How to make your home feel bigger – without making structural changes (2023)

If your home has been feeling a little crowded and cramped lately, you've probably been wondering if making structural changes is the best solution. Fortunately, it doesn't have to be, and there are surprising numbers of ways to learn how to make your home feel bigger without structural changes, that will do the job at a fraction of the price.

Extending is great, but it's a costly venture that simply isn't within reach for a lot of people. Kitchen extension costs for example are pretty high, and that's just one room of the house. So if it's at all possible to learn how to make rooms feel bigger without breaking the bank, we say bring them on.

'If your home is tight on space, there are several easy ways to make your space more functional, without having to make any major changes,' says Matthew Currington, Technical Director, The Lighting Superstore (opens in new tab).

We've asked the experts to tell us all so that we can help you transform tight spaces into gloriously spacious living areas. Whether you're working with small kitchen ideas or small bedroom ideas (or both), our guide shares tips from leading industry experts that can be applied to any room in the house.

How to make your home feel bigger without structural changes

If you've been wondering how to make your home feel bigger without structural changes, you've come to the right place. Many of the ideas in our guide are budget-friendly but effective, and implementing just one or two of them will make a world of difference in how big your home feels.

1. Declutter and organise

Making a room look bigger without structural changes begins with a good declutter. 'Clutter makes spaces feel smaller and less usable, so it’s important to make sure you keep your home clutter-free if you want to make it feel bigger', says Lee Trethewey, Interiors Expert, Sustainable Furniture (opens in new tab).

So start first with getting rid of anything you don't need - if you haven't used it in the last year, you're probably not going to use it in the next either. Equally, anything that is out on display that isn't adding value to the space can go too. Keep display items to a minimum; it's better to have fewer, larger statement pieces placed carefully around the home, than lots of little knick-knacks springing up everywhere, which is a sure way to make your rooms feel overcrowded.

Large vases, bigger picture frames and statement clocks are all stylish, simple ways to decorate without compromising your sought-after spacious feel.

2. Lighting is key

It's probably no surprise that lighting will make a huge difference to how big or small your house feels. Good lighting has the power to give walls and ceilings the appearance of being higher than they actually are, and on the reverse side, it can physically draw the walls inwards and make a room feel smaller.

The hot new lighting trends for 2023 will give you plenty of inspiration, but it's just as much about how you position the fixtures as it is the fixtures themselves. 'Wall sconces with uplighting are a good choice, as they don’t take up any floor room,' says Chris Bawden, Lighting Expert, Simple Lighting (opens in new tab). 'If you already have a floor lamp which can be angled, point it up rather than down. The same goes for table lamps.'

Ceiling lights can be tricky to navigate if you have low ceilings or a small room. Ideally, you don’t want anything that will dominate a cosy space, or anything you could walk into, so ditch the idea of a chandelier.

Chris says, 'Flush ceiling lights are a good alternative for low ceilings. If you do want to have a pendant light, choose something small which doesn’t make your room look cluttered, or hang it over a dining table or a kitchen island instead.' Pendant lights without a shade are a good option, and work particularly well with modern kitchen ideas.

3. Consider internal glazing

Another way to learn how to make your home look bigger without structural changes is to install internal glazing, either as a wall or a door. If your kitchen is separated from your dining or living area with a solid door, consider replacing this with a transparent alternative to create an open-plan kitchen. This will dramatically increase the feeling of spaciousness in your home.

'Internal glazing is a great solution for modern family life as it allows homes to maintain functional, separate rooms whilst enabling natural light to freely flow through the space,' explains Victoria Brocklesby, COO, Origin (opens in new tab). 'This makes rooms appear bigger than they actually are.'

Glass sliding doors are a more costly investment than standard doors, but they maximise the all-important flow of light and definitely help make rooms feel bigger, so they're well worth considering.

4. Choose soft colours for walls and ceilings

'To make a small room look bigger it’s always a good idea to opt for nice, bright shades,' says Chris, Simple Lighting. 'This doesn’t mean everything has to be magnolia, but I would steer clear of dark walls and busy statement wallpaper.'

Light, neutral colours on the walls will maintain an airy feeling in the room, whereas deeper and darker shades will have the opposite effect. And don't make the mistake of thinking that lighter paint on the walls is a boring style choice; there are plenty of beige living room ideas that will create an enviable front room, for example.

'Painting skirting boards and window frames to match the wall colour is also a simple but stylish touch for the living room,' says Justyna Korczynska, Senior Designer, Crown (opens in new tab). 'Not only does this create a contemporary, monochromatic look, but it's also an easy way of creating the illusion of bigger walls, making the room a whole appear more spacious.'

5. Maximise your storage

When learning how to make rooms feel bigger, storage is your best friend. In every room, maximise storage possibilities by utilising your furniture and fixtures. For example, kitchen island ideas can offer space to store larger kitchen appliances that don't need to be out on the worktop all the time, as well as your dinnerware and cooking pots. Living room storage ideas will help to create a visually calm and enlarged space by concealing everyday items.

In small bedrooms, make the bed go beyond its purpose as a snoozing spot and turn it into a storage space as well. 'If you’re not keen on exposed storage boxes underneath a bed,a storage bed or ottoman bed is a great option', says Jonathan Warren, Director and Bed Specialist, Time4Sleep (opens in new tab). 'They'll provide you with a hidden storage space to reduce clutter that’s effectively the same size as your bed.'

