What color makes the room bigger. How to visually expand the space of a small room

Designing a small room is not easy: every element of the interior will be especially noticeable in a small space. The psycho-emotional state largely depends on what surrounds us. The color of the walls and the pattern on them can enhance performance, create a feeling of fatigue, cause discomfort, anxiety, and maintain a good mood. Before choosing a suitable wallpaper for a small room, it is important to think over the project and make every effort to make the space as comfortable as possible, free, and not oppressive.

Features of the room

Each small room is individual and may differ in layout. There are several features of limited space that are difficult to repair. These include:

poor lighting of the room (sometimes there is no natural light, the room is a walk-through);
the shape of the room (it can be unnecessarily elongated, while the area does not exceed 12-15 square meters);
niches or protrusions that attract attention;
door and window openings (rather large or too small);
low ceilings (create the feeling of a small enclosed space).

All these features can disrupt the functionality of the room, they make it uncomfortable, not comfortable enough. The main design goal is to visually enlarge the room, add air and space to it. Competent selection of wall decor makes it easy to deal with this. No need to be afraid of experiments and spectacular colors of solutions, limiting themselves to plain or double wallpaper, which have become classics.

Solid or double wallpaper (usually consisting of a dark bottom and a light top) is usually quite a suitable option, although sometimes you want to add bright colors, unusual solutions, interesting textures and patterns to the interior.

The form

Small rooms come in very different shapes, it can be:

square room;
an elongated rectangle;
sloped walls in the attic room;
a narrow small hall with low ceilings.

To feel comfortable in a small room, you can use a simple rule: the smaller the room, the lighter the shade of the walls should be. Try not to overload a small room with an abundance of color and pattern, in such a space you will quickly feel tired. For a square room, it is important to create an accent on one of the walls, so a combination of paired wallpaper (with a pattern and monochromatic), complementing each other in color and texture, is suitable here. For example, one of the walls of a square room can be covered with wallpaper with a large geometric or floral pattern, while the other walls are made with monochrome wallpaper to match.

True, you should not paste over the whole room with them; a color accent on one wall will be quite enough.

Illumination

For a small room, lighting is very important. A light or dark room, a large or small window, the presence of a loggia or dormer windows - all this plays an important role. The basic rule is simple: for a sunny room, choose white or cool shades, if there is little sun - warm, sandy and creamy. By combining bright and pastel wallpapers, you can sometimes achieve the effect of additional lighting in a dark room. An additional light source can be mineral-coated wallpaper (for example, quartz chips).

Such finishing materials are "responsive" to any light source, they will appear light and airy even under fully artificial lighting.

Patterns and colors

To begin with, let's decide on the color palette: this is an important point, from which we most often make a start when choosing. Light colors will visually increase the space, the most successful will be shades of yellow, gray-blue tones, pink-beige variations and white. The choice of color scheme depends not only on your preferences and lighting. It is necessary to focus on the color and style of furniture, the shade of the floor and ceiling. A small space with modern furniture in light colors allows for brighter, more saturated colors.

If the room is not overloaded with furniture, it is rather laconic, we can successfully combine wallpapers of different colors (even contrasting ones).

Light furniture in the Provence style is combined with wallpaper for light plaster and varieties with a slightly pronounced embossed texture. Such wallpapers are also good because they visually enlarge the room (even a small relief on the wallpaper gives some shadow, thanks to which the room seems larger in size).

If you own antique or modern furniture in dark shades, there is no need to rush to choose a wallpaper color. Take a small piece (sample) of the cladding from the store and attach it to the wall next to the furniture at home. So you can avoid quite frequent cases when a slight nuance in the shade of the wallpaper violates the harmony of the style of the room as a whole.

The most common wallpaper options for a small room with antique furniture are plain and light (no pattern).

Modern technologies have increased the range of produced wallpaper, today we can find even wallpaper with glitter in stores. They can also be used in small rooms, although they should not be pasted over the whole room with them, such a finishing material must be combined with a monochromatic companion of similar color. Glitter wallpaper looks better in bright rooms (lighting can be artificial or natural)

If plain wallpaper seems boring and you want something original, you should choose a patterned finish for a small room.

