There are some clever tricks in designing your living space, especially if it’s small, to make it feel larger in size. One set of such tricks comes from lighting your space. A good interior designer does not just play with the colours of your walls and the structures used in your living space to give the mirage of larger space – they also play around with lighting to create this false impression.
The best part is this doesn’t even need to be done with big light pieces like ceiling lamps or chandeliers! It can be done with simple movable lamps like desk lights and standing lamps. One key trick to remember is that the main way to make a space look bigger with lights is to light up the dark corners. This does not just include the physical space on the floor, but also your furniture. We will get into that and the other crucial tips further in this useful article!
1) Small lights are used in small spaces
If you are battling with lighting up a small area in your house, don’t bother getting extravagant and big lights for such spaces. Small lights work a lot better with small areas, so pick a couple of cute, manageable lights for such areas and work on the quantity instead of the size of the lights. The good news is that these lights are also an economical solution for you as they are a lot cheaper!
As we mentioned before, light up the dark corners in your small space to make it look bigger. This is where the small lights come in handy. They help to visually expand the edges of the room if the corners and borders are illuminated well.
2) Lights are not just for your ceilings and floors
Small areas, especially when packed with furniture and items, are harder to light with multiple small lights on the walls, ceiling or floor given the lack of space. But we never said lighting up dark areas only referred to the corners made by your walls! It means you are to light up every prominent dark spot in the room – place desk lamps on dark tables, use cove lights for walkways and cornices, and consider using under cabinet lighting for built in cupboards!
3) Vary not just the size but the intensity of the lights
Creating different layers, angles and shades with your lights gives the perception of a bigger space. Work this to your favour by using multiple small lights of varying intensities and brightness to create character with lighting your small spaces. Don’t be afraid to play around with the lighting structures as well – work with tubular lights, vertical lighting, and flat light strips.
But remember that the intensity and colour of your lights should predominantly be bright. After all, you are trying to light up the dark spaces in your room. It won’t be of any point to put a very dull light source in a dark spot hoping it would make a difference!
4) Heard of ceiling lighting fixtures?
These cute light sources are practically like desk lamps with how they look, but they can be fixed to your ceiling. The great part is that you can point them to a specific direction you want the light to give attention to. You don’t have to be stingy as you can get a couple of these easily and get them fixed to point each of them to all the directions you need!
5) Going more than lights
After experimenting most of the possible uses of light to make the space look bigger, try expanding out to other innovative tricks like using reflective surfaces to enhance the effect of the lights you use. This applies to mainly mirrors and glass items that give a frame to your wall areas. This would reflect off the lights that you use and very easily multiply the effect that you have created with your lighting to expand the place.
Fear not as these tricks are not just suitable for newbies getting their brand new homes – since most of these ideas are flexible and can even be DIY, you can get the necessary resources to modify your current home anytime especially during this June holidays. It can be a fun family activity getting the youngsters in the family to think of lighting ideas to brighten up their own rooms and give it a mini revamp!