If you’re looking for a way to make your home seem taller, you’re in luck: there are a lot of quick and easy ways to do just that, from painting your ceiling white (yes!) to using stripes on the wall.
You can even consider using wallpapers. That’s because—unlike circles or other geometric shapes—they have negative space between them. When we look at negative space, our brains automatically fill it in with what we expect should be there (an example of this phenomenon is how we see “faces” in clouds).
So if you want to add some length and height to any area within your home without spending much money, using striped wall papers is one trick worth trying out!
1- Use a light base color
The key to making stripes look taller is to use a light base color. If you paint the walls in your room white, for example, and then add stripes of a darker color (like black or navy blue), your eye will naturally see the dark colors and assume that they are closer to the ceiling than they actually are.
The same principles apply if you’re going for an overall retro feel in your home; if you want to achieve that classic 1970s vibe by painting all of your walls red and then adding white pinstripes around the edges, it’ll be impossible not to feel like you’re living in an episode of Happy Days!
2- Keep the stripes close together
This is one of the most important things to remember when thinking about how to make your walls look taller with stripes: when measuring, make sure the stripes are close together.
If they’re too wide apart and not touching, it’ll look like an empty space between them, making your room seem smaller instead of taller.
As with many other decorating styles, there are no hard and fast rules for how far apart stripes should be from each other—it all depends on what you want to achieve. Sometimes a great way to add height is by placing several rows of horizontal stripes close together at eye level to appear as one continuous band.
But if you want something more subtle that looks sophisticated (and doesn’t feel like an optical illusion), try using two rows of vertical stripes just slightly higher than eye level that gently fades into each other so that no visible lines exist between them!
3- Use a contrasting color for the stripes
Contrasting colors have the most visual impact, so using a bold or subtle color as an accent is a great way to make stripes stand out.
For example, you could use bright red paint on half of your wall and then use neutral white paint on the other half — or vice versa! You could also try purple and yellow stripes, which will help make them pop when you look at them from afar.
If you prefer something more subtle, try pairing lighter shades like the light blue with darker ones like navy blue — this will give your walls more depth than if they were all one color.
4- Use a vertical pattern for your stripes
To make your room look taller, try using vertical stripes rather than horizontal ones. Vertical stripes will add height to a room because they create the illusion of length, which in turn makes your walls seem taller.
They also reference the way we naturally perceive depth: by looking at objects from above; for example, looking down at a table on which you’re sitting and seeing how far away it is from you.
Horizontal stripes can be used instead if you want something more subtle or simple, but this pattern isn’t as effective at giving an illusion of height as vertical ones are because they draw attention down toward the floor instead of up toward the ceiling.
5- Add height to the room
Stripes are an easy and inexpensive way to add height to your room. The secret is to use a lighter color for the stripes and a contrasting color for the walls. You can also use vertical stripes if you don’t want them horizontal. If you’re using a bold stripe pattern, keep them close together so that they’re not too overwhelming.
Conclusion
We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about how to make your walls look taller with stripes. Remember, there are tons of different ways to go about this, and we can’t wait to see what awesome ideas you come up with!
