You don’t always have a choice where you live or work. Especially with the housing shortage, people are being forced to stay in smaller homes more often and for a longer period. How do you make sure walls don’t come your way and what effects light, color and botanicals have on your mood? NU.nl Talk about this with two experts.

Anyone looking for a while will already be online Various tips To make small rooms appear larger. Think multifunctional furniture, like an extendable sofa bed or dining table. Light colors and floating elements can also give a feeling of spaciousness. But not every problem is solved this way.

Try to create different spaces

A bad feeling can arise in any setting, regardless of its size, explains interior designer and environmental psychologist Susan Kollenberg. “Your environment should be able to support you in what you want to do. You have a specific goal, like relax or work. If that doesn’t work, then it becomes annoying.”

In a small apartment, these goals mix more quickly, Kollenberg agrees. As a designer, she has already gained experience with such homes. “If you get the opportunity, you can try creating different spaces within this apartment,” she says. “With a small shield, your leisure activities are a little different from your work.”

More oxygen means better concentration and more sunlight, ensuring a better mood and a better rhythm of sleep. So a daily walk is a good idea anyway. Moreover, you can also bring that outdoor atmosphere indoors, says environmental psychologist Max Wejhurst. Think about enough daylight and ventilation, but also think pieces of nature.

Reduce stress with stickers or plants

“I have a lot of big plants in the house,” says Weghorst. “But of course you have to be aware that this takes up space as well. For a small apartment you can also look for an alternative in that regard. Nature printing can really make a difference.”

The environmental expert notes that many studies have been done on the stress-reducing effect of such images, such as that of Free University (VU) And the Texas A&M University. “Just looking at those pictures seems to be able to restore tension,” says Wejhurst. “Thus, a nice outlook poster can also reduce this trapped feeling.”

Weghorst and Colenberg contend that lighter colors are important for getting more breadth. As a designer, Colenberg advises, “Do not use a dark roof.” “It’s more fun when the floor is relatively darker, with the transition to a lighter wall and lighter ceiling. This is a normal ratio that we humans know a lot.”

If you want to make the house appear larger, you should not overuse white tones. Too much of this creates less visual depth and can give an unpleasant sterile look. Large storage cabinets can also look fun, but a balance needs to be found there as well.

“Make sure you keep seeing the outlines of the room,” advises Kollenberg. “Don’t fill in every corner, and don’t use floor-to-ceiling cabinets. That way you always have an anchor point for the size of your space.”