by Monica L. Garrett

Created on: July 01, 2009   Last Updated: July 07, 2009

Making your house seem bigger and more spacious is easily attainable. It takes very little expense and just one weekend of focused work to master this project. Your home will be more welcoming because of lack of clutter and confinement. Read on to discover the focus areas that will make the most difference in your home as well as supplies and tasks to finish your project.

Focus Areas are the main problem areas that create a tight, confining feeling in the room. Common focus areas are:

Large, bulky furniture - large furniture overpowers small rooms. Move these pieces to the largest rooms in the home.

Cluttered areas - most clutter can be eliminated by recycling unwanted items.

Rooms with dark walls and dim lighting - lighter and brighter colors liven up a room and create the feeling of more space.

What you'll need:

Paint (Choose bright, neutral colors)

Plastic storage containers (For storing items that you don't want to get rid of but want to keep for special occasions or due to sentimental reasons)

Decorative mirrors - mirrors make small spaces seem larger.

To Do List:

Clean out a closet, junk room or garage to create a new storage area. Dispose of items you haven't used in over a year that serve no immediate purpose and have no sentimental value. You can sell these items at a yard sale, online auction sites, such as eBay, or post a listing on Craigslist for local pick up. To dispose of items that you don't need money for and that could be useful to others, try posting them on Freecycle.org.

Select one room as a starting point. Choose a room that you spend a lot of time in, such as, the family room, living room, dining room or kitchen.

Set up a work station consisting of a plastic storage container for items that you want to keep, but can be moved to storage. Next, add a cardboard box to collect items that you can give away, sell or recycle. Lastly, get a large trash can for items that can be thrown out.

Work your way around the room removing anything that can be thrown out, recycled or given away. Package up seasonal and rarely used items and pack in your storage container. Label the storage container and move to the storage area.

With unwanted items removed from the area, reassess the situation looking for furniture that can be moved or removed completely in order to create additional space. If this is a room that has dark or stark white walls, you may choose to repaint using a bright, neutral color. Once all large and bulky items are minimized, find empty wall space and add a decorative mirror. Mirrors maximize space in a room.

Repeat these steps for each additional room. You'll be amazed at the results and you'll soon be enjoying a brighter, roomier home.

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