How rugs can cast the illusion of space

Make it bigger: how rugs can cast the illusion of space

Rugs don’t only provide a decorative centrepiece or colourful anchor for your room – they’re also great at casting illusions, chiefly, the illusion of space.

If you have a small room that feels suffocating, employing the right rug could be the perfect way to lift it – making it seem larger, cosier and freer. Here are our 5 top tips for picking the right rug(s) for maximising your space.

Use Lighter Shade Rugs

Darker colours make already-small rooms feel even more enclosed: light, however, is expansive, so use rugs with plenty of pale colours in them to make the room feel freer and airier.

Try Multiple Rugs

Try having two or three rugs in your smaller room, as this helps create the feeling that there are multiple spaces in there (hence, making it feel larger). This is a particularly useful tactic for smaller apartments – we at TLHRC often see open-plan interiors, so this segregating trick often comes in useful.

Match Pallets

Use the same shades, patterns, and/or plain colours as this makes the space visually coherent, all elements bouncing off each other, which ultimately helps the room feel more open.

If your floor, wall and ceiling are the same or similar tones, then the viewer’s mind will perceive it as continuous, visually tricking them thus opening up the space. Those who have laminate or stone flooring – invest in a rug with similar tones to the rest of the room to help create this stable harmony.

Have any tips of your own? Feel free to share your discoveries over at The London House Rug Company’s Facebook page