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Change a Room Size With Paint
Paint color is one of the simplest ways to change the appearance of the size of a room. Since different colors absorb light in different ways, by using darker and lighter colors you can make a room look bigger or smaller. As a matter of fact, you can actually create the illusion of having a wall move further away from you by using nothing more than paint.
Light versus Dark
In general, light colors tend to make a wall recede while darker walls tend to bring a wall closer, which closes a room in. Of course darker colors can make a room look warm and cozy, and lighter colors can make a room open and a little cold. However, when used correctly, either of these techniques can work to your advantage.
Warm Colors
Warm and cool colors also have an effect on how you see a room. Warm colors like yellow, orange and red tend to move a wall closer, while cool colors like blues, grays and greens tend to make a wall feel farther away. So you can actually use this optical illusion to reshape a room. For example, if a room feels too long and narrow, you may want to paint the narrow walls a warm shade of rusty beige to bring them closer together visually. Then paint the long walls a cool sage to visually open them up to give the room a more square and balanced proportion.
Contrast and Trim
Wall trim and molding can also dramatically change the look of a wall. If you paint the trim in a darker color than the wall, it will bring the wall closer to you. Conversely if the trim is painted a lighter color than the wall behind it, the wall will recede. A cool shade with light trim makes a room feel larger. To add to the illusion of a large and open space, keeping your furnishings the same color tones as the walls will keep the space visually unobstructed making it seem much larger than it actually is.
Shrinking a Room
On the other hand if you have a room that just feel vacuous and you want to bring it down to size, then you will want to bring the walls in and keep the ceiling lower. Painting the room in warm tones will help it feel more intimate, and using high contrast throughout will help define smaller groupings within the room making it feel more to scale. With rusty brown walls, you may opt for dark wood trim and dark furnishings and window treatments. Then rather than see the room as a whole, your eye will take in each furniture grouping individually giving the room a warm and inviting feel.
Bold Accents
Since they are typically saturated, bold accent colors are an excellent way to pull a wall in closer to change the size or shape of a room. By introducing a dark wall, you not only change the shape of the room, but you also add an instant focal point to the space. You can use your accent color to highlight anything in the room that you want to stand out.
About the Author
Working for years as a design consultant Angela Glancy has just joined http://www.americanartisanart.com/ where she plans to incorporate her decorating aesthetic for
large wall sculptures
and
contemporary metal wall art
.
Optical Illusion Art