Small Spaces Don’t Have To Be This Color in Order To Feel Bigger, Nate Berkus Says
It seems like a concept universally acknowledged that when you’re decorating a small space, painting it a light color will make it feel bigger. But according to renowned designer Nate Berkus, that’s not always the case. He busted a few design myths over on his Instagram, and the first one he tackled was the idea that small spaces need to be bright in order to be livable.
“I don’t think that’s true at all,” Berkus said about the idea that you must paint small spaces with light colors. “I think you can embrace a small space. Paint it dark or use a dark wallpaper. You can even paint the ceiling in a small space. Something about that is really charming and really intimate.”
Nate Berkus Says to Consider Dark Colors in Small Spaces
And on the topic of painted ceilings, Berkus later busts the myth that ceilings have to stay white. “Some of my favorite historic interiors actually have painted ceilings. And whenever I notice that — a pale pink ceiling, a pale gray ceiling, a pale green ceiling — it makes me really happy.”
So if you’re going dark in your small space, choose a ceiling color that either matches the walls, adds contrast, or draws the eye up. White or light colors don’t have to be part of the equation at all.
A few other myths that Berkus busts are as follows: that things “have to match” in a room (think: matching upholstery, matching side tables, or even matching dinner plates), the sofa has to be placed along the longest wall in the room (“sofas can float, you can put a console behind, you can put a long bench behind the sofa,” Berkus said), rugs should be small to make a space feel bigger (they should actually always be large to “make a space feel expansive,” according to Berkus), and you need a large budget to build a beautiful home.
“You do not need a big budget, especially today when you can get on eBay [and] Facebook Marketplace,” Berkus said. “You can fill your home with vintage things. You can find some of the most beautiful things for almost no money. I do it every day.”
Lean into dark colors, painted ceilings, and secondhand finds! As Berkus proves, you can’t let the myths determine your personal style.