Many of us have at least a room or two in our homes that we wish were larger. But if you do have a small room, it’s possible to make it look and feel bigger by selecting your flooring carefully. Changing the flooring can make a huge difference to the look and feel of any room, and the effect may be even more dramatic in a small space.
While small rooms have their challenges, they also offer advantages. For example, the cost to replace carpet or other flooring is less than for a bigger room. This allows you to consider a wider range of flooring options and maybe choose higher-end options that would be out of your budget to use on a larger area. You may even be able to save significant carpeting costs by opting for a carpet offcut rather than a custom-cut carpet.
Whether you’re considering carpet, tiles, timber, or other flooring options, there are a few tricks you can keep in mind that will create an optical illusion to make your room look larger.
1. Choose Light-Coloured Flooring
You’re probably wondering, “What colour floor is best for small rooms?” Lighter colours will help a space to feel bright and airy, reflecting more light to create the visual effect of a larger space. “Light” doesn’t have to mean white—pale neutral shades of grey, cream, or even beige will go well with any wall colour and blonde or bleached timber flooring works well too. The disadvantage of a light-coloured floor is that it will show up dirt more easily, so opt for a tile with a flecked pattern or carpet with texture to make it more practical.
2. Choose Dark Flooring
Do dark floors make a room look smaller or bigger? It may sound counterintuitive, especially as it’s the opposite of the first tip, but in actuality, both light and dark floors can make a room look bigger. A dark wooden floor or deep brown or grey carpet with light-painted walls will make ceilings seem higher, opening up a room that might otherwise feel cramped.
3. Go Bigger
So, what about tiles? What size floor tiles make a room look bigger? Large format flooring—big tiles or wider planks with fewer seams—will give the illusion of a larger space. Small tiles can create a “busy” feel, which can easily overpower a small space. It’s also a good idea to keep grout lines as narrow as possible and choose a grout that’s the same colour as the tiles, or avoid tiles altogether and opt for carpet.
4. Use the Same Flooring from Room to Room
Rather than treating each room as a space to be decorated separately, use one carpet or flooring option throughout the entire level to create a continuous and flowing look. This can be really effective at opening up small spaces, as it eliminates the visual barrier between rooms.
5. Plan Plank Layout Carefully
If you’re installing hardwood flooring or synthetic wood-effect flooring in planks, it pays to consider the shape of the room before you start laying the flooring. As your eyes will naturally follow the line of the planks, you can change your perception of the space by laying the planks in various ways. Laying planks diagonally will make a room feel more spacious, or you can install the flooring horizontally to widen a narrow room.
6. Consider Textures and Finishes
While the effect may be subtle, choosing a gloss-finish tile will reflect more light than a matte tile. This can help to make the space look bigger, particularly if there isn’t much natural light in the room.
7. Keep it Simple
In general, when you’re choosing flooring for a small space you should avoid bold patterns with lots of contrast and stick to simple solid colours or subtle textures. Just as lots of small tiles will create a busy feeling in a small room, so too will intricately woven carpets and patterned tiles.
Make the Most of Your Space
With a little planning and the use of a few design tricks, you can easily make the small rooms in your house feel more spacious.
If you need more help choosing your flooring, don’t hesitate to contact the team at Jagers Carpets for some expert advice. As a carpet supplier with over 40 years of experience advising customers and installing carpet and other flooring in offices, houses, and apartments, we know a thing or two about how to transform a space. You can also check out our client gallery to get an idea of how different flooring options look in different rooms.
Browse our selection of high-quality carpets, rugs, and vinyl flooring online, or stop by our carpet store in Camberwell or our Moorabbin warehouse to see more options and get face-to-face flooring advice.