Forget What Color You Paint the Walls, It's the Flooring That Does the 'Quiet' Work in Making Your Room Feel Bigger — Here's How

An open plan living room with timber clad ceiling, white brick walls, open timber shelving that extends to a room divider, polished concrete floors, shearling armchairs, a tan leather sofa and gray armchair, and a black dining table with tan dining chairs.

Whether you’re walking on sleek marble slabs or rustic timber boards, flooring is the foundation that underpins every room, and top interior designers are increasingly using it to make more compact spaces feel bigger and more open. “Flooring can do a lot of the quiet, behind-the-scenes work to open up your interiors,” confirms Ali Childs from Studio Alexandra.

And it's about more than just knowing the flooring trends. To create the illusion of extra space, it’s not as simple as choosing a certain carpet over a specific tile. While the right surface can alter how light bounces around a room and help blur visual boundaries, color, pattern, and even the way flooring is laid all affect our perception of space, too.