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4 Ways to Make A Small Room Look Bigger
About three months ago, I moved into a new apartment in center city Philadelphia.  This is my first place post-college, and when I say it’s small, it’s small–like 600 sq. ft. small.

When it’s just me in the apartment, it’s fine.  But given my downtown location, I tend to get a lot of visitors on the weekend.  After about a month and a half, I decided I needed to do something about it.  If I couldn’t physically make the apartment bigger, I could at least give it the illusion that it was big enough to fit my friends.

So, with that said, here are four ways that I made my apartment a little bigger.

Multi-Function Furniture
I’ve found that the ability to do more with less makes a big difference in a small apartment. I recommend taking advantage of furniture that can be used for more than one function.  Here’s the different types of multi-function furniture I used:

  • Ottoman that can be used as both a seat and a coffee table.
  • A TV stand with tons of storage space
  • A pull-out couch

Mirrors
Lining your walls with mirrors may seem a little dated décor-wise, but just by adding a couple mirrors.  You can angle your mirrors towards a focal point of your liking to add depth.  Decorative mirrors also reflect natural and artificial lighting, brightening up the room and making it feel bigger.

Try to find mirrors with a nice frame on them.  They can add a little bit of style to the room as well as the illusion of depth.  If you’re on a budget, be sure to check out flea markets and yard sales–that’s where I got mine.

One Big Couch
With a small apartment, your initial instinct may be to use small furniture.  However, multiple pieces of small furniture can quickly make a room look cluttered.  Instead, try using one big couch as the focal point for your room.  This will likely provide the same amount of seating with less clutter (if you need more seating try using a dining chair as an additional one for your living room as well).  Also, look for sofas with small arms (no arms also work).  Bulky arms take up a lot more space than you’d think.

Lighting
Unfortunately, with a ground-floor apartment, my natural lighting is limited.  However, I try to let as much natural light in as possible through my tiny window.  If you can, I highly recommend using natural lighting and doing so in conjunction with your mirrors.  If you’re like me, though, using some strategic artificial lighting can help just as well.  Light up different areas of the apartment–bookshelves, entertainment centers, tops of kitchen cabinets, etc.  Also, if you’re in the mood to paint, using light colors can really open up a room.

Heather Beleno is a part of an elite team of writers who have contributed to hundreds of blogs and news sites. Follow her @HeatherBeleno