Eight Ways to Make Your Windows Look Bigger

These optical illusions will help make the most of any size window.

Making a room feel larger can often depend on the size and placement of your windows. But changing your windows out for larger ones, or adding more windows, can be an expensive renovation, and will definitely break your lease agreement if you live in a rental. Luckily, there are a few simple tricks you can use to make your windows appear larger without any major renovations.

Hang your curtains higher

If you want to add the illusion of height to your windows, you can simply hang your curtain rods higher above the window. This will elongate the look of your window, drawing your eye up towards the ceiling. To avoid making your ceiling look too low, hang curtain rods at least four inches below the ceiling to allow for a little space above the top of the curtains.

Choose wider curtains

To add width to your windows, you can use a wider curtain rod and mount the brackets six inches to a foot past the window frame. This will give the illusion of a larger window by adding width to the overall look. Make sure to mount your curtain rods into studs to avoid damaging the walls.

These floor-length drapes are wider than the windows. Credit: brizmaker/Shutterstock

Use floor-length drapes

Similarly to hanging your rods higher and wider, allowing your drapes to swoop lower will also give your windows a larger look. Floor-length drapes add length to the bottom of your windows, giving you more included area in the look of your window.

Merge multiple windows with a single rod

If you have more than one window on a wall, you can create a more expansive-looking scene by including them in a single set of drapes. Rather than breaking up the plane of the wall with two or more separate curtain rods and drapes, you can have multiple drapes from a single rod, allowing the drapes to cover the wall space in between the windows as well.

Layer in your window coverings

To create more depth, try adding a layer of sheer curtains underneath your drapes, adding shades or blinds under the sheers, or using a valence as well as a drape. The layers allow you to control the light coming into the room as well as making windows look more finished.

Sheer window curtains underneath drapes. Credit: Yarddo/Shutterstock

Use paint to add height

If you want the tall, thin look, but your windows are shorter, you can create some height by painting the wall above and below the window to match the trim. This will give you a vertical stripe of trim color from floor to ceiling around the window, and can stretch a shorter window without adding too much window dressing.

Add some contrast to your trim

While in some cases, allowing your trim to blend in can help make your windows look bigger, some bold contrast, especially on the inside edge of your window trim, can add depth to your windows and enhance the daylight coming through the window. A darker color trim on a lighter wall will help your window to stand out, making the overall appearance more impactful.

Choose a vertical pattern

Shades and drapes with a pattern can be used to expand the perceived area of your window by giving you something more interesting to look at as your eye travels over them. Drawing the eye up and out can help to make windows appear to be larger than they are. While stripes are a common choice for this illusion, you can also try geometric patterns like chevrons to elongate the look of your windows.