It’s a design goal we all share: How to make a room look bigger. And not only bigger—But more open, flowing, and open. We want our home to have a combination of attractiveness and ease where there is plenty of space for our belongings and favorite decoration style because there is room to breathe and exist. An easy way to do this? With paint. There are some colors that make a room look bigger just from the way the pigments reflect or absorb light. It’s design magic.
One of the most interesting aspects of interior paint is the way it adds a lot of color to the room. Wash the home office in blue-gray tones and suddenly a sense of peace permeates. Admire the terracotta kitchen walls and you can instantly feel the warmth and playfulness. Paint one sitting room in a sad iron gray, which designers Wendy Robinson and Lyndsay Scott suggested below and the walls will appear pulled back to allow more air and light.
Simply put, paint can be a magician. A quick (and economical!) transformation tool. And in the case of tricking the senses to make a room expand beyond its square footage, the paint is Houdini. Read on for the top three room-stretching paints from design professionals for the home. Plus their tricks to take the coloring game to the next level.
Featured image of Marta Xochilt Perez.
Before moving on to paint, what other ways do we make the room look bigger?
#1: Paint the entire room
According to Scott, most paint tricks to make your room look bigger involve choosing the right paint color, but there are other tricks you can use to make a room feel. Wider. The first is to paint the room the same color, including the furniture, ceiling, and door. This trick works best when you’re oscillating the finish to add dimension. “For example, on the walls, we like to use Chantilly Lace for the eggshell finish, and Chantilly Lace on the furniture and doors but with a satin or semi-gloss finish,” says Scotts. For the ceiling, Scott and Robinson say to continue using the same paint color but lightening it by about 20%. “This way, you are less aware of where the walls end and the ceiling begins.”
#2: Choose Egg Shell or Satin Finish
Natural light makes the room look larger. This is the truth. So how do you optimize this? By incorporating paints that have a subtle sheen that reflects and bounces off light. The delicate gloss of the eggshell and satin finish do this, taking advantage of the rays by putting them to wide use in the room. If you want to go bold, consider a semi-gloss finish.
#3: Create Contrast
Opposites attract — and they also complement each other. Wintersteen suggests creating a look that incorporates more visual impact, which will then draw the eye and create the illusion of more space. One way to do this is to paint the cabinets in a muted tone, such as navy, and contrast it with the new white walls.
Keep scrolling to discover 5 paint colors that make a room look bigger.
#1: Deep Navy
Susan Wintersteen, CEO and Principal of Savvy Furniture. “My preference for creating a sense of space is more than deep and sad shade.” Wintersteen goes on to say these create a feeling of luxury and luxury, and they built a room, making it appear larger than it is. Her favorite is a deep aqua blue stone with a black border. When you pair it with a lighter wall or accent, “complemented by warm wood tones and abundant natural light,” the result is timeless, comfortable, warm – and ultimately. is expansion.
Choose paint: Farrow & Ball Scotch Blue
Best for: Kitchen and living room.
#2: Gray
As the name suggests, gray is a neutral color that exists in between gray and beige. I admit: I’ve always been a little wary of this color: Can’t it just be this or that color? But after Jessica Nicastro suggested it to lengthen a room, I saw gray in a different light. “Timeless and warm Greige,” founder and lead designer of Jessica Nicastro Design trust. Technically, it’s a light and bright shade that naturally complements and bounces light rays. But gray also has the depth of gray and the earthiness of beige, resulting in colors that are equally cool and warm and earthy.
Paint options: Farrow & Ball Shaded White and Piano room with Portola paint & enamel
Best for: Kitchen.
#3: Clean white
It’s an obvious choice for a reason. Wendy Robinson, who offers a bit of science on why, says: “There is a measurement called Reflectance Value that determines the percentage of light reflected off a painted surface on a scale from one to 100”, co-founder and main co-designer behind How We Haven speak to me. An LRV of 100 would be pure white, she continued. “This is way too serious for a room”—but you get the gist. White reflects light and expands the capacity of the space. Robinson and her co-founder and co-designer Lyndsay Scott choose whites that are slightly lower on the LRV scale, such as around 80 to 90, so they have a slightly warmer feel.
Paint selection: Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace and Benjamin Moore Dove White
The best for: Any room!
#4: Light blue gray
On board the light-colored ship, the light blue and pastel gray crossover is a triumph in expanding the limited space. Because it contains high levels of white, it reflects a lot of light, as Robinson and Scott told me. It also has a more serious gray tone, which continues to deliver a well-established vibe. Think of the open sky on a cloudy day: It’s endless and vast with a little texture from the clouds.
Choose paint: Benjamin Moore Pale Smoke
The best for: An office or bedroom at home.
The picture of Susan Bednar Long
#5: Purple
It is one of The biggest paint trend of 2022: a light shade of cheerful purple. Like Susan Bednar Long by SB Long Interiors Let me know, subdued purple is the winner for its ability to calm the senses and evoke positive feelings, all at the same time opening up a room making it appear larger. Long said: Violet is reminiscent of spring. Growth time, regeneration and bonuses.
Choose paint: C2 Africa Purple
Best for: Dining room
