When you first walk into a space, the flooring is one of the biggest factors in how big the room looks. It’s easy when you start with a big room, but there are some flooring tricks you can use to make your space look bigger.
As a starting point, use the same flooring throughout all the spaces in the house. Linking them together gives the illusion of a bigger space.
Colour is also important, as darker floors paired with lighter colours for the wall, trim and moulding create the illusion of a bigger space.
When you’re using things like floorboards or rectangular tiles, opinion is split. Some say running the boards or tiles lengthways along the room stretches the room out. This is particularly the case if the room and flooring extend into a hallway or second room.
However there are others that say running the boards or tiles diagonally is even better, as it “stretches” the room in both directions. It’s not common, but might be worth a try if you don’t mind being a little eclectic in your style!
Finally, choose your rugs carefully. Simple is usually best, so the eye skims over the rug rather than being drawn to it. Minimal patterns, using warm but subtle colours, are a good choice. And if you have carpet in the room, you can use a stripe in the rug running the length of the room to create the same stretching effect as achieved with boards.