a small room, covering it with light wallpaper and arranging furniture that is not too dark. By the way, if you think that light walls and light furniture will merge into a single spot, then you are mistaken. They combine perfectly with each other, the main thing is to choose furniture that is several tones darker or a different shade than the same walls.

If we talk about the preferred color scheme, it is better to choose pastel neutral shades and cool colors that expand the space. But you should avoid contrasting, flashy colors altogether; they not only attract attention, but also emphasize the small dimensions of the room.

Professional designers use an interesting technique to visually enlarge the space. To do this, they cover one wall with wallpaper with a contrasting geometric pattern, while the other three remain in neutral colors. At the same time, the effect of optical illusion is activated, we move our gaze from one wall to another and on a subconscious level we perceive the room to be wider than it actually is.

Continuing the theme of drawings, we should remind you that it is inappropriate to use large contrasting patterns on wallpaper, for example, dark blue flowers on beige wallpaper. It is extremely unpleasant to be in such a room; it not only looks even smaller than its size, but also puts pressure on a person; it is difficult to breathe in such a room. You also need to be careful with small patterns. If it is miniature and often repeated, then after a while it begins to dazzle the eyes.

If you don’t know how to visually increase the height of the ceiling, then wallpaper with a vertical stripe or wallpaper with a small ornament located vertically will come to the rescue. They will visually stretch the room up, and the ceiling will seem higher. By the way, if your apartment has low ceilings, then do not use a contrasting border underneath (it will visually reduce the height of the walls), it is better to stick and paint them white.

How to visually increase the height of the ceiling

What furniture to use to visually enlarge the room

Logic dictates the use of multifunctional furniture in small spaces - furniture that takes up minimal space when folded. Among such furniture one can highlight a sofa bed, a chair bed, all kinds of tables, etc. All of them save valuable square meters, while delivering a minimum of discomfort to household members.

If we talk about dimensions, then there is no need to choose bulky sofas, cabinets and tables. It is better to give preference to neat models made from light and weightless materials, such as rattan and glass. But even a classic sofa will fit well into a small room if you choose the right size. Use your imagination and calculate different options, the main thing is to respect the proportions of the room and furniture.

Upholstered furniture should not be too “lush” or voluminous. It is better to adhere to its strict forms.

Using mirrors and glass in the interior of a small room

Even our grandmothers used this well-known design technique using mirrors. It is clear that a large mirror placed on the wall reflects the decor of the room and, therefore, doubles its size. If you don’t know how to visually enlarge a small room, then hang it on one of the walls. Moreover, in the case of a rectangular room, placing a mirror on a long wall will visually turn the rectangle into a square.

If we are talking about rooms such as a bathroom and a bathroom, then it is more advisable to replace the mirror with mirrored or simply glossy panels. Not only are they not afraid of moisture, but they are also quite easy to care for. And the ceiling can be covered with mirror tiles or panels, so it will seem even higher. Just don’t use mirror panels to decorate the entire room, otherwise you won’t be able to avoid the feeling of enclosure. It is better to sheathe the walls with glossy ones and the ceiling with mirrored ones.

It can be done with lighting, which imitates the presence of the present and seems to flood the room with daylight - so visually the bathroom space becomes larger.

Along with a mirror, the idea of ​​glass is also very successfully used in small rooms. In this case, facades are placed, decorated with glass elements or, doors with glass inserts are used, as well as transparent lamps and small ones. All these interior elements are designed to make it lighter, airier and weightless, not to clutter up a small room with furniture, but, on the contrary, to unload it.

You should not ignore modern ceiling finishing technologies - we are talking about glossy ones with good reflectivity. Such ceilings will visually expand the space, make it larger, the main thing is to choose light shades and a glossy surface. And for those who are not afraid of bold ideas, we can advise you to stretch a mirrored ceiling, which reflects the entire room, visually expanding its boundaries.

Other designer tricks to increase space

Designers strongly recommend that all owners of small apartments decorate it in a minimalist style, getting rid of unnecessary trash and trinkets placed on the shelves. Conciseness in decoration and furniture, a single color scheme with several accents - this is what is needed for small rooms. All kinds of figurines, candlesticks, photographs in frames, small paintings distract attention and cause a feeling of clutter. On the contrary, instead of several small paintings, hang one medium-sized one, and free the open shelves from unnecessary decor.

Here's another tip from the pros: make the room as bright as possible. To do this, you need to remove dark and thick curtains, you may even have to free the window sill from large curtains. The room should receive as much natural light as possible.

A good idea is to stick it on one of the walls. Don't know what wallpaper will make a room appear larger? The unequivocal answer is with an image of a landscape in perspective, for example, the horizon of a field or sea, mountain peaks or forest edge, a view of a city at night. Also among the latest innovations on the construction market are photo wallpapers with a three-dimensional three-dimensional pattern that create a spatial effect.

If you are the owner of a small apartment, you are faced with the question of how to make it more spacious and comfortable. This article will help you understand how to visually expand a room and make it unique. Decide what you want your room to look like. Create a stylish interior for 2017, based on fashion trends.