You can pick up a small pattern of the same type (it is desirable that it is not very bright). Small flower arrangements arranged vertically, alternating with patterns or stripes, are a perfectly suitable option for a small room. Such a vertical pattern will help to visually increase the height of the walls if the ceiling is low.

Wallpaper with small patterns is not suitable for rooms with many details (for example, carpets, paintings, patterned curtains). In this case, opt for a plain wallpaper option.

A large drawing in a small room is also possible. It is not necessary to paste over the whole room with wallpaper with large details.(roses, geometric shapes, abstract drawings). If you combine two types of wallpaper (with a large pattern and one-color), similar in color, this design will add originality to the home and expand its space.

Wallpaper

Today the market of goods for repair offers a large number of photo wallpapers, but choosing the right varieties is often problematic. Let's reveal a few secrets, thanks to which it will be much easier to do this. Wallpaper:

Looks best on the farthest wall from the front door.
In a small room, they should have a perspective (road going into the distance, hills, horizon, forest landscape, sea spaces and flying birds).
The photo wallpaper should have details that show the depth of the image (for example, the further away, the smaller the trees become). A "flat" picture with clearly defined boundaries is not suitable here.
Visually enlarging the space - these are more often photomurals with a natural theme (seashore, hilly spaces, a forest road), or an urban theme (for example, a night city, silhouettes of houses, a highway going into the distance).
They will increase the space only if their color scheme is in harmony with the main wallpaper. If you choose a wallpaper with an abundance of green (foliage, grass), it will look bad in a pink or beige room. The main wallpaper in this case should be light green, gray-green, salad shade.
They can occupy one wall completely. If it is difficult to select the wallpaper in size and it is not possible to completely paste over the wall, leave a place for the main wallpaper at the bottom (closer to the floor) or in the right corner.

Style and design ideas

A technique called "balance" by designers will help to make a small room of an apartment beautiful and stylish. It consists in the selection of wallpapers with complex patterns and monochromatic ones. At the same time, the color of the plain wallpaper that we select is should repeat the color of the pattern on the wallpaper with complex patterns. Such wallpapers can be alternated, creating the effects of arches, receding space, ledges and columns.

A great idea for a small space would be to use contrasting colors for wall design (for example, white textured wallpaper and trim with black patterns, blue wallpaper and canvases with blue and yellow stripes). They also expand the space with the help of different textures. For example, beige wallpaper with a mat texture will work well with smooth floral counterparts in beige tones.

Such options are suitable for a small bedroom if you want to visually enlarge it or to highlight a special area.

It happens that you have to use wall decoration to enlarge the room and in order to hide irregularities, to mask communications. A large bright pattern on the opposite wall will distract attention from the unevenness of other walls, and overhead panels made of artificial stone will cover the wiring. It often happens that one of the smallest rooms in the house is the nursery.

Caring parents strive to give her a fun and original look, using wallpapers with bright cartoon drawings and fairy-tale characters. remember, that such wallpapers quickly become boring for adults and children. Keep the wall decoration neutral.

It is better if drawings of funny kittens or ponies decorate textiles, pillows or furniture.

you can increase the space by combining ordinary wallpaper and a companion with silk-screen printing;
heavy and oppressive colors (dark blue, brown, red and purple) are best left solely for details or do without them at all;
when choosing a finish, be guided by the color of the furniture (for any furniture, wallpaper 2-3 tones lighter are considered an ideal option);
for a small room, silk-screened wallpapers and glitter varieties are suitable, do not forget to combine them with ordinary ones;
with a lack of lighting for the walls, shades of white are needed (bright colors can only be used as an accent);
wall murals look good if the wall is flat;

Who among us has not dreamed of a cozy cottage or an old estate like those where the heroines of Jane Austen's novels live? Alas, the reality is harsh: many have to be content with a modest one-room apartment in a panel house. But if we cannot change the footage, then filling our home with light and at least visually making it more spacious is available to everyone.

