Interiors: Making a small room bigger

Do you have a small room? Does it make you feel cramped? Does it feel more like a room for dolls than a room for humans? Well, don’t despair. There are solutions, and with a little smoke and mirrors, we can enlarge that room.

Start by cleaning up. The less clutter, the better, so get rid of extra furniture, extra pictures on the wall, extra accessories and, well, anything that is unnecessary. Already we have created space.

On to the window.

Let the light in by having minimal window dressing. That opening is an opportunity to bring the outdoors in, the light in, and, with little or no covering, it draws the eye out to the large world outside, instead of to the small room inside.

If some window covering is needed for privacy, make it simple. For example, don’t use fabrics that contrast with the wall’s color. The idea is to make the window covering a seamless part of that wall.

In keeping with the idea of bringing the outdoors in, choose colors that are already outside that window. This will help promote continuity, creating the illusion of more space. Or bathe everything in white, from the walls to the upholstery, to illuminate and open the room.

Arrange the furniture in a way to give the room a feeling of spaciousness. If possible, place the furniture in such a way that when you enter the room, you can see across to the baseboard on the other side. Talking about that same room entrance, keep furniture clear of it — a cluttered entrance will make the entire room shrink visually.

If there are things in the room that need a home — such as books, extra pictures that you really want to display and a few knickknacks — then go for built-in shelves. They take up no floor space and offer wonderful display and storage areas.

Did I mention smoke and mirrors? Forget the smoke, but mirrors do work to visually expand a room. Strategically place them where they reflect light or where they reflect a pretty sight. If the mirror or mirrors can reflect the outdoors, all the better.

A small room can have big potential if the design plan is thought out and carefully executed. Enjoy the challenge, and then enjoy the results.

Ÿ Rosemary Sadez Friedmann, an interior designer in Naples, Fla., is author of “Mystery of Color.”