You don’t have to raise your ceiling to make a room feel taller. Sometimes you just need to lower your furniture. When chairs, tables, and sofas sit closer to the floor, the space above them feels bigger as a result of the space between the top of your furniture and the ceiling giving the eye more room to travel vertically. The movement through the space is what makes the room feel taller.
It’s a simple, easy-to-implement interior design trick that changes a room’s feeling without time-consuming or pricy renovations. Curious about applying this concept to your home, office, or a basement that feels cramped? Here’s how the illusion works, ways to apply it to your home, and some additional low-cost decor tips to help rooms feel taller.
How Low Furniture Increase the Feeling of Height in a Room
Low furniture increases the feeling of height in a room by creating more visual space above the visual horizon (where you look naturally upon entering a room) giving the optical illusion that the room is taller.
If your furniture sits higher up, the eye stops earlier by cutting off part of the wall. When you use lower-profile furniture, the eye keeps traveling up toward the ceiling. The shift in how high or low the line of the furniture that catches your eye increases the perceived height of the room, even when the ceiling height hasn’t changed.
The more space you see above your furniture, the bigger the room feels. Your brain recognizes the long stretch between the top of your couch or chair and the ceiling as increased height, even if the room's dimensions never change.
You can use this trick in your home by picking low furniture including couches with long and straight backs like our 3-seat wide Miligore modular sofa, short but long book shelves, and by using thinner trim to divide the wall for open spaces with furniture in the center of the room like dining rooms and great rooms. When you walk into the room, your eyes automatically note it at the visual horizon, and your ceiling will feel higher and your room larger.
Now that we know how the optical illusion works, here’s how you can apply it to your home or office.
How to use furniture to lower the visual horizon
To make a room feel taller by using furniture make sure to:
- Pick a sofa or couch that sits low to the ground to lower the visual horizon.
- Avoid tall furniture that rises up to or above the middle of your wall’s height as it decreases the perceived space between the visual horizon and the ceiling.
- Keep tall pieces of furniture, decor, and art thinner vs. wide and make sure they have a visual line that brings your eyes upwards and downwards like a thin but tall cabinet or display case, and long drapes with vertical lines.
- Leave space above furniture clear and open so eyes stay with the lower visual horizon and do not drift upwards.
There are some exceptions to this rule like having a tall but narrow bookshelf on the opposite side of where your couch or seating area is. Using a single contrasting color like a red sculpture on the top shelf if you have a neutral palette will keep eyes going up and down when looking away from the couch. This way the visual horizon on one side of the room is intact, and you’re using vertical lines to create the illusion of height on the other side.
The increase in visual space above the couch isn’t the only way low furniture helps make a room feel taller, the actual distance while you’re seated helps too.
More Headroom When Seated
Lower furniture doesn’t just change how a room looks when you walk in. It also changes how it feels when you sit down.
Standard sofas have seat heights around 30 to 36 inches, which will work against the illusion of a spacious room with high ceilings. Look for a couch that is lower to the ground, like our Stratus Sofa, which sits just 15.7 inches. This means your eye level when seated is much lower, and you experience more headroom, even if the ceiling hasn’t changed.
People feel more relaxed and creative in rooms that feel open and expansive, and low-back sofas don’t block the eye when you are standing, creating the desired space and perceived height. Your line of sight moves past the back of the couch and straight up the wall. That uninterrupted upward view creates an airy, open vibe.
Extra Interior Design Tips to Help Rooms Feel Taller
Low furniture creates the illusion of height, but balance also has an effect as some design choices can cancel out the heightening effect you are going for. The table below works as a quick guide to what works and what to avoid for room heightening effects.
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What works |
What to avoid |
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Tall, narrow shelves or display cases in corners. |
Bulky horizontal shelves that stretch across long walls. |
|
Keep trimming under 4 inches around the ceiling to avoid a height shortening reverse effect. |
Tall headboards or couches that reach too far up the wall. |
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Choose rounded, lightweight pieces that leave space around them. |
Low furniture that’s also wide and heavy, which can weigh the room down. |
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Leave open space to create a lighter feeling that aligns with Feng Shui principles. |
Avoid cluttered walls that block the natural flow of a room. |
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Select light colored paint for walls to give the illusion of more space and higher ceilings. |
Avoid dark wall colors, which can make the ceiling appear lower. |
Low furniture doesn’t just save space, it makes rooms feel taller. With just a few thoughtful swaps, you can make your room feel taller, lighter, and more relaxing with no construction required. Start with one piece like a lower sectional couch, a sleek table or a short but long shelf. Then take a step back and see how much bigger the room feels.
