Heather Nette King is a Melbourne-based interiors stylist and writer for many leading interior titles and newspapers. The hallmarks of her styling are colour and vibrancy, and she writes passionately about peoples’ homes and how they live in them.
I think that no matter where you live, and how you use the spaces in your home, most people will admit to wishing their rooms were just a little bit bigger. Whilst knocking out walls or adding extensions are a great solution, often this just isn’t possible, so we need to rely on tricks of the eye to help us create the illusion of more space.
One of the best tricks in the book is to increase the amount of light in a room, and to use that light to further enhance a feeling of spaciousness. The science is simple – lighter colours reflect the light and make a space feel more open, whereas darker colours absorb the light, making a room feel smaller and closed-in.
So, it makes sense that lightening the biggest surface spaces in your room – the walls and floor - is the best space-creating hack there is. Painting your walls in white, or a very pale hue such as cream, pale yellow, pink, grey or blue, and selecting light-coloured flooring - whether it be hardwood flooring, carpet, or a hybrid tile - will enhance the feeling of light and spaciousness, all without the expense and hassle of changing the building structure itself.
Australians have always taken on many international interior design trends and adopted them to suit our unique outdoorsy lifestyle. From the Scandi-style, with its love of pale timbers, to the modern-beach house look, which is bright and breezy, through to contemporary interior styles that are all about using pale walls, floors, window treatments, furniture and even accessories. Have you noticed how all the interior magazines have at least one featured home which is very pale, yet highly textured? It seems we can’t get enough of this stunning design movement.
In this beautiful Scandi-inspired room by Brosa, we can see how the natural light coming in through the arched window simply bounces onto the pale floor. Imagine that room with dark floors and a dark rug – it would immediately appear far smaller and less open. For a similar look try the gorgeous Capitol Rigid Core hybrid floor in Victoria Spotted Gum.
Now, look at this stunning modern beach house by Kate Walker Design. It’s beautiful light oak floors serve to enhance the feeling of space – see the light bouncing off them? Try Precinct Oak in the ‘Blonde Oak’ colourway to achieve this look.
Finally, how lovely is this perfectly pale home renovation by Three Birds Renovations? White walls, light flooring and pale furniture selections have created airy, dreamlike spaces – even the little mud room nook looks bigger than its actual size!
A vinyl floor such as the Daylesford extra-long planks in ‘Munro Tasmanian Oak’ would go a long way in achieving this look. The lighter floors are also wonderfully easy to keep clean as dust won’t show up as much as it does on darker floors. Remember to take home a few samples to make sure that you’re making the right selection for your own home - and good luck with making those rooms seems just a little but bigger, without having to resort to a sledgehammer!
FEELING INSPIRED?
View more of our Seasonal Trends articles or check out our Influencers Collaborations for more interior ideas and design tips.
