Decorators’ favorite trick for creating the illusion of a large living room (and it works in any small space)

The first time you notice it, you don’t quite understand why the room feels so… generous.
You push open the door, expecting a typical cramped city living room, and suddenly your shoulders relax. The walls don’t feel like they’re closing in, the sofa doesn’t look like it’s about to eat the coffee table, and there’s this odd sense of air, of pause, even though the square footage isn’t impressive at all.

You start scanning for the trick: is it the color? The furniture? Some kind of impossible extension?

Then your eyes land on it, quietly doing all the heavy lifting.
A simple, smart move that decorators swear by.

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The quiet trick that makes a small room feel twice as big

Designers have a word they repeat all the time when they’re working in small spaces: sightlines.
What your eyes see in one glance dictates how big or small a room feels, much more than the actual measurements.

The favorite trick they rely on to cheat your brain?
They stretch the room vertically and horizontally at the same time using one hero element: **oversized mirrors placed where they catch depth and light**.
One big mirror, flatteringly positioned, can visually knock down a wall more than any sledgehammer.
Not the little decorative ones scattered everywhere. One statement mirror, used like a fake opening.

A Paris decorator told me about a 18-square-meter apartment she worked on, where the living room looked like a corridor.
Narrow, dark, and with a window facing a brick wall. The kind of space where you bump your hip into the coffee table every single day.

She installed a tall mirror almost the size of the wall, opposite the only window, lifted slightly from the floor.
Nothing fancy: slim black frame, clean lines, leaned rather than fixed.
The client walked in after the install and literally checked whether the wall had been pushed out.
“Did you remove something?” she asked. The answer was just glass.

Here’s what’s going on: your brain reads reflections as possible space, not as flat surface.
When a mirror reflects a window, or an open doorway, your perception of depth almost doubles.
That’s why decorators obsess over where the mirror is pointing, not just where it’s hanging.

Place a large mirror so it reflects the longest perspective in the room – a hallway, the far end of the sofa, a bookshelf, even a plant “forest” in a corner – and your eye suddenly travels further.
Your ceiling feels higher if the mirror rises tall, your floor feels longer if the bottom edge hovers just above the baseboard.
You haven’t gained a single centimeter, but your mind disagrees.

How to use a mirror like a decorator, not like a random purchase

The decorator trick is not “add mirrors everywhere”.
It’s: choose one generously sized mirror and treat it like an architectural feature.

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Think vertical first. In a tight living room, go for a mirror that’s at least two-thirds the height of your wall.
Frame thin, lines simple, so it reads as part of the structure, not a piece of décor.
Then think angle: place it where it will catch something alive – light, view, movement – not a blank wall or the back of your TV.
Lean it casually on the floor, or mount it so the bottom edge sits about 10–20 cm above it, elongating the wall.

The most common mistake is going too small “so it doesn’t overwhelm the room”.
Ironically, that’s exactly what keeps the space visually cramped.
Several tiny mirrors chopped up across a wall just add noise, like visual chatter.

Another frequent trap: hanging the mirror too high, where it only reflects the ceiling fan and a bit of sky.
You want it roughly at eye level when you’re sitting and standing, so the reflection actually speaks to you.
We’ve all been there, that moment when you try one more “cute” accessory, and the room suddenly feels cluttered instead of cozy.
With mirrors, restraint wins.

Designers also talk about alignment: the mirror should “anchor” something in the room.
Centered above a slim console. Aligned with the edge of a sofa arm. Mirroring the width of a window.
Those quiet little echoes make the space feel designed, not improvised.

“Think of a mirror as an extra window you get to place wherever you like,” says London-based interior designer Carla James. “You’re not just hanging a reflective surface. You’re choosing where the room opens up.”

• Choose one big mirror rather than several small ones
• Place it opposite a window, doorway, or longest view
• Keep the frame slim so it feels architectural
• Align it with an existing element: sofa, console, or window
• Let it reflect light, greenery, or depth – not clutter

Beyond the mirror: extending the illusion to every small space

Once you see how a single mirror can stretch a living room, you start noticing other small spaces begging for the same treatment.
A narrow entry where everyone piles coats and shoes.
A tiny home office corner pressed between two walls.
Even a compact bedroom that feels more like a cabin than a retreat.

The same principle follows you: extend the sightline, open a “fake” window, and give the eye somewhere to travel.
*You’re not decorating for Instagram; you’re decorating for how your body feels when you walk through the door at the end of the day.*
That’s the quiet power of this trick: it’s visual, but the relief is physical.

You might catch yourself breathing a little deeper in a room that hasn’t grown at all.
Let’s be honest: nobody really redraws floor plans every time they feel cramped.
But picking one generous mirror and placing it with intention?
That’s the kind of small, human-scale move that changes how your home meets you.

FAQ:

• Can I use this trick if my living room has no natural light?
  Yes. Place the mirror to reflect the brightest artificial light source, like a floor lamp or pendant, and aim it toward the most open part of the room, not a dead corner.
• What if I’m worried an oversized mirror will dominate the room?
  Choose a very thin frame in a neutral color close to your wall tone. The mirror will read as part of the architecture rather than a bulky object.
• Is it better to hang the mirror or lean it on the wall?
  Both work. Leaning feels relaxed and flexible, hanging looks more polished. In very small spaces, hanging slightly above the floor helps stretch the wall visually.
• Can I place a mirror behind the sofa?
  Yes, if it reflects something pleasant: greenery, a bookshelf, or soft light. Avoid reflecting clutter zones, TV screens, or messy shelves.
• Does this trick work in rented apartments?
  Absolutely. A leaning floor mirror needs no drilling, comes with you when you move, and can transform a rental living room in a single afternoon.