If your home or apartment is a little small, you'll know every trick there is to making it look bigger. Unfortunately, those tricks begin and end with 'paint the ceiling white and put mirrors on everything'.
But if walking into your hallway is like stumbling into a funhouse and your home still feels a little squished, there are in fact a couple of extra steps you can take to make your interior feel a little more spacious, as well as introducing an ultra-modern take on your decor.
Just ask Mike Hackworthy. As the partner and designer as Sofa Design, Mike knows a thing or two about hulking a large leather sofa up a tight set of stairs - and he also knows how to make such a key piece of furniture work in a cramped room. And as he notes, he also knows a thing or two about setting about making your interior appear larger.
"For a really modern look, contrast softer, muted tones on walls with block colour fabrics for sofas and curtains," he says. "Wooden or laminate flooring also enhances this bold ambience and can create a more spacious feel - ideal for smaller rooms."
One of the best features of this design trend for contrasting block coloured fabrics with muted tones on feature walls is its flexibility - and in choosing those colours, homeowners can take hints from the fashion world.
"Fashion is always a good influencer of interiors and this is where some really unique styles come from in terms of shape, material and colour," says Mike. "A really unique statement piece can suit any home - a contemporary style could work really well in a period home if, for example, the colour or texture ties in with the rest of the decor to blend the differences."
Another way to make the most of a cramped room - and stay on trend - is by minimising the headroom taken up by dangling light fixtures and fittings. Choose flush ceiling lights for your living or dining room, and bathroom ceiling spotlights for a wetroom or bathroom, to sit flush against the ceiling and provide plenty of light for even the smallest room.
