How to decorate a small room without crowding it

Small rooms fail for predictable reasons: too many small objects, light at one height, and nothing touching the floor.

Start with the light. A single overhead fitting flattens a room. Add a floor lamp and a table lamp, and the space reads deeper immediately.

Then the floor. One large rug beats two small ones, even if the large one costs more than the pair.

The rule we break: matching. A room where everything matches reads like a showroom, not a home.