Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen reveals the items you need in the corner of a small room

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has shared a simple trick that will make a small room look bigger, something that at Ideal Home we're always trying to do. The maximalist interior designer and Changing Rooms host explains that by disguising the corners of your room, you can create the impression of a larger space.

Small living room ideas come with various challenges, and once the Christmas decorations are out, things can quickly become 'utterly clutterly', as LLB would say. However, as Laurence explains, it's all about distracting the eye.

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen's small space trick

'There are simple bits of science, which is that our minds become confused in a room if our eyes can't see corners,' says Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. 'If our eyes can see corners then our mind knows exactly what size the room is.

'But if you can find ways of disguising corners, hiding corners, drawing the attention of the eye to the middle of the wall rather than the edge of the wall, that will always help significantly,' he explains. He comments that we've grown up in the Western architectural tradition, which is all about right angles. 

Whereas in the Eastern tradition you get a lot of circular and curved spaces, which can feel bigger than rooms with lots of edges. So, how do we work with what we've got?

Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen suggests straightforward things like displaying a tall plant (a Kentia palm would work well with its arching branches and tropical vibes). Or he says you could simply have a light in the corner of the room.

The Changing Rooms star says a table lamp in the corner of a room turns that corner into a light rather than a dark space, making the room feel less constricted and more spacious. Living room lighting ideas not only blur the edges but also set the mood and make a room feel more warm and welcoming.

As he says, it's about finding ways of drawing the eye away from the edges and making it harder for the eye to accurately assess the dimensions of the space.

What do you think? Will you be trying this visual trick at home?

We spoke to Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen for the launch of his book, More More More: Making Maximalism Work in Your Home and Life, at Amazon.