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    Make accessories fewer and larger, and make art pieces and mirrors as large as possible. Photo courtesy of Libby Langdon Interior Design

  • libby langdon living room

    One dark wall makes the room recede farther. It makes it look like there’s more space in your room. Photo courtesy of Libby Langdon Interior Design

  • libby langdon dining room

    Hang drapes all the way up to the ceiling. This adds scale and luxury to the room. Photo courtesy of Libby Langdon Interior Design

  • libby langdon

    “You have to give yourself permission to use color,” says interior designer and TV personality Libby Langdon. Photo courtesy of Libby Langdon Interior Design

  • libby langdon bedroom

    Get a high headboard for your bed. This is a visual trick frequently used by Las Vegas hotels. A footboard, however, will take up too much space—both physically and visually. Photo courtesy of Libby Langdon Interior Design

  • libby langdon dining room

    Curves work better than angles in small spaces. Photo courtesy of Libby Langdon Interior Design

  • libby langdon small spaces book

    Libby Langdon, design expert on HGTV’s Small Space, Big Style and author of Libby Langdon’s Small Space Solutions, offers simple tricks for making the most of your small spaces. Photo courtesy of Libby Langdon Interior Design


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Libby Langdon, design expert on HGTV’s Small Space, Big Style and author of Libby Langdon’s Small Space Solutions, offers simple tricks for making the most of your small spaces. Photo courtesy of Libby Langdon Interior Design

 

Don’t Be Afraid to Add Color to Small Spaces

“If you want to add personality to a room, paint is the fastest way to add panache,” says interior designer and TV personality Libby Langdon. “Keep the furnishings neutral and put the color on the walls.” And when you’re selecting paint colors, consider this visual trick: Paint one wall in the room a darker color. “One dark wall makes the room recede farther,” says Langdon. 

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  • Libby Langdon’s 6 Rules for Living Large in a Small Space

    Libby Langdon, design expert on HGTV’s 'Small Space, Big Style' and author of 'Libby Langdon’s Small Space Solutions,' offers simple tricks for making the most of your small spaces.

    by Jennifer Sellers

    “Small is the new big,” says interior designer and TV personality Libby Langdon.

    Those words couldn’t be more true to the many Americans who are leaving their McMansions for smaller, lower-maintenance abodes. Fortunately, downsizing space does not mean downsizing style. “Living with less doesn’t mean living without luxury,” says Langdon. “You can live beautifully in a small space.” As America’s best-known small space designer, Langdon shows us just how to achieve slimmed-down style in any room.

     

    1. Color Is Your Friend

    It’s easy to think bold colors might overwhelm a small room. But in reality, color can be a big helper—adding aesthetic appeal and tricking the eye. Langdon, always the color advocate, encourages people to have fun with paint and not be afraid of bold colors. “You have to give yourself permission to use color,” she says.

    “If you want to add personality to a room, paint is the fastest way to add panache,” continues Langdon. “Keep the furnishings neutral and put the color on the walls.” And when you’re selecting paint colors, consider this visual trick: Paint one wall in the room a darker color. “One dark wall makes the room recede farther,” says Langdon. “It makes it look like there’s more space in your room.” And if it helps, says Langdon, don’t think of dark colors as “dark;” think of them as “rich.”

     

    2. Shapes Matter

    While bold colors are encouraged in a small space, bold patterns aren’t. Langdon says to keep big, bold designs off furniture and window treatments when decorating a small space.

    One shape you might want to consider, however: vertical stripes. “Stripes will elongate a room,” says Langdon. So if your room doesn’t have towering ceilings, try striped wallpaper or a striped pattern with paint. Or, keep your walls a solid color and go with striped window treatments.

     

    3. Avoid Bulky Furnishings

    If you’re buying furnishings for a small room, you’ll want to avoid big, puffy furniture, says Langdon. “Don’t ‘biggie size’ your furniture,” she says. “Slimmer lines don’t take over a room; however, oversized furniture crowds a small room and makes it seem tinier.”

    This approach doesn’t box you in to just contemporary and modern furnishing styles, if that’s your fear. “Cleaner and sleeker doesn’t have to mean modern,” says Langdon. “You can find these attributes in many design styles.”

    One caution Langdon offers when it comes to selecting streamlined furnishings: “Curves work better than angles in small places.” She also recommends furniture with legs when furnishing smaller areas. This allows air and light to pass through, she says.

     

    4. Layer Your Lighting

    A sure way to make your room look smaller is to not light it effectively. The remedy for this, says Langdon, is to create layers of light in your room. You don’t want just overhead lighting, you want lamplight as well. And a brilliant way to add additional lighting depth is to add lights to cabinets and shelves or buy furnishings with built-in lighting. “You have less space, avoid putting any of it in darkness,” says Langdon.

    And when it comes to natural lighting, there’s no better way to maximize it than to use a mirror to your advantage. “A mirror directly opposite a window is like hanging a new window,” she says.

     

    5. Think Vertically

    In a small space, always be thinking “up.” Vertical design creates the illusion of a larger room, says Langdon. She offers several ideas for decorating vertically: “Instead of using short shelving and cabinetry, have cases or built-ins that extend all the way to the ceiling,” she says. “You also want to hang drapes all the way up to the ceiling. This adds scale and luxury to the room. “

    Another vertical tip: Get a high headboard for your bed. “This is a visual trick frequently used by Las Vegas hotels,” says Langdon. A footboard, however, will take up too much space—both physically and visually, she says.

     

    6. Accessories Are Allowed—in Moderation

    Small doesn’t have to equal sparse. Just be sure to use your room’s accessories wisely.

    “Make accessories fewer and larger, and make art pieces and mirrors as large as possible,” says Langdon. This applies to floor coverings too: “Add as large a rug as possible,” she says; “it adds a feeling of expansiveness.”

    And don’t think you have to box away your collections. Interesting accessories are more than welcome in a small space, just be sure to group them in one area instead of throughout the room. “Get credit for your collection,” says Langdon. “Focus it in one spot.”