Choosing wallpaper

With the help of properly selected wallpaper, you can transform any room beyond recognition and even make a miniature room visually spacious.

You can increase the space of the room if you paste over the walls with light wallpaper of soft cold shades - blue, silver-gray, mint, ash pink.

It is better if they are monochromatic, with a small inconspicuous pattern or embossing. Wallpaper in large roses or with wide stripes will create the opposite effect - they will turn an already cramped room into a box.

A square-shaped room will acquire the missing depth if the wall farthest from the entrance is pasted over with photo wallpapers with a calm landscape.

A room with a low ceiling will become visually taller if you take wallpaper with vertical stripes. But there is a small nuance in using them. To achieve the desired effect, such wallpaper is pasted over the walls up to the ceiling, along the contour, laying a narrow, laconic design, white ceiling plinth. Resist the temptation to run a strip cut from the same wallpaper along the top edge. This will make the ceiling in your room even lower.

Also, in a small room, it is undesirable to use wallpaper of two colors, which are very different from one another, and close the junction with a noticeable border.
But almost the same technique will help to increase the height of the ceiling if you take wallpaper of the same color, but for the upper part - plain, and for panels - with a pattern, or make the lower part of the walls plain, and the top and ceiling - striped.

And one more trick: if you want the rooms to appear taller, during the renovation, before painting the walls or pasting the wallpaper, round off the joints between the ceiling and the walls. Then you will not have to resort to various tricks so often.

We put the correct floor

If you want to make the room seem more spacious, opt for light shades of the floor: ceramic tiles for the bathroom and toilet, laminate or parquet for the bedroom or living room.

Pay attention to how the tiles or parquet boards will be laid. Located longitudinally, they will help make the room elongated, and if laid diagonally, the room will seem much larger than its true size.

When choosing a rug or a rug, give preference to monochromatic models in pastel shades. Catchy, with a contrasting pattern, visually reduce an already small space.

If you decide to visually expand the space, remember that longitudinal stripes look very elegant. With this type of flooring, you probably can't go wrong.

We do not skimp on mirrors

With the help of mirrors, you can create a real miracle, because the space reflected in them doubles! Of course, turning an entire wall into a solid mirror is not worth it, otherwise the room will look like a ballet class.

A low room will make a tall (from ceiling to floor), but not too wide mirror more spacious. You will immediately feel that the room has become different.

Do you want your living room to look not only fresh, but also balanced? Position the mirror so that your favorite plants are reflected in it: three or four pots will turn a cramped room into a real greenhouse.

You can also visually enlarge the bathroom with the help of a mirror, which, according to the good old tradition, is hung over the sink. It is not only practical but also beautiful. Light plain tiles will enhance the effect.

We hang curtains

In a small apartment "clothes for windows" must obey all the same requirements - be monochromatic or with a discreet pattern and, if possible, translucent. Too voluminous, with heavy folds and a complex lambrequin, the curtains will make an already small room even cramped.

Try to avoid layering when decorating windows. Transparent tulle with light curtains can be successfully replaced with a denser material without adding anything to it.

If you are uncomfortable in a too open room, you can limit yourself only to roman blinds or textile roller blinds. By the way, it is not at all necessary to complement them with ordinary curtains, and tulle will be completely superfluous.

Do you consider curtains an indispensable attribute of window decor? Well, your right! Just try and use it wisely. In rooms with low ceilings, window curtains should be attached just below the ceiling, allowing the lush folds to fall freely to the floor.

Have you had the dubious "happiness" of living in a house with narrow windows? Outside, there is nothing to help here, but inside you can combine two such windows with a common cornice, and take a translucent dense tulle as a decor. The room will look much more harmonious. But you should not use this technique if you have standard-sized windows: it is impractical, washing and ironing such huge curtains is very inconvenient, and hanging up is a real torment. In addition, a long horizontal strip of fabric draping the entire wall does not decorate the interior at all.

