Illusions Expand Cramped Rooms

LEXINGTON (Saturday, August 13, 2005) - What small rooms lack in space is limited only by the size of your imagination.

And it doesn't require a major makeover. Renovation and interior design experts say the "space-deprived" can get by easily on shoestring budgets, loads of desire and minimal construction.

"Oh yes, we get questions all the time about, 'What can I do with my small room?'" says Andy Villasana, an interior designer in St. Louis. "But there are ways to fool the eye."

Such sleight-of-hand involves color, finish details and even the placement of furniture and accessories.

Small room-itis is especially prevalent in older houses. Jack Beckman of Housedoctors.com says older houses were dictated by function, not supplementary value. Vintage homes often have 8-foot ceilings, whereas today's houses have ceilings 9 or 10 feet high.

A ceiling is the first element to go dark in a room in the evening, and coupled with the petite space tends to "pull down" or accent the low room height. Beckman suggests crown molding for the illusion of height. He also recommends sconce lamps or fixtures to bounce light off the ceiling.

Villasana and Beckman both favor a change in wall color from dark tones to lighter shades. Villasana also says a simple color palette throughout the room is best to avoid a clash of hues. Paint wood trim a secondary light tone to remain consistent in the color approach. The trend toward light shades extends to carpet or other flooring materials.

As long as you take a path toward lighter colors, extend the tone-on-tone trend to furnishings. Villasana suggests less reliance on patterns and florals and more consideration of textures. The furnishings should be in scale to the volume of the room.

The big-room trickery also extends to window treatments. Villasana says if a window is 3 feet wide, the curtain or drapery rod should extend at least 1 foot on each side to exaggerate the size of the window. The length of the treatments can also extend well below the sill.

If you can take only a few steps toward room amendments, settle on wall color first, Beckman says.

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