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House Beautiful reports that designers recommend seven paint approaches for making small rooms feel more spacious or more intentionally cozy. The suggestions include painting an accent wall, color-drenching walls and trim, extending color onto the ceiling, and choosing shades based on a room’s light and undertones. These are design recommendations, not guaranteed results; the effect depends on the room and the paint choice.
House Beautiful has published seven paint ideas from interior designers for making a small room feel more spacious, including color-drenching, painting the ceiling, and selecting shades with a room’s natural light in mind. The report presents these as ways to influence visual perception, not as changes to a room’s actual dimensions or guaranteed outcomes.
The designers quoted in the report say paint can affect how people read a room’s boundaries. Joe Waroquier, founder and principal designer of Joe Waroquier Home, describes paint as a way to change the visual perception of space. Amber Guyton, founder of Blessed Little Bungalow, says painting can make a room seem to have fewer visual limits.
One lower-commitment option is an accent wall. Guyton says a contrasting wall can add color and visually lengthen a room. At the other end of the spectrum, designer Jewel Marlowe recommends applying one color across the walls, trim, doors and ceiling. She says this color-drenching approach can blur the lines between architectural surfaces. Marlowe suggests varying finishes, such as matte walls and high-gloss trim, for added visual interest.
The other techniques are to consider paint undertones, carry wall color onto the ceiling, paint only the lower portion of a wall, explore dark hues, and let natural light guide the palette. Guyton says a half-painted wall can add color without covering the full height; Waroquier cautions that pale shades with warm, muddy undertones may not create the bright effect some people expect. He recommends testing large swatches in the room at different times of day.
How Paint Changes Room Perception
For renters and homeowners working with limited floor area, paint offers a relatively direct way to change a room’s visual character without moving walls. The report’s advice also challenges the assumption that light paint always makes a room feel larger: the designers discuss both pale and saturated colors, including dark shades that they say can soften perceived corners and create depth.
These techniques serve different goals. An accent wall or half-height treatment may suit someone seeking a measured dose of color, while color-drenching creates a more unified look. Painting the ceiling can reduce the visual break between walls and the overhead surface. None of the approaches adds usable space, and the effect will vary with lighting, proportions, finishes and individual taste.
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Seven Approaches in the Report
The House Beautiful report draws on comments from Waroquier, Guyton and Marlowe. Its seven suggestions are: paint an accent wall; use one color across multiple surfaces; check undertones; paint the ceiling; split the wall color at a partial height; consider dark, saturated hues; and choose colors with the room’s natural light in mind.
The recommendations are not all prescriptions for making a room look bigger in the same way. Color-drenching and ceiling painting aim to soften visual boundaries, while a half-wall treatment is presented as a way to add a pop of color without committing to a full-height application. The designers also frame darker colors as a possible choice for a cozier, more enveloping feel, rather than promising that every dark shade will make every small room appear larger.
““Paint is a great way to make a small room feel larger because it changes the visual perception of the space.””
— Joe Waroquier, founder and principal designer of Joe Waroquier Home
Results Depend on the Room
The report does not provide measured evidence comparing the techniques or establish that one method works best across all small rooms. Its claims are designers’ guidance and professional judgment; perceived results can depend on room shape, existing light, finish, furnishings and the color itself. The supplied material also does not specify the article’s publication date.
It remains a matter of individual preference whether a room should feel more open, more dramatic or more cocooning. Waroquier’s recommendation to test large swatches at different times of day offers a practical way to assess a color before making a broader commitment, but the report does not give product-specific instructions or guarantee a particular result.
Test Colors Before Painting
Readers considering one of the approaches can begin by identifying the effect they want, then testing candidate shades on large sections of the room. Check those samples under different natural-light conditions and alongside existing trim, flooring and furnishings. For a bigger visual change, the report suggests considering how walls, doors, trim and ceiling work together; for a smaller commitment, an accent wall or partial-height treatment may be more suitable.
The immediate next step is a room-specific choice rather than a single universal formula. The supplied report does not announce a follow-up study, product launch or other scheduled development, and it offers no objective measure for how much larger a room might appear.
Key Questions
What is the main development in the report?
House Beautiful published seven designer-recommended paint techniques intended to affect how people perceive small rooms. The suggestions include accent walls, color-drenching and painting the ceiling.
Does the report say small rooms should always be painted white or a light color?
No. The designers discuss light and dark shades. Waroquier says a soft neutral or more saturated color may work better than stark white in a room with little natural light, while Marlowe says color-drenching can use either light or saturated colors.
What does color-drenching mean here?
It means using one color across several surfaces, such as the walls, trim, doors and ceiling. Marlowe says the approach can blur the visual boundaries between those surfaces.
How should someone choose a paint shade for a small room?
Waroquier advises looking beyond whether a color is light or dark: consider its undertones and the room’s natural light. He recommends testing large swatches in the room and checking them at different times of day.
Source: housebeautiful.com
