This has certainly been a year unlike any other. We’ve all gotten used to doing more from home — celebrating holidays, working, exercising and more.

But spending more time at home can make anyone feel a little stir crazy, especially if your apartment is also your office, gym and recreational space.

With COVID-19 still an unfortunate reality and more potential lockdowns to come, we thought it would be helpful to provide some tips on making your apartment feel bigger.

As winter approaches and we spend more time inside, we hope these tips will help make your home feel roomier, more comfortable and less confining.

Ways To Make Your Home Look Larger

Design Tips

• Hang mirrors. This visual trick can make a room appear larger by reflecting light and color and creating depth. Place them in areas to help extend the room, and position them lengthwise for the best effect. Positioning a large mirror across from a window will help distribute more light throughout the room.

  

• Paint the walls a light color. Check your rental agreement first, but if you’re allowed to paint then opt for light, air colors like white and light grey.
• Use light colors for your rugs and décor as well. Coordinating your furniture and other décor with the paint color will help the space feel brighter and more open.
• Face furniture toward a window, if possible. When you’re sitting on a couch or chair, you’ll feel less cramped and cooped up if you can look out a window.
• Purchase furniture with skinny legs and tables with glass tops. Having desks, tables, dressers, beds and other furniture off the ground gives the illusion of space and makes the room feel more airy. Glass tops allow more light to flow through the room so that it feels larger.
• Leave a few inches of space between your furniture (such as your bed, couch and table) and the wall. This creates the illusion that the wall is farther away than it actually is. This guide can help you position your furniture the best way for your space.
• Don’t block windows or doors with your furniture. Clear windows create the illusion of depth and add more light to the room, which helps it feel larger.
• Use the correct sized rugs for your space. This rug guide can help you choose the right ones for different rooms. Striped rugs or other furniture can also help elongate a room.

  

• Hang large pieces of artwork, and hang them lower than usual. This can also help draw the eyes upward so that the ceilings feel taller.
• Use lighting strategically. Don’t solely rely on overhead lighting — lamps can make your space feel bigger by drawing the eye around the room. Article has a lot of cute, affordable floor lamps that will help light up dark areas of your space.
• Avoid heavy drapes. If you need curtains for privacy, choose sheer ones that will still let plenty of light in. For bedroom curtains aimed at keeping light out, full-length curtains starting at the ceiling can help your walls look taller.
• Make a small bathroom feel larger and more luxurious with upgraded light fixtures, bright colors and cozy décor. Check out our tips on sprucing up an apartment bathroom.

Organization Ideas

• Purchase furniture that can be used for double duty. A table that can be used as a desk or an ottoman that can be used as a coffee table and/or storage are great examples. The fewer large items you have in a room, the larger it will feel.
• Create separation with room dividers. While you may not have a dedicated office or gym within your apartment, you can use room dividers to create a feeling of separation and give you privacy. A bookcase room divider can also serve as additional storage to keep the room organized.
• Create a platform bed with storage, or purchase an ottoman bed. You can make your own with storage drawers or cubbies to store out-of-season clothes, blankets, sheets or other items.
• For additional floor space, consider a lofted bed. It’s not that difficult to build your own loft to suspend your bed in the air, which can give you additional floor space for a desk or storage underneath. Just make sure to follow these loft dos and don’ts and make sure you have plenty of headroom.

  

• Hang a shelf over your bed for storage and/or décor to avoid cluttering side tables and free up floor space. You can also purchase or build a headboard with storage built in.
• Use open shelving, but keep it neat. Displaying your items on shelves, as opposed to using closed drawers, can also create depth and make the space feel larger. Avoid overcrowding items so your shelves don’t look cluttered. Drawing the eye upward with shelves can also make ceiling heights appear higher and windows larger.
• Build a fold-down table that can be put away when you need extra space. This DIY wall-mounted folding table serves as adorable seating for two when open but can be easily folded up when not in use to give you additional space. When folded up, it can serve as wall art or even a space for a calendar or chalkboard for to-do lists.
• Use a rolling cart to organize items in your kitchen, office or living room. Rolling carts are helpful for small spaces because they can easily be transported to any room and used for multiple purposes.

What are your tips for making a small apartment feel larger? Let us know in the comments below.