The Painting Hack That Creates The Illusion Of More Space In A Crowded Area

We all want our homes to feel spacious, airy, and comfortable, but random niches and entryways that close spaces off hardly make them more inviting. Like any awkward obstacle, crowded areas need attention if you want an open atmosphere through the entire room. No, you won't have to knock down walls and remodel. Instead, you can lean on clever painting hacks to fake more space with minimal investment.

You may already use some painting principles to create the illusion that small household spaces are larger. Light colors like shades of white reflect light to expand the room, while glossier paints brighten the area. Painting the ceiling the same color as the walls can also blur dividing lines and extend the walls. Then, there are off-beat painting schemes to trick you into seeing the room as being bigger. Stripes can make walls seem longer or taller, depending on their orientation. Meanwhile, making a wall two-toned, with a lighter color on top extending to the ceiling, will spread the ceiling's area for a wider, longer look.

Two-toned segmentation lets you choose where room sections visually begin and end. And it can work vertically, too! Instagram user @my_littlewood_home supplies an intriguing before-and-after highlighting the illusion you can create by extending an accent wall's paint around a corner. It's perfect for making a narrow nook appear wider and less crowded. With a thoughtful color choice and a few added design details, this upgrade will be sure to make a stylish statement.

With this hack, a narrow recessed corner gets wider with a paint job that wraps around the adjacent wall. For an attractive contrasting accent in the corner area, pick a color that is a little lighter or darker than the surrounding walls. Measure how far down the wall you want to extend it to make the space look bigger. Mark points at the top and bottom of the wall, and run a line of painter's tape from the ceiling to the baseboard. Paint the wall the desired color, making sure to remove the tape when the paint dries to the touch. For flawless paint lines, you can also seal the painter's tape with the original wall color before painting the new color, which also prevents bleeding.

With the line painted, you can decorate to enhance the space and blend the walls. As @my_littlewood_home shows, centering art on the line adds an artistic transition between the wall colors. The designer also sneaks in another neat trick to make the corner look larger, using a mirror to reflect the space and extend it past the walls (which is the simple addition Joanna Gaines uses to make a small bedroom look bigger).
To further open the area as much as possible, keep clutter to a minimum. Using monochromatic decorations can also make the small area feel less broken up, giving it a more extensive appearance. All it takes is a little inspiration (and some extra paint), and you can give any crowded corner more space in just a few easy steps.