We arrange furniture

Owners of small apartments need to pay great attention to the choice of the material from which the furniture is made. Coffee tables of the same size and shape, the tabletops of which are made of glass and wood, look completely different: wooden - solid and heavy, glass (although often heavier) - almost weightless.

Glass shelves seem to be just as light and airy. The feeling of spaciousness will become even stronger if you place a white pots with a weaving plant (for example, cissus or Sprenger's asparagus) on such a shelf, and attach a large mirror in a discreet frame or even without it to the wall.

Glass items are a win-win: they visually enlarge a small room. A well-groomed aquarium in the living room, beautiful glasses or glasses of an original shape in the kitchen, graceful photo frames in the bedroom are just a small part of where glass can be used.

Life hacks for expanding space for different types of premises

And finally, one more piece of advice: do not neglect the words of professionals, listen to your own feelings. Designers' recommendations are general, but only you can make your home, even small, cozy and unique.

If you want to increase the area of your small apartment, it is not always necessary to carry out a radical redevelopment for this. In most cases, it will be enough to create an optical illusion that will fill the atmosphere. dream houses incredible charm, warmth and comfort.

You can choose wallpaper with a geometric pattern or perspective, hang a beautiful mirror or buy functional modular furniture. In today's story, we will introduce you to the clever methods of visually increasing the area in a small apartment, which the talented specialist Marina Novikova shared with us.

1. The law of reflection

Mirrored panels are the main way to expand space. You can use a panoramic plane from floor to ceiling or special inserts for furniture or accessories. Mirrors can double the decor of a room and add visual dimension and incredible charm to the room.

When forming interesting home decor play with texture and scale. Vintage mirror panels with patina effect, metro tiles or unique panels in the form of geometric shapes will look great in the decoration.

2. Glossy surfaces

This tricky trick works on the same principle as the previous one. Shiny walls give the apartment expressiveness and depth, and also push the boundaries of the room. For example, you can paint them with a light color scheme with a glossy finish, use special plastic panels or sparkling wallpaper.

3. Glossy stretch ceiling

The smooth glossy surface visually raises the height and gives the atmosphere a bright and dramatic effect. Built-in light bulbs fill the room with a soft, muted glow, which also allows you to visually increase the area of the room.

4. Photo wallpaper with perspective

This drawing makes it possible to change our perception of space. Many decorators and architects use this trick when wall decoration in different parts of the house: guest salon, boudoir, bathroom and kitchen. However, remember to use this method carefully. Don't overload your décor with complex, saturated photographs.

5. Neutral palette and contrasts

This method of decoration visually blurs the boundaries between different surfaces, as a result of which the apartments appear more voluminous and airy.

For example, you can paint a wall and ceiling plane in a delicate shade - smoky, beige, pink or blue. With this design, it will be difficult for the eye to catch on the boundaries of the room, so it will seem larger.

In addition, do not choose a rich and expressive scale, as it can make the situation heavy and overwhelmed. At home decoration focus on two basic neutral shades that will dominate the design.

Note that when decorating wall surfaces, choose milky, beige or vanilla paint, not immaculately white. It will add incredible coziness, warmth and boundless charm to the atmosphere of the apartment.

6. Horizontal and vertical stripes

Such an ornament can easily make any corner of the house optically wider and higher. Choose a striped wallpaper or paint that you can use to draw horizontal or vertical lines.

Don't you want such drastic changes? Installation of wooden shelves or shelves on the wall will be a great solution for you. They will not only expand the boundaries of space, but also form additional areas for storing accessories, books and decorative items.

The ceilings in the room can be optically raised thanks to the wallpaper with a vertical striped pattern. However, in order not to overload Interior Design apartments, use wallpaper to decorate one or two surfaces.

7. Maximum radiance

Think carefully about the illumination system. A small room will look wider and taller with great lighting. There is no need to create a languid twilight or soft scattering radiance, so make the most of the natural solar radiation.

A great solution for a tiny apartment will be multi-level illumination with LED lighting around the perimeter.

