We all know how mirrors can make a room feel bigger, but can an area rug have the same effect? If you have a tiny space or room in your house and wish it was bigger, I may have a solution for you.
As it turns out, going big with your area rug can make your small room look bigger. This is because of a rug that extends underneath the coffee table, sofa, and any additional seating area will lure the eye out wide and make the room appear bigger. Conversely, a small rug will make the space look limited.
Here is how to use a rug to make your room look bigger.
Step #1
Buy a single, large area rug instead of several small rugs. Place the rug within a foot from the walls of your room, or just place it at the center and spread it within feet away from your pieces of furniture. By doing this, your space will not look like it is crowding the area rug. Using several small rugs will make your room look crowded, so avoid it even if you don’t have a large rug.
Step #2
Brighten up your room by using a light-colored rug. Bright colors tend to make spaces look roomy, and a light-colored rug will create the same impression. Just like you apply light accents in your living room to make it feel spacious, the technique also works with rugs.
Try some neutrals, pastels, or off-white colors for this purpose. Also, avoid rugs with patterns because they can create a sense of clutter in a small space. Instead, go with a solid color area rug.
If you feel you like a pattern in your rug, make sure that the pattern is scaled fittingly to the size of the space.
Step #3
Use a certain type of rugs like non-textured lightweight rugs instead of tufted or heavy textured heavy rugs.
How to make a room feel smaller using a rug
If you want to make a room feel smaller, all you have to do is the opposite of the above steps.
Step #1
Use a large rug to form a transition from one section of the space to another to create a sense of two smaller rooms. You can also use several rugs to create several illusions in your room.
Step #2
Use rugs of different shapes and sizes, for instance, a large rectangular rug with two smaller square or round rugs, whichever matches.
Step #3
Try using bright, deep, or dark accents and boldly patterned rugs when looking to scale down the size of your room. That will reduce the appearance of your room and make it look a little smaller. You should also use full heavy textured rugs.
Interior designers Tips for using rugs
Definition
Small space rooms mean the single space should have multiple roles – the kitchen, the living room, dining room, and so on, all at once. For this reason, it is essential to define each section and its function so that you can create distinct zones. And while arranging your pieces of furniture properly will help you achieve this, handling your floor like walls will help you create real definition. When you use rugs, they will help your small space look open while making each zone clearly defined.
Legs of your furniture
Another thing that will help you pull off this trick is pushing a rug marginally under the legs of your furniture. For example, keep the front legs of your bed, chair, or dresser under the rug while leaving the back legs out. This way, the rug will link the various furniture elements together while spreading wide into the space to create an illusion of a good proportion.
Avoid other items on the floor
Since you are working with a pretty small space, having other items other than the rug on the floor can be counterintuitive. So, make sure your furniture pieces have legs so that no floor space is blocked, and then have only your area rug on the floor.
Layering
If you want to save money on rugs, using layering can be a clever hack. Find a large, simple seagrass or jute rug and fill your floor with it, and then get your expensive accent rug and place it over the jute rug. Layering rugs give you a smart option to try out pattern-mixing and add more texture in the living space.