Consider incorporating a mixture of hidden and open storage in each room for visual variety; too much open storage will make a room look cluttered, but too much hidden storage can make the space feel uninteresting.

6. Mirrors on the walls

Who said that mirrors only belong in bedrooms and bathrooms? The best mirrors can bring glamour to any room in the house, and their light-reflecting qualities make a dramatic difference to how big a room feels too.

Take care with where you hang your mirrors. A mirror opposite the door will immediately make the space feel bigger as you enter. Don't place your mirrors too high or they'll only reflect the ceiling rather than the rest of the room.

'Consider propping your mirror onto a mantelpiece or shelf as an alternative to hanging it so the mirror hangs lower,' says Amy Wilson, Interior Design Expert, 247 Blinds (opens in new tab) & Curtains (opens in new tab) . 'Propping small mirrors onto shelves and windowsills helps extend the line of sight beyond the items placed around them and works particularly well if you pop something metallic in front.'

7. Opt for blinds over curtains

If the windows in your home are currently fixed with curtains, consider swapping these for blinds instead. Blinds are better at letting light from the window flood a room, and will instantly make a space feel brighter and more open. They take up less space than curtains as well.

'Venetian blinds, pleated blinds and roller blinds can easily be fitted snugly into the recess of a window, creating a beautiful window withouttaking up additional space in a room,' says Oliver Hudson, Blinds By Post (opens in new tab).

Like with paint colours, opt for light blinds over dark. 'Whilst you may want to match your blinds to existing interiors, choosing darker blinds can make a room look much smaller,' says Oliver. 'When choosing light and fresh colours such as light grey, beige, white or cream on the other hand, you can make a space look much more open and bigger.'

8. Make your space multipurpose

Try not to see the rooms in your house as serving completely separate functions. Instead, work with the space you have and use one area for multiple things. Small hallway ideas can still produce a lot of storage space for outerwear etc., and you can even create an ample office area by using a console table as a desk.

'Consider using shelves to differentiate between living and sleeping spaces,' says Matthew, The Lighting Superstore. 'A bamboo screen or curtains hung on a tension rod are ideal for helping to separate the spaces too.'

He adds, 'consider a movable kitchen island to maximise space in an open-plan kitchen. This is ideal for extra kitchen storage and use as a dining space.'

9. Place shelves up high

Smaller spaces benefit from shelves sitting higher up the wall than usual. 'This gives the impression that the room is taller, and therefore bigger than it really is,' explains Lee, Sustainable Furniture. 'The lower the shelving, the more compact any room feels.'

Placing photos and framed pieces of artwork on these shelves will naturally draw the eye upwards and add height to the room. The same applies if you're hanging any decor on the wall; place it a few inches higher than planned and you'll be surprised at the difference it makes.

'Don’t go too high, it isn’t supposed to be really obvious, and you don’t want to get a sore neck from looking up all the time,' says Chris from Simple Lighting.

10. Be smart with flooring patterns

'You may not be able to take on structural change to your walls and floors, but you can look to change its appearances to give the illusion of a larger room,' says Carolina Hansson, Head of Design, Luxury Flooring & Furnishings (opens in new tab). 'You want to pick patterns that give the appearance they are extending the size of the floor. Solid Wood or Engineered Wood flooring styles are great to achieve this.'

If you're still wondering how to make rooms look bigger after trying all of the ideas above, switching out your flooring could be a worthy investment. It won't take as long as proper structural changes, but it will make a massive difference to the overall feel of the space. Wide plank flooring is cost-effective, as you need less of it to fill the room. Like with paintwork, stick to lighter colours so the rooms appear brighter.

How do you make a house feel bigger than it is?

When learning how to make your home look bigger without structural changes, minimalism is key; you want to avoid clutter as this quickly makes a room feel overcrowded. Streamline your decor, and stick to fewer pieces that can make a big statement on their own.

Look also at your colour schemes. Focus on light colours to brighten up each room. 'Bring in areas of a pale colour that will reflect the available light – this could be in stripes or a series of checks or squares,' says Justyna, Crown.

'Whatever shade of paint you opt for on your walls, make sure your ceiling is painted at least one shade lighter,' expands Chris, Simple Lighting.'This will create the effect that your ceilings are higher and make your room look light, bright and spacious.'

Go big on lighting fixtures too. 'Consider creating a layered approach by combining dimmable ceiling lights with floor lamps and wall sconces,' suggests Rebecca Snowden, Interior Style Advisor, Furniture And Choice (opens in new tab). 'And let natural light in through sheer curtains or lightweight blinds.'

What makes a house look smaller?

The quantity of light is the biggest determiner of how big or small a room looks. To the human eye, more light equals more space, and less light equals less space. Anything that prevents light from flooding into a room, such as a heavy pair of curtains, will make it feel significantly smaller.

'Large curtains and blinds can make a room seem smaller and can also take up quite a bit of essential space,' suggests Thomas Goodman, Property Expert, MyJobQuote (opens in new tab). 'Instead, choose simple window stylings such as a roller blind. A light coloured roller blind can work well in ensuring the room stays light and airy.'

'Light is important in making your home feel big, and this doesn't stop at lighting,' says Lee, Sustainable Furniture. 'Opt for light shades on the walls instead of dark, as the darker the walls, the closer they feel to each other and therefore the smaller any room feels.'

Playing around with lighting and colour tones is crucial when learning how to make rooms feel bigger; you'll be surprised at the difference they make, and they're so much more cost-friendly than making structural changes too.