8. Light furnishings

To create a spacious and maximally open environment in your home, select headset items on the principle of "less is more." Discard bulky sofas, wardrobes, chairs, soft ottomans and armchairs that overload the space. Buy modular or convertible stylish furniture with light upholstery.

Arrange items around the perimeter of the room without taking up the central part. It is also worth noting that low furnishings significantly affect the perception of furnishings.

9. Folding door leaves

Lightweight folding structures remarkably save square meters of floor space. They fit perfectly into any interior, not only modern, but also classic. In addition, designers use doors with sliding or folding sashes to divide the room into different functional zones.

For example, you can pick them up to isolate the utility room and small pantry or on the border by a corridor and a guest lounge.

10. Ceramic tiles

You can optically expand the bathroom and other small areas thanks to the selection of large format ceramic tiles. This finishing option not only looks aesthetically attractive in the decoration, but also creates the illusion of volume.

Small tiles, on the other hand, will allow you to reduce the area of the room. This rule, however, does not apply to mosaics.

Another important point is the direction of the drawing. The vertical ornament will allow the ceilings to be raised, and the horizontal one will push the walls apart. In a harmonious combination with large ceramic tiles, use a stretch coating with a glossy finish.

11. The minimum number of decorative elements

Don't fill the space of your unusual house unnecessary and unnecessary things - vases, figurines, candlesticks and dishes. These objects only litter the room and make it visually even smaller.

Place a large and expressive accessory in the far corner of the room, for example, a floor lamp or a floor flower pot. As a result, you will create a perspective effect and fill the atmosphere with warmth and comfort. Remember, elongated decorations visually raise the height of the ceilings.

These are easy to perform interior design tips allow you to make a tiny room more spacious and voluminous. You will not even have to turn to professional specialists for help, you can do everything yourself.

Note that inappropriately used visual illusion techniques can tire the eyes and aggressively influence the creation of family members.

Perhaps, in any apartment or house there is a room, the area of which I would like to increase. But such a radical solution, taken to increase the space of small rooms, such as the demolition of interior walls or partitions, cannot always find its application in one case or another. Therefore, experts advise to resort to some tricks when decorating the overall interior design, in particular, to choose the right wallpaper for a small room.

Everyone knows that different colors can visually evoke different sensations, therefore, in order to give the necessary effects in the interiors of premises, it is important to know the purpose of the colors used. So, for example, light tones visually enlarge the subject, while dark objects appear smaller than their true size.

That is why, in order to achieve the effect of a visual increase in the area of the room, it is necessary to adhere to several rules when choosing wallpaper for the interior of a small room.

rules:

You can increase the space of the room with the help of wallpaper in light shades of various colors in combination with furniture, several tones darker than the walls.
For small rooms, you should choose wallpaper in pastel neutral shades, such as light beige, sand, cream, blue, pink, peach and many others.
If wallpaper with glitter, for example, silk-screened, will suit your taste, then they can be used as an excellent alternative to matte wallpaper for decorating small rooms in order to visually increase the distance between opposite walls.
The choice of wallpaper colors for decorating a room also depends on its illumination: for rooms filled with sunlight or artificial light, wallpaper of cold shades can be suitable in large quantities, for dark rooms - only warm colors.
When choosing between smooth wallpaper and textured canvases, it is worth giving preference to the latter, on which the differences in volumes and the play of shadows will be visible. They will increase the visual space and help create more interesting interiors.

You should not paste over small rooms with wallpaper of bright or dark colors, which not only distract attention to themselves, but also visually reduce the space.

Small room interior (video)

Choosing wallpaper for a small room: wallpaper with a pattern

Of course, light and monochromatic wallpaper will visually expand the space of the room to a large extent, but at the same time give it a very boring and conservative look.

The use of patterns and ornaments on the wallpaper will add a more colorful and positive mood to the interior, but not all of them are suitable for small rooms.

