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30 Cheap Hacks to Make a Small Space Feel Bigger

Open Up Your Floor Space

Open Up Your Floor Space

One of the easiest ways to make your home feel bigger is to open up your floor space. You’ll likely be surprised by the amount of space you have once you remove or rearrange your furniture.

Instead of over-cluttering your floor space, utilize your wall space. Ditch your bulky entertainment center or TV stand and mount your television on your wall. And trade your hefty, wooden bookshelf for sleek, floating shelves. These changes may seem minor, but they’ll make a major difference.

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Hang and Display Mirrors

Hang and Display Mirrors

If you’re wanting to find a mirror on a budget, look no further than your local thrift store or your next neighborhood garage sale. They’re typically a pricier addition to your home, but thankfully, you can find them for half the price if you look hard enough.

We totally recommend decorating your home with mirrors. Not only are they trendy and timeless, but they’re also known for their ability to illuminate a room. This is because mirrors give the illusion of more space. It’s an easy and effective trick.

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Utilize Floating Shelves

Utilize Floating Shelves

Like we mentioned before, opening up your floor space can make a huge difference in your home. It can make your space feel significantly bigger than it really is. So, if your bedroom is feeling a little too cozy, trade your nightstand for floating shelves.

All you need to do is arrange your bed to where you can easily access a shelf. This will be the perfect place to keep your must-have moisturizer, current read, and cell phone.

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Make Use of Unconventional Spaces

Make Use of Unconventional Spaces

Think of the potential of your home’s unconventional spaces. Yes, we’re talking about under your bed, behind your couch, and in the very back of your closet. Spaces like these are either completely cluttered or neglected completely.

It’s time to make use of those rather unconventional spaces. Get out the vacuum and suck up the dust bunnies so you can use the spots for storage. If you’re willing to splurge, purchase trendy storage containers or wicker baskets. If you’re wanting to save, DIY your own storage bins.

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Use Over-the-Door Organizers

Use Over-the-Door Organizers

Let’s be honest, any type of creative organizer is a must-have. And while we love all of these storage innovations, we’re especially partial to over-the-door organizers. We recommend buying at least three or four of these organizers. They’re versatile and can be used in so many ways.

Depending on the style of the organizer that you buy, you can use these to store coats, scarves, belts, jewelry, shoes, and more. And if you place these on the backs of your doors, they won’t be seen.

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Keep Your Home Decluttered

Keep Your Home Decluttered

This tip is priceless—literally. You can keep your home decluttered for free. A wonderful way to do this is to practice decluttering every single day. It may seem tedious at first, but it will totally change the appearance and feel of your home.

Clutter can come in many shapes and forms. The most common forms of clutter are toys, dishes, and mail. Luckily, these items are easy to declutter. All you have to do is designate a specific wicker basket (preferably with a lid) for toys, wash dishes immediately after using, and place mail items like bills and invitations into a file folder or document tray.

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Decorate With Trendy Storage Items

Decorate With Trendy Storage Items

Many people don’t often think of decorating their home with storage items. They don’t because it’s not traditional or conventional. Despite this, it’s effective. If you’re going to furnish your home, you might as well use furniture pieces that have multiple purposes.

For example, keep throw blankets in a storage ottaman in your living room. Or use a trunk as both a coffee table and storage piece. There are many ways to decorate with storage items, all you need to do is research ideas.

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Paint Your Walls a Bright Color

Paint Your Walls a Bright Color

Next time you decide to repaint a room in your home (or possibly every room in your home), choose your paint color wisely. You don’t want to regret the paint color you chose after putting in the work.

If your space feels small, don’t choose a dark shade of paint. This will only make your space feel more crowded. Instead, choose a bright, light hue. These shades will open up your home and create the illusion of space.

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Organize Your Closet

Organize Your Closet

Small homes typically have even smaller closets. And if you have lots of clothes, shoes, and accessories, this can prove to be quite the issue. If you’re not willing to ditch the majority of the items in your closet, you’ll need to do some serious organizing.

To maximize your cramped closet space, you’ll need to completely start over. We recommend clearing out your entire closet and cleaning it really well before reorganizing. Once you begin this process, utilize closet organizers to reinvent your space.

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Or Create an Open-Closet Concept

Or Create an Open-Closet Concept

Unfortunately, not all homes have closets. When this happens, it’s even more important to stay organized. If you don’t want to crowd your small space with dressers and wardrobes, create an open-closet concept.

