Small Tricks, Big Difference for an Evolving Home

To accommodate our large Thanksgiving crowd, we swapped our living and dining room furniture. The switch turned out to be great for daily life too, so it stayed. However, it took a bit of tweaking to make our furniture not look like a bunch of squatters. Can you tell which (free) change made the biggest difference?

Adjusting the curtain rods! I know, groundbreaking, right?

After years of bemoaning my cheapo adjustable curtain rods, I finally came to appreciate them. I'm humbled. Visually, I still prefer the look of a single solid rod, but when it comes to playing musical chairs with entire rooms of furniture, adjustable rods have their place. Pulling them out to their max width allowed me to pull the curtain panels over to frame the sofa, which makes the whole window appear larger too. A long sofa looks much more at home against a wide window than a narrow one.

Other small changes were made to make the somewhat cramped conditions look deliberately cozy, such as adding a few more toss pillows and a throw to the back of the sofa. I'm usually a big believer in "less is more," but when it comes to fitting big furniture in small spaces, I take the opposite approach. You can't make a room look spare and elegant when a mammoth sofa is in the mix, but you can make it look purposefully cramped and snug by adding on layers.

What small, free changes have you made that saved a room?

(Image: Leah Moss)

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