How to choose a patterned wallpaper for small rooms:

Firstly, wallpaper with a small, non-contrasting pattern can completely replace plain wallpaper, while a large pattern, even with a slight contrast, can significantly spoil the decision to visually increase the volume of a room. The correct option for using wallpaper with a large pattern of non-contrasting color would be to paste over one wall of the room, against which low furniture, such as a sofa or bed, is placed. For example, using wallpaper with a floral print will look spectacular in the bedroom at the head of the bed.
Secondly, for small rooms, wallpapers with a rare contrasting pattern of small or medium size are suitable, which will enliven the interior of the room and will not reduce the space. For example, in children's bedrooms, wallpapers with small images of cars for boys, or characters from the cartoon series "my little pony" for girls, will effectively look. But the use of large contrasting patterns on the wallpaper should be completely abandoned, since they can eat up a large volume of the room.
Thirdly, you should not consider the option of decorating small rooms with wallpaper with high contrast and pattern density. Even a room with a small amount of furniture will visually seem too cluttered and uncomfortable. Therefore, it is worth either completely abandoning this type of wallpaper, or allocating only one wall of the room for them.

Finishing the reasoning about the use of wallpaper from drawings for decorating rooms of small areas, it is worth mentioning once again that it is worth dwelling on light shades of colors that visually enlarge the space of small rooms.

Wallpaper for a small room: photo wallpaper

One of the most successful solutions to increase the space of a room with wallpaper is the use of photo wallpaper in the interior.

But not all photographic images applied to wallpaper are capable of achieving the desired effect.

It is best to use photographs with a perspective, the drawing in which goes deep into the image, for example: a forest path, a metropolis street or underwater expanses, or any other that you like.

To use photo wallpaper as an assistant when increasing the space of a room, it is important to adhere to some general recommendations:

For gluing photo wallpaper with perspective, walls or parts of it without windows or doorways are suitable.
It is not recommended to place tall furniture against the background of photo wallpaper; it is best to put a sofa, bed or coffee table.
For very small rooms, it is worth stopping at light-colored photo wallpaper.
Wall murals with a vertical pattern, for example, a forest thicket, are suitable for rooms with low ceilings, helping to visually raise it.

It should be remembered that in rooms with a lot of light, you can use wallpaper with cold shades (images of the depths of the sea or high mountains), and for poorly lit rooms, pictures of warm colors (autumn landscapes, sea sandy beaches) are suitable.

Wallpaper that increases the space of the room: ways to use

Having chosen wallpaper of light shades with the correct pattern, which helps to increase the space of a small room, it is important to use them correctly when decorating, because otherwise you can not only not achieve the desired result, but also get the opposite effect.

We list the main points when decorating the walls of a small room with wallpaper:

Decorating two opposite walls with wallpaper of cold and lighter shades will help to expand and lengthen the room. This option will visually stretch the room in the direction of the light walls.
When decorating long rooms, it is important to remember that wallpaper with a small pattern is best placed on long walls, when, as a large pattern, it is used to decorate short walls.
A long and narrow room can be decorated with wallpaper with a pattern of horizontal stripes, and you can also use wallpaper in a darker warm shade on short walls.
Wallpaper with a pattern, glued not as usual, but diagonally, will help to significantly increase the space of the room.
For small rooms, it will be effective to use wallpaper of the same color of different saturation. On the lower part of the walls, wallpapers of darker shades are glued, and the upper ones are lighter. This option will help expand the area of rooms with low ceilings.
The technique of alternating well-combined wallpaper with and without a pattern is perfect for small rooms. But it is worth remembering that the spacing of wallpapers without a pattern should be less than the spacing of wallpapers without. For example, you can alternate two pieces of plain wallpaper with one piece of patterned wallpaper that expands a small room.

Glossy wallpapers are also suitable for small spaces, visually increasing the area due to the partial reflection of objects in front.

How to equip a small room (video)

Don't forget about accessories used in small spaces. The color of furniture, curtains and other items should be in the same tone as the wallpaper. Any contrast will eat up the space, which will negatively affect the comfort in a small room.

