If you can stand in the middle of your room and touch the walls 
on all four sides, then you probably need to add some visual 
space to your room (either that or see a surgeon about those 
gorilla arms of yours!). If the neighbor next door has a closet 
bigger than your room (and it's not a walk-in closet!), then 
you need a little help "growing" your small room!

Here are some miracle visual tricks to make your room appear 
larger:

1. Use light values when painting your room. That does not mean 
   you are doomed to white walls! (padded or not!) Try a pretty 
   celadon or chamois (light green or cream beige, for those 
   non-lyrical decorators out there!)

2. Place the large pieces of furniture against the walls so the 
   open space in the middle isn't broken up. (I know what you 
   are thinking! "Pamela," you think. "The large piece of 
   furniture against the wall completely COVERS the middle of 
   the room. WHAT open space?"  In that case, might I suggest 
   wall demolition? Moving?)

3. Choose a sofa and chairs with open arms and exposed legs. 
   This allows light to filter under the furniture, making the 
   room appear airier. (But you can no longer hide dust bunnies!)

4. Consider smaller scale furniture. A sofa or bed that takes up 
   less area will help visually open the room. (Probably not a 
   good idea to put a king-sized bed in that closet!)

5. Use vertical space for storage. Add a hutch or 
   floor-to-ceiling bookcases as a storage solution to reduce 
   the amount of floor space taken. (But I would discourage 
   hanging books and bric-a-brac from the ceiling - you never 
   know what will land on your head in the middle of the night!)

6. A large mirror in the room will reflect light around the  
   room. This is especially effective with near a window so the 
   outdoors can be reflected. (Just my own personal taste, but 
   I think mirrors on the ceiling and all the walls might be 
   just a bit tacky - unless they are helpful for your ... ummm 
   ... business!)

7. Arrange furniture at an angle if possible. This gives visual 
   interest to the small space. (I can hear you thinking again! 
   See item one above!)

With a few visual tricks and some rearranging of furniture, you 
can make any room appear bigger than its actual size. But let's 
be realistic here! If you want to move that four-poster bedroom 
suite into that closet - well, forget it! Unless your cousin 
Vinnie is in the home remodeling business! In which case, you 
may need more than just a miracle! Might I suggest liability 
insurance?