Comparing “xiǎnde” and “kàn qǐlái”

他今天看起来不太高兴。

Tā jīntiān kàn qǐlái bú tài gāoxìng.

He does not look very happy today.

因为这件衣服颜色太深，所以她整个人显得有点儿严肃。

Yīnwèi zhè jiàn yīfu yánsè tài shēn, suǒyǐ tā zhěng ge rén xiǎnde yǒudiǎnr yánsù.

Because the color of this piece of clothing is too dark, she seems a little serious overall.

这个房间本来不大，但家具一摆进去就显得更小了。

Zhège fángjiān běnlái bù dà, dàn jiājù yì bǎi jìnqù jiù xiǎnde gèng xiǎo le.

This room was not big to begin with, but once the furniture was put in, it seemed even smaller.