Examples of wallpapers for a small room that visually increase the space (photo)

Architects Andrey Stube, Nadezhda Kablukova Photo: Sergey Ananiev

A small apartment is a reason to turn to original techniques. As practice shows, it is in small-sized apartments that it is possible to create an interior with a recognizable face. Every "little thing" is of decisive importance, starting with the arrangement of the boundaries of the premises and ending with the dimensions of furnishings and decor. You just need to use "reserves" and find the best solutions.

Method 1. Thoroughly think over zoning

There is no need to turn a small apartment into a studio devoid of internal partitions: there will be problems with the placement of the necessary furniture, the modest size of the room will become noticeable, 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 replacing an ordinary 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 the living room, adjacent to the same wall or with a circular walk.

Method 2. Give preference to white and light shades

Architect Evgeniya Verevkina. Photo: Olga Rikli

White walls visually expand the interior, and in combination with a white ceiling, they raise the upper plane. The effect of depth is created by black and dark gray, but these colors require flawless arrangement of other details. Give up large patterns and bright contrasts, choose small, dull patterns; remember that horizontal lines "expand" the interior, vertical lines "stretch" it in height.

Designer Natalia Lebedeva. Photo: Zinon Razutdinov

Glossy stretch ceilings also contribute to the "increase" in scale. Photo wallpaper on one wall or in a wall with the image of a street or landscape going deep into the depths turns into a kind of huge window and "pushes back" the border of the room.

Method 3. Use mirrors and reflective surfaces

Architect Julia Chernyaeva. Photo: Alexander Kamachkin

The more air and light in the apartment, the more spacious it looks. Glare and reflective surfaces help to 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

The mirror is able to "double" the volume of the room, the main thing is to choose a suitable place for it (it is better in front of the window or the passage to the next room). One-piece panel can be replaced with a mirror panel made up of fragments, with a facet made on them.

Method 4. Don't buy ready-made furniture

Architect Julia 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 should be made to order. So, by slightly reducing the length of the sofa, chest of drawers or bar counter, the width of the bed, the depth of the cabinet, you can achieve a balance between beauty and functionality. In this case, it becomes possible to perfectly fit the furniture to the overall style.

Furniture that is flush-mounted into pre-existing or specially built niches helps to create a cohesive, comfortable space. It is very important that cabinets or other elements of the composition exactly fit into them in depth - even facades slightly protruding beyond the line of the wall 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 shelves, closed sections should be alternated with open ones. The bedroom and the hallway do not need to be overloaded with furniture, but the working area and the kitchen, on the contrary, can be "compacted" - the main thing is that it is convenient to move around in the premises.

Method 5. Do not cover the windows with "powerful" curtains

Designer Zhanna Studentsova. Photo: Svetlana Ignatenko

Curtains optically reduce the depth of the interior, moreover, the more textile "decorations" on the window, the smaller the room seems. If a beautiful view opens up from the window, you can do without curtains or provide a roller blind according to the size of the opening in order to visually increase the space.

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

You can equip a workplace on it, under it - storage space (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

In every apartment, as a rule, there are hidden reserves of free space, which make it possible to successfully solve storage problems - first of all, under the ceiling and on the floor line. So, instead of cabinets and bedside tables on legs, it is better to choose floor models, purchase folding sofas with drawers for bed linen.

It will also come in handy - built-in or combined with a freestanding cabinet. Hanging kitchen modules should be "duplicated" with a second row of cabinets up to the ceiling and rarely used things (and not necessarily intended for use in the kitchen) to be sent there.

Architects Andrey Stube, Nadezhda Kablukova. Photo: Sergey Ananiev

A small hallway will be visually relieved by the sports equipment (skateboard, bicycle) attached to the upper part of the walls. Open shelves under the very ceiling are suitable for books; cardboard or plastic boxes with various little things can also be placed there. And so that the room does not seem cramped, choose furniture that will look like an extension 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 over the trajectories of movement around the apartment in advance: in a small apartment nothing is so annoying and does not create a feeling of tightness, like 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 zones 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 skylight 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. First identify bottlenecks, 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 determine the bottlenecks - not swing, but sliding models are best suited for them. The latter are also optimal in cases where several doors are adjacent on a small patch. 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 by discreet decor.