Top 5 painting techniques to make a room look bigger

With the right coat of paint, you can transform a small and bland room into an inviting space with no remodeling required.

Although paint can’t add any extra square footage to your home, it can make the rooms in your home look larger and airier, so you’re not feeling claustrophobic. There are several paint techniques the pros use to open up smaller rooms in your home and make them feel a bit larger than they really are. 

In this post, the professional painters at Spectra Painting Contractors will break down five of the best techniques we use to make rooms look more spacious but still inviting and stylish. 

Here are 5 paint techniques you can use to make a room look bigger

1. Use the same color all over

Using one color throughout your interior is nearly a foolproof way to make your rooms appear larger. 

Designers suggest coating the walls, ceiling, and trim in one color to help your eye move around the space undisturbed. This rule goes for one room on its own as well as adjoining rooms that are close together or that share wall space. Although using only one color seems like it could look a little boring, you can liven up the room with different accents, textures, and finishings. 

Also, just because you’re using one color doesn’t mean you can’t experiment with materials throughout the space to break up some of the visual monotony. For example, paint a brick wall the same color as your walls and ceiling or add some painted board and batten around your room to break up the flat wall texture. 

2. Don’t be afraid to add an accent wall:

If you want to break up an otherwise monotone room, you can add a bold and contrasting accent wall toward the rear of the room to attract your eye deep into the room. That way, you’ll force all the focus to the back of the room, making the room appear larger. 

Accent walls don’t have to be just a different paint color. You can also have fun adding a masonry wall, board, and batten, a large painted mural, or a fun wallpaper.  

If your room has some interesting architectural features that you’d like to highlight, paint those features a different color than the rest of the space to make them stand out. On the other hand, if you want to hide something in your room, you can keep it all one color for some easy and affordable design camouflage. 

3. Use a medium-gloss paint rather than flat:

The right sheen to your paint color can help make space look bigger by effectively spreading the light. 

Paint that has a higher sheen, like an eggshell or semi-gloss, can brighten up a dull room since it will reflect more light than matte or flat paint. Flat paint will make a room feel cozy, but if you want to make your room look bigger, adding a bit of gloss can bounce light around and open up the room. Glossier paint finishes are also great in bathrooms and kitchens because they are better at withstanding stains and moisture. 

Be sure to test out different paint colors as well as different sheens in your room before deciding on what paint to use. Paint sheen, like color, can change in appearance depending on the light you’re viewing it in and the time of day. 

4. Add some stripes around the room:

Stripes are a simple and versatile way to trick you into thinking a space is much larger than what it really is. 

Vertical stripes on the wall can make a room appear taller with higher ceilings, while horizontal stripes make a room appear longer and larger. 

You can play around with different kinds of painted accents, or you can use other techniques to create linear features around the room. Hang long curtains by your windows to create vertical lines in your room, or use wallpaper with a vertical pattern to draw attention upwards. For horizontal lines, install wood wainscoting along the lower portion of your walls or molding along the top of the walls near the ceiling.  

5. Consider trying out a darker wall color: 

While light colors are often the go-to when you want to open up a room, some designers say going dark could be a better idea, according to an article on MarthaStewart.com. 

Designers suggest trying darker colors in rooms that do not get a lot of natural light. Dark colors will blur the boundaries of your walls, ceiling, and architectural features, so the room appears more cohesive. 

Darker colors are fun to try out in bathrooms since you have a little more design wiggle room in those spaces rather than rooms with lots of decor and furniture.

Some popular color options for darker shades are soft black, dark gray, or navy.

Spectra Painting Contractors is based in the greater Boston area. You can learn more about paint and home improvement on our blog.