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Do you have a “bowling alley” room in your house — long, narrow and difficult to decorate? Whether you live in a rambling ’50s rancher or a ’90s big house on a small lot, you can smarten up those awkward rooms with these decorating tips. tip 1. Paint it! Paint is an inexpensive decorating tool. Steve LaRose of Ashland creates special paint techniques to turn those boring rectangular rooms into masterpieces. “You can be very creative with paint. For example, a faux stained glass window on a wall can draw the visitor’s eye to a focal point.” Murals or a bright color painted on the end wall can become an elegant focal point that tricks the eye into not noticing the length of the side walls. tip 2. Floor it! Area rugs visually break up a large, long area without putting up dividers, advises D.J. Bransom, owner of Phoenix’s “Bug in a Rug” store. “Today, many homes, including mine, feature large great rooms. One of the ways to breakup those long rectangular-shaped rooms is to use a variety of rugs in different shapes. In our home we used an oval rug, a circular rug and a rectangular rug to break up the space and define the dining and living areas.” tip 3. Scale it! The scale of your furniture and accessories doesn’t have to match the room’s shape. A recent designer showcase featured large furniture pieces in small rooms. Varying the scale of your furniture pieces can add drama to your home décor. Before you purchase new furniture for your “bowling alley,” check out trends in magazines and visit local furniture stores for ideas. tip 4. Light it! Natural light and specialty lighting affect the mood of any room, and colors reflected from those light sources can soften the edges of long, rectangular rooms. Louis Colosimo, artist and owner of Red Oak Glass in Central Point, creates custom hand blown glass lighting. “We bring together disparate designer pieces—such as color from the floor, wood and walls—into the lighting design and it changes the light in the room.” Multi-colored pendant and table lighting beautifully combines art and function to create a subtle and comfortable glow that softens long, hard walls. tip 5. Customize it! According to Ashland interior designer Angela Harrasser, custom appointments can add character to a long, narrow room. “For example, if this space is a living room and you desire to have one end be a focal point, by installing a fireplace or a wall of built-in casework for books and audio-visual equipment, it then becomes a perfect place for a seating arrangement. At the opposite end of the rectangle, another seating arrangement can be created around a more intimate reading area, dining room, or a bar, depending on [your] needs.” tip 6. Don’t crowd it! While you may struggle to decorate such a long room, don’t forget the benefits of all that space. Think before breaking up the room with permanent structures. “Adding architectural built-in elements, such as columns or casework in the center of the room ... can potentially impede traffic flow and limit your flexibility for re-arranging furnishings to accommodate other needs, such as large gatherings,” recommends designer Harrasser. Long, narrow rooms may present their challenges but using some of these tips should help you solve those design dilemmas that have kept you from truly enjoying the space you’ve been given. null