Are you looking to change the feel of your room’s dynamics and dimensions? Well, the good thing is that you can manipulate the depth of your room using colours, which will save you the trouble of adding or removing a wall.

This guide will discuss different ways you can make a room appear bigger or smaller, using both light and dark colours.

So if you’re ready to give your space a makeover and manipulate its dimensions just by using colours then make sure to stick with this guide until the end:

Using Light and Dark Colours for Changing a Room’s Appearance:

You might not know this, but you can do both, make a room appear big or small with the help of both dark and light colours. It is not just dependent on the colour itself; how it is presented to the eye also plays a big role in deciding a space’s dimensions and depth. Below, we will discuss the different ways you can make your room appear big or small by manipulating the dark and light colours.

For a Bigger Appearance: Light Colours

It is a common notion that the use of light colours makes a space brighter and bigger. This is because light colours do not absorb the incoming rays of light. They actually reflect them, which makes the space feel more open and maximizes the effect of the natural light.

To have an optimal effect, you should go with the tones of blue, off-white, and green and make sure not to combine them too much with dark colours. Try painting the trim and mouldings of the wall with colours that are lighter than the ones on of your room’s wall.

By doing this, you will make the wall appear further back, which will portray the room as more open space.

For a Bigger Appearance: Dark Colours

It is true that the darker the tones of your room are the cosier and closed it will feel. However, assuming the dark colours only make a room appear small would not be fair because they can also contribute to making your room appear larger.

If the walls of your space have a deeper and darker colour, but you paint the trims with a lighter colour then the eyes will automatically notice the borders of the space. This will give the whole room a sense of enclosure and can make it appear smaller.

However, if you do not paint the trim with a colour that makes them stand out from the dominant colour of the room and actually make it go hand in hand with it, then it will feel like that your room just keeps going on. This will give it a sense of expansiveness.

For a Smaller Appearance: Light Colours

Just like many people believe dark colours make a space seem closed, some people believe that light colours are only be used to make a space appear bigger. However, that is not entirely true. You can use warmer, brighter colours to bring a room closer to the centre. Colours like the shade of yellow can heat up the room while combining it with a white ceiling can make the whole space seem more confined.

Furthermore, if you use a warmer shade on the ceiling, you can make the height of the room appear lower than it actually is. If you use warm, bright colours like red or orange, on walls and ceilings, be sure to maintain a balance by having a neutral colour floor.

For a Smaller Appearance: Dark Colours

The more light a room has, the bigger it seems, but that doesn’t mean that you block all-natural light sources to make the space cosier and just rely on wall scones for light. You can also achieve a more closed feel with the help of dark colours. Painting the walls and floor with darker colours can replicate the feeling of enclosure because darker tones absorb the light rays, so the less they reflect, the smaller your space will seem.

So instead of going for the cream or white colours, you can opt for duskier colours like deep grey, maroon, dark brown or forest green. To keep the colour scheme visually interesting and calm, you can paint the accent wall with purple or vibrant red colour as well.

You can also make a room appear big or small by adding or removing extra furniture. If you have painted it dark or light to make it deep or shallow, but you still haven’t achieved the look you were expecting, adding a few pieces of furniture can help.

You can add things like the ottoman footrest, a floor lamp, or a dressing table to achieve a cosier look or remove these things to make space feel bigger.