Opt for a fixture with easy lines that is big enough to make an impact.

Bring the Outdoors In So your bedroom has access to outdoor space? Lucky you! Keep the link to the outside with drapery panels and window treatments that framework the view rather than distracting from it. "Utilization window treatments made from fabric with subtle details and texture, and be sure you can pull the panels all the way back," explains Karla Amadatsu, founder of the British Columbia design firm Kerrisdale Design. The length of this draperies should just barely touch the floor; this permits you to see the joys of the flooring under the drapery panels connecting the indoor area to the outdoor area. When window remedies break and puddle on the ground, she describes, they give your attention a place to stop and create a branch.

Believe Horizontal Minimizing color distraction about the walls glass shower doors toronto . flooring and furnishings is one of the means that Linda McDougald, lead designer in the South Carolina-based company Postcard from Paris, created this very small bedroom feel bigger. Another important visual tip she used was to include horizontal timber planking into the walls. "The room already had a great deal of height," McDougald says, " to balance it we added planking, which fools your eye into thinking the distance is wider than it is."

Get to the Art of the Problem Strategically hanging art is one of the easiest ways to make a room appear bigger. The art gives your attention something to concentrate on beyond the physical perimeter of this room and has the effect of expanding space. "Do not overload the walls," warns Allison Marvin, an art consultant whose business, Sightline, is based in Washington, D.C. "The more you put on the walls in a little room, the smaller the distance will feel" Rather, select a few bigger pieces and set them on different walls around the room. Doing this makes your eye move around the room and you notice the architectural constraints of the space less. When hanging art over a mattress, Marvin recommends maintaining the artwork inside the width of the bed itself and hanging it around six to eight inches over the headboard. Layout by J.D. Ireland Interior Architecture Design

Emphasize Height If you are blessed with high ceilings, take full advantage of these and choose a tall mattress to anchor the room. "The elevation of the bed calls attention to the quantity and height of the ceilings," explains Melanie Miller, ASID, president and creator of The Design Atelier at Atlanta. To pull off the effect, select a delicate mattress with a great deal of architectural interest in order to add height. A bed with no footboard, which visually marks the end of the bed, ensures you will not be adding heft to the space. "A wooden four-poster mattress will look heavy and control too much care," she clarifies.

Choose Cool Colors We have said it countless times before: trendy colors make walls recede and have the effect of expanding a room, while warm colors make rooms seem cozier. But did you know that white paint comes in cool hues and warm hues too? "Using trendy white onto the walls is sharp and makes the room feel spacious," states Miller who paired the walls with blue tones and earthy neutrals, providing this bedroom a beachy vibe. As she puts it, the color scheme is really what makes this room feel light and airy.

Be Bold Pale walls and furniture that's light in scale obviously make a room seem larger, but that does not mean that big, bold furnishings do not have a spot in small rooms also. In fact, according to Los Angeles-based interior designer Betsy Burnham, including drama with colour and choosing furniture that's slightly oversize can give a feeling of spaciousness as well. "Using colour in balls on furniture with increased scale enables you to look closely at the pieces inside the room, which means you are not considering how little the space really is," she explains. By highlighting one or two items, your eye will visit those bits and not the constraints of this distance. "Embrace the space you have," she states, and pair super-dramatic colors with simpler accessories and bedding.

Work Pattern The same holds for routine: A deliberate program in a small room can enable the circulation of the space and fool your eye into thinking there is more to the room. To pull it off, you have to get a great deal of natural light in your area, advises San Francisco designer Angela Free, and be very restrained with the positioning of pattern. Skip putting pattern on the mattress, which might be overpowering in a small space. "The patterned carpet and window treatments have been tonally related," she explains, "so there is a connectedness which makes the space feel calm and not active."

Be Understated Stay away from huge applications of pattern, like the wallpaper above, and select topics which are subtle and not as visually jarring. Too many accent colours and wood tones chop up the space and make you notice where one architectural element (like a door) ends and another starts.

