QUESTION: We have lived in a fairly large house (5,000 sq. ft.) for many years and now with the kids away at school and our desire to do the traveling we never had time for, we are seriously thinking of moving to a smaller home – maybe in one of the luxury high-rises that are going up all over town. We hear a lot about down-sizing these days, but we are concerned that the size of the rooms in these new buildings may feel too small for us. Are there ways that you can suggest to make small spaces seem bigger than they really are? It would help us to make the right decision.

Down-sizing certainly does seem the way to go these days for many people like yourself. They look around their home one day and suddenly they realize that it’s just all too much – too many rooms with empty beds, too much yard to take care of and just too much up-keep when they’d rather be off on a cruise or visiting with family and friends. They want to simplify their lives so that they have more leisure time to enjoy the things that they never seemed to have time to do before.

And yes, you’re right, the new high-rises generally offer floor-plans that are significantly smaller in square footage than most homes. They are more compact and you will probably wind up giving away, selling or storing a fair amount of your present furniture and possessions. If you’re like other people I’ve known making a similar move, you’ll probably be only too glad to finally be “traveling lighter” – just like when you were younger. A fresh start can be a wonderfully invigorating experience and I highly recommend it.

As a designer I am always helping clients with such problems as how to make a small room feel bigger or a large room feel cozier or deciding whether a small room is best with over-scaled furniture or smaller pieces. Does a room work best with lighter or dark colors – colorful patterned fabrics or a monochromatic scheme? And on and on. Of course a great deal is up to the client’s own personal taste and these questions are naturally dealt with on a case by case basis. But there are any number of “tricks of the trade” that I can pass on to you that might help you to make peace with the possibility of moving to a smaller space.

I suppose that the oldest and most fundamental quick fix for a small room that you want to enlarge (and you probably already know this one) is to mirror one or all of the walls. There is nothing that I can think of that will produce a space that appears to be double in size as quickly and as easily as the magic of the old mirror trick. And please, if it’s a contemporary home, no beveled edges are necessary.

As an example, in my former hill-top home in Los Angeles I had a very narrow entrance hall and when I mirrored the wall facing the door and then hung another framed mirror over that along with a pair of crystal sconces – abracadabra – the hallway was greatly enlarged – not to mention far more exciting! The same was true for a very small pantry that I turned into a powder room and mirrored the entire space and subsequently wondered why people seemed to linger so long in that particular area of the house! Guests loved it – the concept – and the view of the mountains outside the window that was reflected back into the room.

In my years in design I have noticed that people have a tendency to feel that a room just isn’t up to snuff unless every corner contains a piece of furniture. I am here to tell you that empty spaces can actually create the feeling of more space. Imagine that. The concept of less being actually more is not a new one. It was the design philosophy of the great furniture innovator, Mies Van Der Rohe, who espoused the value of “negative space.” It is the belief that one lives and feels best in an uncluttered environment and that the less you have the more elegant and spacious a home looks which can thus allow you to enjoy your finest things. You might keep this thought in the back of your mind as you pour over floor-plans for your new home.

Some other basic tricks that designers rely on when dealing with a small room is to use clear glass tops on tables whenever possible, especially with dining tables. The see-through quality of such tops will of course help to create a lighter and more open feeling for the space. Personally, I highly recommend round shapes for dining as one can fit more seats at a round table in a small space than any other shape. Even if the table base you use is heavy-looking, this trick will still work wonders for you.

And speaking of table tops, in my own design work I have had much success designing for smaller rooms by keeping the tops (other than clear glass) very thin and light in appearance and have achieved this by beveling the material underneath. For example, my own dining table is made of a solid slab of granite and yet looks extremely thin and delicate, despite the fact that it would take four or five men to ever move it, due to the under surface beveling – proof that a thin top will work best for a small or narrow room and won’t be overwhelming for the area.

Several more quick ideas that might help you: I have found that defying spatial logic, it is true that dark floors will make ceilings look higher and all dark surfaces will actually make small spaces look larger. Another well-known designer (Alexa Hampton, daughter of celebrated designer Mark Hampton,)) has had wonderful results by installing a light behind a valance on the window. She feels this draws the eye to the farthest point of the window wall, making the room appear bigger. (Sounds good though I myself haven’t tried this yet.)

And finally, the flat screen television. There are many designers today who feel that this new design for an old friend has become the single largest advance in decoration and has changed the use of several other pieces of furniture. Absolutely true, and by ridding homes of the bulky, space-consuming and often over-bearing armoires and entertainment cabinets we are now able to hang our TV screens on the wall as we would a work of art. What a boon this is for space-saving and for making a room feel more open and larger than its actual size.

And so no matter what size floor-plan you finally decide suits you best for this down-sizing phase of your life – take heart – there really are multiple ways to make your home appear larger than it really is. You can still mix eras and styles if you like – even color and form – but the most fundamental aspect will always remain scale and proportion. These you must adhere to in order to insure success – but you do have my permission – no, my encouragement - to break some of the rules along the way and have fun with your decorating.