Small room: light shades as the only option?
When it comes to choosing the color of a small room, white tends to be the option that comes to mind.
In a few seasons, the ecru color has imposed itself, and it is now the preferred choice in a room of modest dimensions. This shade of very light beige is indeed warmer than white, and it remains luminous.
Pastel colors offer a more cheerful alternative to light neutrals.
Neutrals and pastels are recommended in a small room because a small room is often dark and this type of light palette works best. However, a small room can benefit from a great luminosity, as long as it is equipped with generous openings and well exposed.
In a small bedroom – or in a small living room – the choice of dark colors is not necessarily to be avoided. This bold bias is discouraged, as it darkens the space making it appear smaller. In a small room, however, these deep shades create a sophisticated and very cozy atmosphere.
To determine the most appropriate colors in a small room, it is therefore important to take into account the configuration of the premises, as well as the desired effect.
Enlarge a small room with color: instructions
The use of color remains a simple and effective way to enlarge a small room when it is impossible to remove a partition. To pull it off, you just need to use two contrasting colors, and the safest option is to pair a color with white, but you can opt for a light neutral or a pastel.
The distribution of the color depends above all on the configuration of the room:
- To enlarge a room, combine colored walls with a ceiling as well as a light floor;
- When the ceiling is low, combine contrasting walls with the light ceiling, and a dark floor;
- To give depth to the room, opt for a dark colored accent wall, or paint the wall facing the door and the ceiling white, and apply the color to the left and right walls.
It should be noted that the time when walls were painted uniformly is over, and that’s good! Especially since the trend is for horizontal stripes, which create interesting vanishing lines to reshape the space, especially in a small room.
To achieve your effect, do not hesitate to opt for very contrasting colors, by combining white and strong color.
How to adopt dark colors in a small room?
Adopting dark colors as a total look in a small space is a radical bias. This option remains particularly interesting in the bedroom, to create an intimate and comforting atmosphere. Favor then the cold colors, and do not hesitate to adopt the shades, in order to bring a little relief to the decoration.
For an equally intimate, but brighter atmosphere, you can opt for a variation, by painting the ceiling and the accent wall in a dark color, and by adopting lighter shades for the other walls.
Warm dark colors are more difficult to adopt in a small room, as they can quickly become stuffy. To avoid this pitfall, avoid shades that are too dynamic, and prefer earthy shades such as ocher yellow or terracotta. Very current, they will work perfectly in a small room benefiting from a beautiful light.
In a small, less bright room, opt for the basement. This solution allows you to take advantage of the enveloping effect of dark colors, without darkening the room.
If you like to stick to trends, get started in a creative painting by drawing an arch or a circle on the wall. This trend is ideal in a small room: it’s a simple and effective way to give character to the decor when space is limited. It is also an opportunity to dare dynamic warm colors, without it being oppressive.
What if we dared to use bright colors in a small room?
If they are not recommended as a total look in small rooms, bright colors are very useful as an accent color. They are particularly vibrant in combination with muted colors such as gray or greige. It is then used to emphasize an architectural detail.
In this small living room, sunny yellow draws the eye to the arch and to the adjoining rooms, which enhances the perspective.
In a very small space, the combination of a vibrant color and white immediately gives a strong personality to the decor. We then fall for the gourmet shades of pink or orange, for a sunny yellow or even for a mint green.
This type of decoration is however very energizing: it will therefore be avoided in the bedroom and reserved for rooms such as the kitchen, the bathroom or the entrance.