Decorating Tips for Smaller Rooms
by: Jan Gamm

Decorating a small room can be as rewarding as making over a larger space, provided you stick to a few guidelines.

Small rooms with low ceilings are more difficult as the space is even more compressed, but it need not be a problem. Keeping the same colour through all the walls and furnishings can have an enlarging effect. A white ceiling will always appear higher; a darker shade will lower it.

Wallpapers should have only small patterns in a small room, unless you are making a statement wall using a bold pattern on one side of the room only. To achieve this effect successfully you really need to choose your style carefully if you are not going to diminish the room size accidentally.

Do not try to fit a large suite of furniture in a small room. By all means use a large sofa and one single chair to compliment it, but bear in mind you will need to sacrifice furniture in other parts of the room to avoid over crowding.

Rugs should display a single colour or if you must have a patterned rug make sure the design is mall, otherwise the effect will dominate the room.

If the ceiling is high, hang pictures centre space between the furniture and the top of the wall. A large picture will have a wallpaper effect. Groups of pictures can break up a large wall so remember this when decorating a small space and go in the other direction if possible.

Avoid a dominant focus point such as a huge fireplace in a small room. Focus points are great in large rooms but in smaller spaces they can take over. Bedrooms which have a large bed taking up most of the space in a small room can be slightly diminished using pale colours on the bed. Darker colours will make the bed seem huge.

Pretty views should be enhanced wherever possible, so try to frame a good view if you are lucky enough to have one. In a small room avoid dramatic curtain effects such as drape and towel pelmets or festoons. Stick to simple arrangements.

Artwork can be dramatic even in a smaller room. Freestanding items should be avoided if you do not have much room, try to find wall hung items which do not take up valuable floor space.

Try not to go with darker shades either on the walls or in the furnishings; dark colours can draw the walls in and lower the ceiling, and make the space seem even smaller. Cosy dining rooms can be an exception but do not attempt such decorating tricks in a room measuring less than ten square metres.

Jan Gamm writes reflections on life with an emphasis on world travel. She has lived in many countries and traveled extensively in the Far East, the Middle East, America, South America and throughout the South Pacific. She writes for fun and for money whenever she can manage it.