If you’ve ever faced the challenge of decorating a small room, it’s only natural to wish you had giant spaces to work with. After all, being economical with space requires creative solutions, and it’s easy to pine for a room where you don’t have to worry about furniture doubling as storage, or finding unusual shelving solutions.

However, there are challenges inherent to interior decorating for a big room as well. It’s easy for such a space to feel sparse and unfinished, and getting true functionality out of the room means arranging the furnishings in thoughtful ways. You can handle these obstacles by working with a Decorating Den Interiors personal designer, who can look at your room in person and make decisions based on its unique characteristics.

Here are a few design strategies particularly geared for wide open spaces:

Divide the room into areas
In most rooms, there will really only be enough space for one conversational area. In larger rooms, however, it is difficult to arrange all the furniture so that this is possible. Luckily, you don’t have to. You can designate a number of different zones of the room, which both allows a single space to serve multiple functions and keeps it from looking so empty. For example, you could have one zone that’s just for quiet conversations, another that has a desk for writing and reading, and a third that is centered around the television. It’s like having three rooms in one.

Create a visual anchor for the room
One of the major drawbacks to larger rooms is that if you’re not careful, they can feel unfocused. A visitor walks in, and it isn’t clear where their focus should be drawn, or what the most important elements of the space are. Avoid this pitfall by using a large piece of furniture as the visual anchor of the room. Depending on your lifestyle, this could be any number of things. A large coffee table or L-shaped sectional couch both work well, and if your family is musically inclined, a piano is a fine choice as well. The key is that it should be singular and visually dominant – too many small pieces on their own can begin to create the impression of clutter.

Pay attention to the lighting
Lighting can make a big difference in any sized room. Not only does it impact the things you are able to do in that area, it can also completely change the look and feel of the furnishings. If the space has large windows, you have less to worry about during the daytime. However, after sunset, it’s easy for shadows to creep up, especially in nooks or corners. Lamps can help give you different illuminating options, but too many of them in the same space can look awkward.

To get around this issue, choose a small handful of large floor lamps that are all of a similar style. Then, mix in a few low-key wall and floor lamps. That way, your lighting choices will feel cohesive while being able to work for the whole large area.

Use patterns to unify
Bigger rooms have more furniture, which can feel haphazard if you’re not careful. You can avoid this issue by repeating the same patterns in different areas of the room. Even if you switch up the colors or the fabrics to add a depth of texture, consistent patterns throughout a space help carry visitors’ eyes naturally throughout the room, and make it all feel unified.

Looking for advice on decorating a larger space? Contact Decorating Den Interiors today. A personal interior designer can help you lay out the room, and find the furniture you need to make it look fantastic.