Colors that expand space

Choose a color for the walls. If you are a bright girl, a sunny bright color or creamy white will suit you. If you are confident, then light green or blue. If you are a creative person, then pink or purple. Think about the big picture of your room. Don’t forget, the colors that expand the space are beige, cream, and pudding shades.

Think about your interests. Some examples are: music, art, movies, animals, etc. Write that list. This will be useful for choosing the design of your room. How to visually expand a narrow room - stick to light colors!

Start by moving the furniture. Find good new positions and make sure all your favorite furniture will fit. Move only empty tables and drawers, and temporarily place things on the bed. Donate or throw away any unnecessary items to clear out space and free up drawers.

Color scheme to expand the room

Who wouldn't want a big house with spacious rooms? But often a person cannot afford such a pleasure as buying a large living space, so he has to huddle in small rooms.

But if you look at the situation from a different angle, then you can understand that in fact not everything is so bad, and a small room has its advantages. Firstly, they are easier to clean, secondly, they are cheaper in terms of heating, and thirdly, if you approach the design of the room correctly, then you can create a truly cozy and visually large room.

To create a visual space, you can use a simple “optical illusion”, the possibilities of optical illusions. In order to recreate visual space you will need:

• Wallpaper in light, cold or pastel colors.
  Photo wallpaper.
  Mirrors and lamps.
  Curtains and furniture.

What wallpaper expands the room

For a small room, you should give preference to light colors; it is also strongly recommended to “play” with contrasts. For example, if the room is longer and narrower, a perfect option would be to make long walls in light colors to distance them from each other and visually expand the space.

And the smaller ones, on the contrary, should be darkened to bring them closer to each other. Or make a contrast - stick wallpaper with small patterns on one wall, and large ones on the opposite wall. A small pattern on the wallpaper makes the room visually larger.

What wallpaper expands a room with low ceilings? You can cover it with wallpaper with vertical lines. This technique will visually make the ceiling higher. Or paint the ceiling a couple of shades lighter. If you decorate the entire room in monochromatic light colors, it will create a unique, airy atmosphere.

Photo wallpaper

Photo wallpapers with a view of a receding forest path, the sea with small boats in the distance, a mountain landscape, etc. will fit perfectly into the interior of a small room. In general, everything that depicts perspective.
Another chic solution would be to choose photo wallpaper with an enlarged image of something, for example, a shell, some plant, a bird, and so on. The main thing is that the photo wallpaper should be pasted on a wall that is not filled with furniture, especially high furniture, because this will spoil the whole effect.

Furniture

It is advisable to install furniture that is multifunctional, light, and uses colors to expand the space. An excellent choice would be a folding sofa, in which you can fold your bedding for the day and put it away so that it doesn’t take up space. Shelves on the walls can be painted to match the walls themselves. It is strongly recommended, if possible, to collect things in a closet so that they do not clutter the room.

Curtains

How to visually expand a narrow room? Curtains, just like wallpaper, should be chosen light, with small patterns. An excellent option would be to choose longer curtains that lie slightly on the floor. This length will visually make the room taller. You cannot use huge curtains, large and heavy curtains, a huge number of ruffles and bows, because... they create the visual feeling of a small space.

Cleaning.

It may seem boring, but it can actually be a fun activity if you imagine what your room will look like later. Remove dust, dirt, cobwebs... Do everything you can.

Put all your books on your bookshelves. How about a stuffed animal on a nearby shelf or on the bed? Organize the room as you wish.

And finally, in the final part, accessories! Create your own stylish interior for 2017.

In other words, do everything to make your room cozy. The answer to the question of how to visually expand a room has come, and now we wish you only success!

Architects Andrey Stube, Nadezhda Kablukova Photo: Sergey Ananyev

A small apartment is a reason to turn to original techniques. As practice shows, it is in small apartments that it is possible to create an interior with a recognizable face. Every little detail is of decisive importance, starting with the placement of the boundaries of the premises and ending with the dimensions of furnishings and decor. You just need to use your “reserves” and find the optimal solutions.

Method 1. Think carefully about zoning

There is no need to turn a small apartment into a studio, devoid of internal partitions: problems will arise with the placement of the necessary furniture, the modest size of the room will become noticeable, and the feeling of security and comfort will disappear.

If possible, it is better to arrange a separate bedroom or place it in an alcove; the hallway should be partially separated from the reception area to make it easier to maintain cleanliness and provide psychological comfort. Mobile systems (sliding doors or curtains, screens, screens) are also suitable for this purpose: they allow you to add variety, change the proportions and atmosphere in the room.

Architect Olga Simagina. Photo: Vitaly Ivanov

The function of separating adjacent zones can be performed by furniture: a bar counter that replaces a regular table, a high back of a sofa, a chest of drawers - this technique helps to create a feeling of lightness and spaciousness. A good option for a studio layout is a free-standing compact partition (up to the ceiling or not very high), which separates the kitchen-dining room and living room, adjacent to one wall or with a circular path.

