If you’re building in a space that seems hopelessly small, there are things you can do to widen your spatial opportunities.
That’s right. Your small space has the potential to feel a lot bigger. Making the most of each square foot is essential, especially if you live in a space that is comprised of small rooms.
Read our 5 architectural design ideas that will leave your room feeling much bigger than you imagined it would.
1. Incorporate Architectural Seating
You can save a tremendous amount of space by simply implementing seating into the architecture of the room. Whether this means that you carve out benches around the lining of the room or you lower the floor in the center of the room to create a sunken area to sit around, you’ll not be hindered by the bulkiness of a couch in your tiny room.
Another idea is window seating, which serves a similar function by saving more space than a wall couch.
2. Add a Window and Mirror
Adding a window to any room can make it feel much larger. A tiny room with a window is especially inviting, creating the feel of a bigger room. Another thing to consider is placing a mirror in front of the window to create the allusion of additional space. The mirror also reflects light which can make a room feel broader and more open.
3. Use a Pattern on the Walls
Using a wallpaper or painting style on your walls can offer up many opportunities. Make sure that the pattern you choose creates the illusion of depth, allowing people in the room to experience that depth as an extension of the room.
Steer away from bold, flat colors covering your wall. Stay to lighter colors that allow light to remain in the room.
4. Place Furniture Low, Artwork Higher
Place low-sitting furniture in your room to create the illusion of more vertical space. Then you will give the impression of higher ceilings. Additionally, you should seek out furniture that has thin legs and structure, allowing light to move through the spaces between legs and fill the room.
Another thing that creates the impression of space is the placement of artwork above eye-level. Placing paintings and prints high is one way of drawing people to notice the full range of the room and accentuating the vertical space.
5. Emphasize Movement
By this, we mean that you should have pieces that correspond with one another, attracting the eye around the room. Moving the eye up and down or left to right allows the space in the room to be seen and experienced.
Without anything to draw the eye, the room feels bland, cramped, and tiny. With something to capture people’s attention, the person sitting in the room will likely feel comfortable and not confined.
Don’t Stop at These Architectural Design Ideas
Incorporating just some, if not all, of the ideas mentioned here in your design plans, will help your project get off to a great start.
If you’re looking for ways to improve the design quality of your custom home project, contact us today for a consultation. We have years of architectural and interior design experience in Santa Cruz and beyond. We look forward to sharing our expertise with you for your dream home.
Michael Helm is a recognized leader in the architectural design and consultation fields. He has more than twenty-four years experience and more than 200 projects to his credit. He has extensive experience with demanding projects and enjoys a high level of success and comfort working with clients, design and construction teams.