Hang a Chandelier If you are set on a more conventional bed with a headboard and footboard, lighting is another way to emphasize the high ceilings. "Dropping a ceiling down fixture is a great way to apply elevation in a space and make the room feel bigger," states New York-based interior designer Jana Happel. The chandelier brings your attention up and leaves your gaze bounce around the area. Opt for a fixture with easy lines that is big enough to make an impact.

Get a Leg Up Who isn't trying to find a way to eek more storage in the bedroom? Bedside tables don't have to be wimpy small stands that are hardly big enough to hold a pile of books. Substantial pieces with drawers add needed storage, aid to keep surfaces clean and also provide plenty of room to get a reading lamp and decorative touches such as a relaxing image. But take care when selecting these bits; a torso that sits right on the floor will make your little room look even smaller. Instead, look for tables or dressers on thighs, advises Laurie Woods, ASID. "If a desk is on legs," she explains, "you find the ground extending under the furniture which helps to visually expand the space" Same goes for a table that has an open shelf by which you can see the wall: It gives the piece a floating feel and takes your attention to the back wall instead of quitting your gaze in the front of the table.

Stash Extra Materials "Nothing closes you into more than clutter," notes designer Betsy Burnham. "It is really important to maintain surfaces clear and also have space to breathe or for your eye to proceed," she adds. Furniture that has concealed storage is a fantastic way to keep things neat and clean. Stay away from hefty pieces like leather storage benches that sit on the floor and opt to get a footed bed with storage drawers similar to this one from Crate & Barrel. The built-in storage is similar to getting six dresser drawers, and since the bed is on toes you still get air circulating underneath, so it will not visually overwhelm the room. Maintain your bedding tightly tucked under the mattress to keep up the streamlined appearance.

Get Floored To attain a more spacious feel in just an afternoon, switch out your patterned rug for one in a light color. The light oatmeal-colored carpet that San Francisco designer Martha Angus chose for this bedroom features a subtle interlocking diamond and tassel design. "It moves the light round the area," she notes. "It is just like a bounce light in a fashion photo shoot. The light in the windows reflects off the carpet and on the glistening furniture, making the space look light and airy."

Reflect the Light When designer S. Voula Goutsos of the Vancouver design company Olive E O took on this particular room, the mirrors were in place. "We chose to maintain them and work around them, since they revealed what was going on out," she explains. (What was happening outside was an amazing harbor view, on which anybody would want to capitalize.) "The mirrors carry the sightlines outside of the bounds of the actual physical area of this space and, of course, they reflect light, but I also enjoyed them since they gave a sparkly feel to the space." To achieve this look, employ mirrors straight to the surface of the wall, and then frame them. Go to get a symmetrical arrangement, Goutsos urges, to create equilibrium and calm and, naturally, only put mirrors at a spot where they will reflect something beautiful.

Connect with the Remainder of the House This large dim panel in the rear of the bedroom is really a sliding barn door. Architect Ron Sutton installed the big doors at the entrance to his bedroom instead of a more traditional framed doorway. "The doorway opens up the entire room to the stairwell and other areas of the house," he explains. "It expands the space since the landing becomes a part of the space, but more importantly, it generates another direction of light that dances around the space and makes the room feel really large." Obviously, Sutton was able to style his own contemporary dream house, but making a more open room can be completed in a traditional house also. If you've got the capacity to switch the entry door to your bedroom, opt for a wider-than-average doorway or perhaps a pocket, both of which will make you feel as if the space is bigger than the space itself.

Skip Table Lamps "If a lamp comes from the wall," says Sutton, "it frees up space on the bedside table." Meaning, if you truly don't have space for big nightstands, don't clutter them together with lamps. Sutton recommends picking sconces with adjustable arms. "You do not have to be as precise about placement, if the lamps themselves can adapt," he says.