Method 2. Give preference to white and light shades

Architect Evgenia Verevkina. Photo: Olga Rikli

White walls visually expand the interior, and in combination with a white ceiling, they raise the upper plane. Black and dark gray create the effect of depth, but these colors require a flawless arrangement of other details. Avoid large patterns and bright contrasts, choose small, soft patterns; remember that horizontal lines “expand” the interior, vertical lines “stretch” it in height.

Designer Natalya Lebedeva. Photo: Zinon Razutdinov

Glossy stretch ceilings also contribute to “increasing” the scale. Photo wallpaper on one wall or in a partition with an image of a deep street or landscape turns into something like a huge window and “pushes back” the border of the room.

Method 3. Use mirrors and reflective surfaces

Architect Yulia Chernyaeva. Photo: Alexander Kamachkin

The more air and light there is in the apartment, the more spacious it looks. Glare and reflective surfaces help create a similar impression: glossy light (less often dark) cabinet fronts, glass mosaics, glass panels, transparent or matte glossy partitions, countertops and display cabinets.

Designer Svetlana Yurkova. Photo: Sergey Kuznetsov

A mirror can “double” the volume of a room, the main thing is to choose a suitable place for it (preferably opposite a window or passage to the next room). The solid panel can be replaced with a mirror panel made up of fragments with a bevel made on them.

Method 4. Don’t buy ready-made furniture

Architect Yulia Levina. Photo: Sergey Kuznetsov

In small apartments, even a couple of centimeters can be of fundamental importance, therefore, when it is not possible to find a piece of furniture of the required dimensions, it is worth making it to order. So, by slightly reducing the length of the sofa, chest of drawers or bar counter, the width of the bed, or the depth of the closet, you can achieve a balance between beauty and functionality. In this case, it becomes possible to perfectly match the furniture to the overall style.

Furniture built flush into pre-existing or specially built niches helps create a seamless, comfortable space. It is very important that cabinets or other elements of the composition fit exactly into them in depth - even facades protruding slightly beyond the wall line look sloppy and interfere with movement. In pursuit of storage reserves, it is important not to overdo it: you should not occupy all the walls with shelves or cabinets; in racks, closed sections should be alternated with open ones. The bedroom and hallway do not need to be overloaded with furniture, and the work area and kitchen, on the contrary, can be “densified” - the main thing is that the rooms are comfortable to move around.

Method 5. Do not cover the windows with “powerful” curtains

Designer Zhanna Studentsova. Photo: Svetlana Ignatenko

Curtains optically reduce the depth of the interior; besides, the more textile “decorations” on the window, the smaller the room appears. If you have a beautiful view from the window, you can do without curtains or provide a roller blind that fits the size of the opening to visually enlarge the space.

If the landscape is not pleasing or there is too much sunlight, use light translucent roller blinds, Roman blinds with a sparse pattern, or horizontal blinds according to the size of the window opening. An asymmetrical curtain looks good (on one side of the window opening).

You can equip a workplace with storage space underneath it (providing holes for the circulation of warm air from the heating radiator).

Method 6: Make the most of your space

Architects Mark Safronov, Natalia Sirbu. Photo: Ilya Ivanov, Yuri Afanasyev

Each apartment, as a rule, has hidden reserves of free space that make it possible to successfully solve storage problems - primarily under the ceiling and on the floor line. So, instead of cabinets and bedside tables with legs, it is better to choose floor-standing models and purchase folding sofas with drawers for bed linen.

It will also come in handy - built-in or combined with a free-standing cabinet. Wall-mounted kitchen modules should be “duplicated” with a second row of cabinets up to the ceiling and rarely used items (and not necessarily intended for use in the kitchen) should be placed there.

Architects Andrey Stube, Nadezhda Kablukova. Photo: Sergey Ananyev

A small hallway will be visually unloaded by sports equipment (skateboard, bicycle) attached to the upper part of the walls. Open shelves near the ceiling are suitable for books; cardboard or plastic boxes with various small items can also be placed there. And so that the room does not seem cramped, select furniture that will look like a continuation of the walls, without contrasting with them in color and finish.

Method 7. Do not block the corridor and windows

Designer Artemy Saranin. Photo: Artemy Saranin

Think about the trajectories of movement around the apartment in advance: in a small apartment, nothing is more annoying and creates a feeling of crampedness than protruding corners and too narrow passages (the minimum width of the corridor or hallway is 80 cm). The opening between the hallway and the reception area (living room and separate kitchen) should not be occupied by a door leaf: a long open perspective with alternating different plans deepens the space.

Do not block the window areas with massive furniture, free up space between the window and the door: even small rooms will seem spacious, since the view from the window or even the light opening covered with a transparent curtain is perceived as a continuation of the interior. Good insolation also contributes to the visual enlargement of rooms.

Method 8: Identify bottlenecks first, then buy doors

Architect Alexandra Ostankova. Photo: Andrey Kocheshkov

Before choosing the type and design of interior doors and furniture facades, it is necessary to identify bottlenecks - sliding models, rather than swing ones, are best suited for them. The latter are also optimal in cases where several doors are adjacent to a small area. In order not to emphasize the modest scale of the premises, select doors and their frames to match the color of the walls. Doors can be complemented with discreet decor.