How to Make a Narrow Room Look Wider With Wood Floors

Choose light wood instead of dark wood to open up the space. Lay the planks in the same direction as the longest wall in the room; otherwise you’ll highlight the lack of width. Install the widest planks available to make the room appear wider.

Put down a light-colored rug if you can't afford to customize your wood floor. Choose a striped design to emphasize width. Situate the rug so that the stripes run parallel to the longest wall of the room, mimicking the effect the floor boards would have.

Paint the walls cool colors that appear to recede and have a spacious feel; light green, light blue and violet are good choices. Avoid warm colors such as orange, red and yellow that make the walls seem as if they’re closing in. Paint the shorter walls a shade darker than the longer walls to create the illusion of depth. Paint the trim on the short walls darker than the wall color, and paint the trim on the long walls lighter than the wall color. This makes the short walls appear to move inward and the long walls appear to move outward, seeming to square out the rectangular shape of the room.

Paint the ceiling lighter than the walls to make it appear as though the room stretches farther than its actual parameters. Don’t choose a different color; instead, fool the eye by using a slightly lighter shade of the same color used on the walls to mimic a natural widening of light.

Strategically arrange the furniture on diagonal angles. This creates the illusion of depth and makes the room appear wider.

Choose narrow, streamlined furniture that shows clear space between the bottom of the furniture and the floor. By maximizing the amount of visible floor space, the floor seems wider than it really is. Continue the trend by using glass-topped furniture wherever possible. Use metal accessories and mirror placement to reflect light and open up the room.

Install several lights around the room, to create “zones” that give the space depth and texture. Opt for multiple overhead lights, wall sconces, table lamps and tall floor lamps.