Open closets are innovative and usually consist of an adjustable garment rack, a floating shelf, and a shoe rack. The combination of these three items mimic the elements of a traditional closet. Keeping clothes, shoes, and accessories organized and minimal ensures that your bedroom will not look or feel cluttered.

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Get Creative With Functional Wall Decor

Get Creative With Functional Wall Decor

All homes initially have bare walls. And until you decide to decorate, that’s how they’ll remain. Paintings, mirrors, and shelves are just a few traditional wall decorations that give your home personality.

But if you’re feeling bold, we encourage you to get creative with your wall decor. Make it functional. There’s plenty of ways to decorate with functionality in mind. One example is to display your hat collection on your wall. Not only will you have easy access to these accessories, but they’ll be stylish and trendy.

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Let the Sunshine In

Let the Sunshine In

This is probably the most inexpensive hack to make your small space feel bigger. This is because all you have to do is open your blinds each morning. Yes, it’s that simple. Natural light will really open up your home.

Although not everyone prefers this option, you can completely forgo blinds and drapes for maximum sunshine—if you so desire. In our opinion, it really depends on where you live. If you live in an apartment complex with neighbors close by, maybe not. But if you live in a secluded area, why not?

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Create Multipurpose Spaces

Create Multipurpose Spaces

If you live in a one or two-bedroom home or apartment, you may want to think about creating multipurpose spaces. For example, you could turn your living room into both a living room and an office. Or you could turn your bedroom into a bedroom and a living space.

The best part about this is that it’s fairly simple to do. You can break up your space by arranging furniture in a way that divides your room. Area rugs are also a great way to designate different spaces for different purposes.

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Utilize Lighting

Utilize Lighting

So many people don’t realize the importance of additional lighting in their home. Yes, it’s an additional cost to buy lamps and light bulbs, but it has the potential to completely change the feel of your space.

This is because good lighting has a major impact on small spaces. Use floor and table lamps instead of relying on just your overhead light. Your overhead light may illuminate the entire room, but it also draws your eye to the middle of your tiny room.

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Have the Mindset of a Minimalist

Have the Mindset of a Minimalist

Changing your mindset can change your life. And in regards to home decorating, having the mindset of a minimalist is enviable. This is because it’s not an easy mindset to master. But once you do master it, you’ll never want to go back.

Minimalists don’t crowd their home with unnecessary furnishings and accessories. Instead, they only keep what’s absolutely essential. So, rearrange your furniture and make some extra space. Your home will feel 10x better.

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Add a Patterned Rug

Add a Patterned Rug

Rugs are perfect for cozying up a room. They’re also great for defining an area in a room and connecting elements together. If you want to make your room appear bigger, use a rug to highlight a larger section of the floor.

This will create the illusion of more space because the rug will become the focal point and will distract from the actual size of the room. We recommend rugs that are bold and patterned. They will draw attention and provide personality.

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Decorate With Oversized Accessories

Decorate With Oversized Accessories

Like we mentioned before, having the mindset of a minimalist is ideal when it comes to making small spaces feel spacious. This applies to more than just furniture placement. It also applies to decoration decisions.

A lot of small accent pieces and knick-knacks can make a room look cluttered and crowded. To prevent this home decor faux pa, choose larger accessories. You’ll only need between three to five items to draw your eye.

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Display Art on Your Walls

Display Art on Your Walls

While most people choose to display art on their walls, they often choose to display multiple small-scale paintings, portraits, and posters. This creates a gallery wall. While gallery walls are trendy, they don’t make your home look any bigger.

In a small room or a small home, it’s better to have one large accent piece of art instead of a gallery wall of smaller pieces. Too many paintings, portraits, and posters will cause your space to feel cluttered and busy.

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Don't Over-Clutter Your Home

Don't Over-Clutter Your Home

Over-cluttering your home typically starts with the over-accumulation of furniture. This is ironic because furniture pieces are expensive and quite the investment. Instead of spending all of your money on furniture, be strategic when purchasing.

Trust us, it’s so much better to have one large accent piece of furniture as a focal point rather than several smaller pieces. For a living space, try a cozy couch and one accent chair. For a bedroom, try a bed and a nightstand or wardrobe.

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Color Coordinate Your Shelves

Color Coordinate Your Shelves

Keeping your home tidy isn’t the easiest task, but if you’re wanting to make it look spacious, there are some tips you should follow. One of those tips is to color coordinate your shelves.

Any type of organization (whether it be by size of by color) will make a huge difference in your home, even if you have several smaller objects on your shelves. It will make everything look neat, tidy, decluttered, and intentional.

