When renovating a room, we often put more importance on the different structural changes and additional fixtures. However, the walls ⁠— one of the most overlooked parts of room renovations ⁠— actually have a huge impact on a room’s depth, appeal, and overall feel.

In our post ‘Top 7 Pros and Cons About Living in a Small House’ we mentioned that while small houses are cozy, less expensive, energy-efficient, and easier to maintain, living in a small space might make you feel constrained and limited. This is where your walls come in. By being strategic with your wall paint, decor, and material, you can create the illusion of a bigger space and make your space more liveable. With that being said, we’ve listed three tips below that you can use when renovating your walls to make your room look bigger.

A Lighter Paint Color Can Make a Room Look Bigger

If you feel like your room is too stuffy and you want to make it appear more spacious, you can repaint your walls with a light color. For starters, stark white is an obvious choice when choosing a light color for your walls. However, Gabrielle Savoie suggests on MyDomaine that you should jazz up your space with the appropriate decor in order to add personality to a white room. If you don’t want to risk having a dull, white room, you can go for other shades of white like eggshell or cream.

If you’re looking to repaint your bedroom and add more dimension to it, sleepy hues of blue or gray are best as these cool-tone colors can help induce and improve sleep. On the other hand, lighter hues of warm colors like blush pink can help brighten up a small room ⁠— making it perfect for communal spaces like the living room or dining room. If you decide to repaint a room with lighter shades of warm colors, be sure to complement it with natural light and neutral tones of sand, beige, and ivory.

Make a Room Pop with an Accent Wall

Simply put, an accent wall is a single wall that is painted differently from the rest of the room. Laura Rudd states on HomeServe Living that accent walls are a cost effective way to add a pop of color and change the dynamic of your room. When choosing a color for your accent wall, stay away from neutral colors as they won’t make your room stand out. Instead, be sure to look for a bright and vibrant color that complements the rest of the room. For example, rooms painted with blue shades can look more inviting with a bright orange accent wall.

A Stylish Wallpaper Can Elevate Your Room

If you’re repainting a room or adding an accent wall but you feel it is a little too simple for your taste, you can choose to use a luxurious wallpaper design that can both help elevate the look of your room and visually modify the dimensions of your space. However, you need to be careful when choosing what wallpaper to use as you can easily make your room look dated by choosing the wrong motif, color, and design. Livingetc reports that this year’s key wallpaper trends include panoramas, geometric shapes, and chintzy florals. When pairing decor with a room with wallpapered walls, be sure to pick out minimalist designs in order to avoid making your room look cluttered and cramped. ⁠

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I write about small space design and decorating, sustainable furniture options, positive self care and a variety of do-it-yourself home décor.

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Michael is Principal designer and blogger at Michael Helwig Interiors in beautiful Buffalo, New York. Since 2011, he’s a space planning expert, offering online interior e-design services for folks living in small homes, or for those with awkward and tricky layouts. He’s a frequent expert contributor to many National media publications and news outlets on topics related to decorating, interior design, diy projects, and more. Michael happily shares his experience to help folks avoid expensive mistakes and decorating disappointments. You can follow him on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook @interiorsmh.