Are you feeling like you’ve outgrown your St. Louis home? Are rooms feeling cramped, or are you running out of storage space? Before deciding to put your home on the market, you may want to reorganize and rearrange your home to see if you can make it work for you with the space you currently have. Here are a few tips that will quickly make your small space feel larger.

Clear the Clutter

It may be time for a spring cleaning, so take stock of the items in your home and eliminate things you no longer want or need. A good rule of thumb is if you haven’t used or worn it in the last year, toss it or donate it. Do you have a stack of magazines in the corner? Go through them, cut out the articles you want to save and then toss them in the recycle bin. Are your closets overcrowded? Go through your clothes and donate any items that no longer fit or haven’t been worn. If your kitchen cabinets are bursting at the seams, reorganize dishes and cutlery and toss any food with an expired date. This may seem a bit tedious but you’ll be surprised with how much space it actually frees up.

Paint

The colors on your walls definitely matter when you’re living in a smaller space. Choosing lighter colors will give the illusion of a larger space that is open and bright. Light blues, greens, or yellows provide a cheerful feel. It’s a good idea to keep your ceilings, baseboards, and molding a lighter color than the wall color as well. For example, if you paint your walls a pale blue, paint the ceiling, baseboards, and molding white for a clean and airy look.

Add in Some Light

Rooms appear larger when they’re well lit, so utilize your natural light as well as enhancing your space with additional artificial light. When choosing your window treatments, choose materials that are lighter in color or sheer to allow the sunshine in. Also, keep in mind that hanging curtains that go to the floor give the illusion of height, which in turn gives the illusion of more space. 

Choose your Furnishings Carefully

When living in a smaller space, furniture selection and placement can be tricky. You want your rooms to be functional and provide enough seating to accommodate your lifestyle without looking overcrowded. When selecting your furniture, choose items with exposed legs, as seeing the floor creates the illusion of extra space. It also may be better to buy a larger sofa with one or two armchairs  as opposed to a smaller loveseat and four bulky chairs. When choosing your wall art, go for larger scale items as opposed to a multitude of smaller items. If you’re a fan of mirrors, hang them opposite a window so they can reflect the natural light coming through.

Use the Wall Space

Shelving is a perfect way to utilize your wall space as well as to add a little personality into your room. A shelf placed at the right height can serve as a breakfast table, desk, or a bar, eliminating the need for larger furniture. Declutter your kitchen cabinets by adding a pot rack which can hang from the ceiling or on the wall. Add a spice rack to the inside of your cabinet doors or remove your cabinet doors altogether, as open shelving adds additional visual space. 

The key to making your space look larger and be more functional is to edit what goes into it.  The more you add, the smaller it feels, so choose your items wisely and purposefully. What tricks do you use to make your home feel more expansive?