The Color To Avoid If You're Hoping To Make Your Small Room Feel Larger

When you're designing a small room, it can go one of two ways. You can make the space feel like a cozy haven, or it can come out feeling like a cramped room that's closing in on you. One of the main elements that dictates the final feel is the wall color, as it can make or break your design vision. For smaller rooms, lighter hues that make a space feel brighter and airier are generally the go-to if you're hoping to make a small room feel larger. Meanwhile, darker colors can create the opposite effect, particularly if you do the whole room in these shades. One such paint color that will make a small room feel even smaller, instead of visually expanding it, is burgundy.

Famed for its rich tones that can make a space feel luxurious and inviting, burgundy is commonly featured in modern interior designs. That's why it's not odd that you'd want a piece of its grand impact in your home. Still, how you incorporate it in a small room makes all the difference between an intimate oasis with a cozy atmosphere and a boxed-in, unwelcoming space.

While burgundy can infuse a space with some warmth and drama, you should avoid oversaturating a small room with this shade, as it can quickly become overpowering. If your main goal is to make a small room appear larger with paint, painting your walls a lighter color is the easiest and most impactful way to do so. Think neutrals like shades of white, cream, or light gray. These hues instantly create an illusion of space by reflecting both natural and artificial light, making any room feel larger.

Still, a small room painted burgundy doesn't necessarily have to feel cramped. If your heart is set on this color or you've already painted your small room burgundy, the key to making it less overwhelming is to balance it with lighter tones. For example, you can introduce lighter furniture and decor pieces to offset the bold walls, or decorate with mirrors to create a reflective effect that makes a space feel larger. Limit your incorporation of burgundy to only one feature wall, if possible. This way, you can have the best of both worlds — a bold focal point that adds some depth to the space and neutral walls that make sure your small room can still breathe.