 | Linda Warrington
has been in sales and interior design for 25 years, and employed by Horton's Furniture for l8 years. Linda has designed furnishings and murals for the Eaton Place in Wichita's Old Town business district as well as Chaucer Estates, Park Plaza West and Via Christi Executive Suites. Linda also owns her own mural painting business called 'Just You'. She can be reached by phone at (3l6) 722-5090, by fax at (3l6) 722-596l, or by mail at l09l5 W. Kellogg, Wichita, Ks., 67209. |
Interior Decorating
2003-05-01 14:10:00
Making small rooms larger
: How can I make a small sitting room appear larger and uncluttered?
Linda Warrington
Question: How can I make a small sitting room appear larger and uncluttered?Answer: Keep it simple and keep it light. Furnishings that are smaller in scale will visually take up less space. Using curtains or blinds as close to the wall color as possible will also enlarge the feel of the room.If storage is needed, consider thinking vertically. Delight the eye and maximize storage by covering a wall with floor to ceiling shelves painted the same color as the walls or in a natural wood that blends with the wall color. Books, collectibles and other treasures can be stored here without sacrificing the feeling of space. Don't rule out wallpaper as it has a personality of it's own and expresses your own nature, just watch out for size. Smaller prints and stripes can be very effective and add warmth to a small room without looming over the inhabitants.Furniture might include a pair of loveseats with a small cocktail table positioned between, perhaps sitting on a pretty patterned area rug. If the table has a glass top the eye will travel through the glass to the patterned rug and visually, take up very little space. Remember to use colors you love with no regard to "what's in", after all, in just a short time it won't be "in", but it will still be there. Expressing yourself with color is a great way to decorate, just limit your choices in one room to three and no more than four colors and remember, don't overdecorate, your not compelled to fill every inch of space.Another great space creator is a mirror. Mirrors visually double the size and light in a room reflecting light and energy. Collections of various size-framed mirrors makes an interesting wall arrangement or mirror an entire wall for a real room expander - wow - you won't believe your eyes. An unframed mirror works great for a contemporary setting but traditional décor calls for pretty framed mirrors. If your décor is traditional and you want to mirror a whole wall, consider panels of mirror framed with traditional molding that has been stained and tacked to the wall around the mirror panels. Get excited and get to decorating. I hope these ideas will inspire you.
