How to make your home look larger - from the ground up

Here are some tips to make your home look larger - from the perspective of your floor.

1.  Use same flooring material and color across rooms.  Whenever possible, continue that same surface across rooms.  Here in the northeast and mid-Atlantic, hardwood is the preferred surface, and this by the way is one of the reasons we are seeing the trend to add hardwood to the kitchen - by continuing the same surface, you connect the space and it just looks larger.  But, whatever the surface, try to be consistent wherever possible.

2.  Use lighter colors.  Lighter makes the space look larger.  Same goes for walls.

3.  Use wider planks.  Wider makes the space look larger.  Same goes for tile - larger tiles make the space look larger.  (BTW, parquet hardwood makes the space look smaller, so stay away from this and stay away from small tiles)

4.  Lay your floor on a diagonal.  Regardless of whether you have tile or hardwood, this will make your space look larger as it carries your eye along the longest length (remember trigonometry - the hypotenuse is the longest side of the triangle).  It will also make your space look more visually intriguing.  Note: if your room or space is very rectangular, sometimes a straight lay across the longest length is a better option, but usually diagonal is a much better choice.

5.  Declutter.  The more you can see the floor and walls and space, the cleaner, neater and larger you space will look.  Consider throwing away some of the knickknacks and maybe even getting rid of a piece of furniture.  Won't cost you anything.  Maybe give to your kids if they are in college or donate or sell on ebay. 

Those are my thoughts for the day.

Oh, and below is example of some Brazilian Walnut on a diagonal.  Not my first choice for area rug and in fact area rug is a bit too large for the space.

Hardwood Flooring - Carpet - Tile/Natural Stone - Laminate - Refinish Hardwood - Backsplashes

Debbie Gartner, President and Owner

Floor Coverings International in Westchester NY/ Stamford CT

You can download our free flooring guide.  Or, visit our flooring selector - 2,000 options for hardwood flooring, carpet, tile. Call us for a free estimate 914-937-2950. 

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