Ever watched a home design show on TV and been amazed by the transformation a few simple tweaks make to a room? If you’re struggling to save space in your home, you don’t need an interior design degree to make a small room feel bigger. Check out these tips to make any room in your house feel and look bigger.

Living Room: Use Light Paint Colors & Double Duty Furniture

When choosing a paint color, pick light, neutral tones. Darker colors make a room feel cozier, but also more enclosed. Painting your walls and trim, like crown molding, with similar colors can also expand the room.

Store electronics, like your television, DVD player and game consoles, in an armoire so they’re out of sight to decrease clutter. Cut down on the amount of furniture you need in the room by purchasing multi-functioning pieces, like a trunk that doubles as a coffee table.

Kitchen: Embrace Minimalism & Slimmed Down Tables

Natural light can enlarge your space, so remove heavy curtains and use minimal window treatments to allow more light into your kitchen. Try not to store appliances and utensils on the countertops as clutter can make a room appear more crowded.

If you don’t have a lot of extra space for a kitchen table, try installing a fold-down one instead. When you aren’t using it, it stores flat against the wall. But when it’s time for dinner, pop the table up and you have seating for your meal.

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Bedrooms: Create Space With Shelving & Mounts

Shelving can make a room appear larger if you hang it high near the ceiling. Floor to ceiling shelving not only draws the eye upward and expands the area, it also gives you a lot of options for storage that don’t use floor space.

Mount your lights on the walls instead of sitting them on your furniture. This clears up space and helps get rid of clutter on your nightstand.

Bathroom: Utilize a Similar Color Scheme & Wall Storage

Try to keep everything in the same color scheme. Paint your ceiling the same color as your walls. Install tile that’s similar to your paint color. When everything blends together, it creates a streamlined backdrop and creates the illusion of more space.

Utilize your wall space by installing storage options. Attach multiple towel racks to the back of your door, put narrow shelves over your toilet and hang baskets to store toiletries that would normally clutter up your vanity.

Try some of these tips and let us know how they work for you!

Deborah Abrams Kaplan

Deborah Abrams Kaplan is a health and medical writer who works at a standing desk. She believes that everyone should take charge of their own healthcare and not be afraid to ask questions. She hopes that her writing empowers people to do that. You can see more of Deborah’s work on her website, and follow her on Twitter @friscokids.

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Get more information about specific health terms, topics and conditions to better manage your health on bcbst.com. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee members can access wellness-related discounts on fitness products, gym memberships, healthy eating and more through Blue365®. BCBST members can also find tools and resources to help improve health and well-being by logging into BlueAccess and going to the Managing Your Health tab.