How to Make Your Living Room Look 10x Larger in 10 Minutes Or Less

By DANIELLE BLUNDELL

Image Credit: Melanie Reiders

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In the same way certain items of clothing can accentuate your best features, decorative
accents and strategies
can also play to a living
room’s advantage.

Image Credit: Winkie Visser

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Want to make your small space seem bigger? 

Image Credit: Winkie Visser

These seven tricks will help your room gain a few inches—or just *look* like it did—in just a few minutes. Here’s how to make living room decorating magic.

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Maximize the Effect of  Mirrors

Image Credit: Melanie Reiders

Mirrors are not just for selfies! Strategically place a big one opposite your windows and watch your living room double in size. Okay, maybe not double—but the optical illusion
is real.

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Mirrors throw light around a space, and that’s always a good thing when it comes to opening up a room. Glass and lucite furniture can have similar effects, as well. 

Image Credit: Anthropologie

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Undress Your Windows

Image Credit: Brittany Purlee

Traditional curtains can feel dark and heavy, so let the sun shine in with lighter drapery fabrics. Try a set of sheers in lieu of blackouts in a living room or forgo window treatments altogether, so natural light can really stream into
your space.

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Make the Perimeter of
Your Room Pop

Image Credit: DIana Paulson

The easiest way to make your living room feel more spacious? Move all of your furniture that’s leaning against the walls out a few inches. Giving pieces like sofas, bookcases, and chairs that little bit of breathing room will help the whole room feel less cramped and more airy.

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Work Your Walls

Image Credit: Minette Hand

If you don’t have high ceilings, fake it ‘til you make it by mounting some shelves or a piece of art in the top half section of a wall. This will draw guests’ eyes upward, creating a sense of loftiness. Mounting your curtain rods a little higher than your window frames can also fool the eye in this way.

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Edit, Edit, Edit

Image Credit: Morgan Schemel

Apply the Coco Chanel rule to your living room: Instead of taking an accessory off before leaving the house, edit those small decorative pieces out of your living room. The more you can clear off surfaces and tabletops, the bigger your room will seem. 

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Get Rid of Cords

Image Credit: Jessica Isaac

Fewer wires means less visible clutter, which creates the illusion of a more streamlined space. In ten minutes’ time, you can install a raceway with drywall screws to hide your television cord. Zip ties and eye hooks can be used to control cables around a desk or entertainment center.

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Add Stripes

Image Credit: Magali Saberian

Vertical lines can be slimming because they elongate the silhouette. That same logic can apply to a living room when you roll out a striped rug or use striped curtains. Just make sure the lines are running vertically to maximize this effect with minimal effort.

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