A tiny house can have you feeling like a rat stuck in a cage. While buying a bigger house would be the perfect solution, unfortunately it's just not in the budget. Until you hit that windfall and can purchase the mansion of your dreams, there are a few solutions to make your home feel more spacious. 
  

   
No, they don't involve building on extra rooms or knocking down walls. In fact, you can fool the eye into thinking a room is bigger with a few simple decor tricks.
 

1. Lighten up

Not your attitude -- the walls. That's right, painting rooms in pastels or light neutrals makes a room look more open. However, if you love rich, dark colors you don't have to give them up completely. Rather than painting the whole wall in a dark shade, use this color for the bottom half and open up the space by painting the top half of the wall in a pastel or white.
 

2. Get Reflective

Adding mirrors is a really simple way to make the space look bigger. Glass surfaces reflect light, opening up the room. Don't be afraid to use a combination of reflective surfaces. A glass side table paired with a few mirrors can make a huge difference. 
 

3. Join Forces

Take a tally of what purpose each piece of furniture in the room serves. If the room has two chests of drawers, narrow it down to one. In fact, make things really easy by choosing furniture pieces that also double as storage units. Or create storage, by slipping pretty baskets or decorative boxes underneath already existing furniture.
 

4. Go Big

Strange but true, big furniture makes a room feel bigger. This doesn't mean stuffing the space with oversized pieces. Pare down the room and put the focus on one or two prime units. This could be a regular sized sofa and a large hutch in the living room, or a queen-sized bed and a wardrobe in the bedroom.  
 

5. Make a Clean Start

De-cluttering is the quickest way to make a room look and feel bigger. Have an extensive magazine collection? Get rid of it. Are your shelves stuffed with books and knick-knacks? Pick your favourites and ditch the rest. In a small room, less stuff means more space. The more space you have between furniture pieces the bigger the room feels.
 
Change is always tough. Even simple switches in decor, like painting, can be time consuming. Not to mention the fact that getting rid of well-loved items is sometimes heartbreaking. However, having a house that feels twice as big as it did before is well worth it.
 
By Megan Mostyn-Brown