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Use a Clear Shower Curtain

Use a Clear Shower Curtain

Although it may seem strange, hanging only a clear shower curtain can totally open up your bathroom, especially if you have a tiny bathroom. It’s an easy and inexpensive solution.

This will make your bathroom feel more spacious. Clear (or mostly clear) shower curtains or shower glass doors allow for more light in the bathroom and make the space look and feel bigger. We highly recommend this quick fix, especially if you typically keep your shower clean and organized and don’t mind your items on display.

(Image via Midjourney)

Hang Shelves Up High

Hang Shelves Up High

It’s common to want to hang shelves at eye-level or just a little above eye-level. While this works, it’s not doing your home any favors. Grab your hammer and nails and move your shelves upward.

Mounting your shelves higher up on your wall will make your room seem much taller. You can hang shelves above doorways and over windows, or near the ceiling. You’ll fill wall space that’s typically unused and have a place to display pictures, decorations, and collectables.

(Image via Midjourney)

Elongate Your Home With Stripes

Elongate Your Home With Stripes

If you’re willing to invest time and money into an easy home renovation project, freshen up your home with a coat or two of paint. First, find a base color for your walls, preferably a light and airy color, and then choose a contrasting color that will complement it.

Elongate your home with vertical or horizontal stripes. Vertical stripes add height to a room and horizontal stripes create the illusion of additional width. Your room will look significantly bigger no matter the direction of the stripes!

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Invest in Furniture Pieces With Legs

Invest in Furniture Pieces With Legs

Although this is a more expensive hack, it’s the perfect tip for a first-time furniture buyer. So, if you’re moving into a space that’s small and you’re worried about your home feeling cramped, pay attention to the furniture that you purchase.

Instead of buying furniture that sits directly on your floor, purchase furniture with legs. This will elevate your furniture and draw the eye upward. This little trick creates the illusion of more light and space in a room

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Paint Your Ceilings

Paint Your Ceilings

It’s natural to cover your walls with paint, but it’s not as natural to cover your ceilings with paint. That being said, we want to change that. Painting your ceiling is just as acceptable as painting your walls. It may be a little more difficult, but the results will be so worth it.

A painted ceiling will draw your eye upward and make your room seem so much bigger than it really is. A ceiling painted with a pop of color or covered with a trendy wallpaper will totally reinvent your space and change the look and feel of your room.

(Image via Midjourney)

Hang Sheer Window Treatments

Hang Sheer Window Treatments

Natural light will completely transform your space. Earlier, we mentioned completely forgoing window treatments to let as much sunshine in as possible. If that wasn’t for you, this tip may be more helpful.

Sheer window treatments are the perfect solution for those who want both natural light and curtains and/or blinds. This way, you won’t have to give up all of your privacy. Yes, you can have both!

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Create the Illusion of Space With Clear Furniture Pieces

Create the Illusion of Space With Clear Furniture Pieces

See-through furniture like tables, chairs, and nightstands are a must-have. This is a trend that is loved by many home decor gurus. You can find transparent furniture pieces at almost any homegoods store.

We recommend transparent furniture because it creates the illusion of space in your home. These pieces are harder for our brains to immediately notice, which is why they make our homes feel more open and spacious.

(Image via Midjourney)

Purchase Round Furniture Pieces

Purchase Round Furniture Pieces

If you’re looking for a new dining room table, kitchen table, or coffee table, we have some advice for you—avoid furniture with sharp edges. While square and rectangular pieces are still trendy, there are other options that work better in small spaces.

Round furniture is ideal for small homes and apartments. The elimination of sharp corners and angles prevents the walls from feeling like they’re closing in. Instead, your home will feel extremely open and spacious.

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Follow the Rule of Thirds

Follow the Rule of Thirds

In photography, there’s something called “the rule of thirds.” Although we’re not talking about photography, this rule still applies. It’s an easy way to identify focal points in a room and to help guide you when styling and decorating.

The rule of thirds prompts you to split your room into three equal rows and columns. From there, you balance out your furniture and decorations/accessories into three sections. Doing this will heighten and widen the look and feel of your room. Just be careful not to over-clutter your space when practicing this rule.

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Style Monochromatically

Style Monochromatically

There are so many different ways to style your home, one of them being by styling rooms monochromatically. This term refers to styling with a single hue. Monochromatic color schemes use a single base color and extend it through different shades, tones, and tints of that same color.

By doing this, you’ll make your smaller area seem larger. Utilizing different shades of one specific color will add depth to your home and create a sense of unity in the space.

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