When you look at Pinterest or watch your favorite design show to get inspiration for your living room, you might not see a room that looks like yours. This is often the problem when you have a small living room: You’re looking at picture after picture of big, open spaces. How can you replicate a design when you hardly have the space to kick up your feet, let alone put in a massive sofa?
Let’s relieve some frustration and stress with these tips to maximize your living room space and make a dream hangout for friends and family. That way, you can have a room you love that works for your specific layout and lifestyle rather than making you wish for a completely different home.
Scale and Layout
You don’t have to move out of your existing space to get the living room you want. You just have to be mindful of the room’s dimensions and work with what you’ve got. This includes strategically choosing and arranging your furniture and fixtures.
The scale of your furniture should match the size of your room. Oversized pieces can overwhelm a small space, while ones that are too small may leave the room feeling sparse or disjointed. Opt for pieces that provide style and function without overcrowding the area.
For example, rather than a large sectional sofa, try a loveseat with thin or low arms and a low back. The slim build helps the space feel visually light and allows you to utilize the space above for art or mirrors that can make the space appear bigger. Pair it with a chaise lounge or an armchair for extra seating that won’t take up all the leftover room.
Arranging living room furniture pieces with purpose can maximize both space and usability. Start with a focal point — whether it’s a fireplace, TV or a statement piece of decor — and arrange seating around it to create a cohesive flow. Also, keeping things as balanced as possible can help make the space feel comfortable and cozy.
Need some layout inspiration? Use these small living room ideas:
Employ Visual Weight Furnishings
All furniture takes up space — it’s unavoidable. But you can play with the clever trick of visual weight to make fixtures appear smaller. Light-colored wood or pieces with legs naturally look lighter and, thus, smaller. A very leggy armchair or coffee table doesn’t obstruct the view of the floor, making the space appear more open.
And remember, pieces covered in fabrics or leathers in solid patterns or neutral colors work best in small rooms. This is because loud designs can seem to take up more visual space than calm hues, creating an optical illusion that results in your room appearing even smaller than before.
Use Smart Storage for Small Spaces
Storage space is key in small living rooms, and furniture that doubles as a cache for your belongings can help reduce clutter. Look for ottomans with hidden compartments, coffee tables with shelves and wall-mounted shelves to take advantage of vertical space rather than square footage.
Also, consider multifunctional furniture like storage benches or nesting tables to boost space without compromising style. Baskets and decorative boxes can also keep essentials organized while adding touches of personality to your decor. By getting creative with your storage solutions and freeing up floor space, you can create a tidy and inviting living area that feels more spacious.
Mimic Furniture and Decor
Parallel structure is one of the many design tricks interior designers pull out of their tool belts. It helps spaces look open and orderly, resulting in an aesthetically pleasing finish. Matching armchairs, side tables and poufs mirror each other, providing lots of seating without filling the room to its brim. If poufs aren’t your thing, try two small ottomans that can triple-duty as seating, surface area and a place to kick your feet up.
Another way to do this is to have a coffee table in the middle, a sofa on one end and two armchairs on the other. While this isn’t totally mirrored, it still balances the room, ensuring one side doesn’t have too many pieces while the other seems bare.
Divide Your Room
If you have a setup where your dining room or kitchen and living room run together, it can be hard to distinguish the space. To help with this, use furniture and room dividers to establish and separate the living area from the dining area. Position an L-shaped sofa with its back facing out of the living room. This creates a room border and clearly marks where the dining room ends and the living space begins.
You can also play around with bookshelves, paneled room dividers and side tables to find layouts that feel separate without being completely closed off. Area rugs and decor can also help distinguish your living room, making small but mighty rooms feel full of character.
Float Your Furniture
No, we don’t mean find a magical way to get your pieces to levitate in thin air. Rather, keep some space between your furniture and the wall to improve flow. Many assume that pushing everything up against the wall creates more space. While this is true in some cases, floating key pieces can define spaces, improve flow and make a room feel more open and intentional.
For instance, place a sofa in the center of the room with a console table behind it to subtly divide a sitting area from a walk-through space. This prevents awkward dead zones and allows for better movement.
Reds, Blues and Neutrals, Oh My: Color Palettes To Test Out
Since color significantly impacts both the mood of a space and its overall appearance, choosing the right shades is essential. How those colors look in your space will depend on what natural light and fixtures you have in your small living room.
We’ve compiled a list of helpful hacks to make the most of your space when it comes to colors and light:
Find the Perfect Color Palette
For example, try a loveseat with thin or low arms and a low back rather than a large sectional sofa. The slim build helps the space feel visually light and allows you to utilize the space above for art or mirrors that can make the space appear bigger. Pair it with a chaise lounge or an armchair for extra seating that won’t take up all the leftover room.
Generally, light colors like pale neutrals and pastels work great for producing an airy look that can heighten the walls — especially if you paint the ceiling that same hue or a shade lighter. However, if you love a bold color and want to incorporate a two-toned color scheme, opt for a deep blue or bright red that can grab people’s attention. You could incorporate these shades into smaller spaces through a throw pillow or two, an accent chair, an area rug or a floor lamp. Just be sure not to go overboard or the room can feel a bit chaotic and cramped.
Take Advantage of Natural Light
If you’ve got natural light coming into your living room, flaunt it! Not only can sunlight help brighten your mood, but it can also enlarge a small living space layout. If you’ve painted your walls with a pale-colored or neutral color, light will bounce off and reflect the surfaces. This makes the space appear big and bright rather than dark and dingy.
Up the ante by using window treatments that are either sheer or made from light materials that allow light to filter through. Then, arrange your living room furniture with your window as the focal point to emphasize the effect.
Layer Lighting Fixtures for a Cozy Effect
Want a light bulb moment? Choose a variety of different lighting designs that look beautiful on or off. Hang wall sconces, place a table lamp on a side table, put up a central pendant and set a floor lamp in the corner, giving you a layered lighting look that creates visual interest and a snug ambiance.
Lighting doesn’t just set the mood — it can also influence how wall colors appear in your space. Natural light brings out the truest shades, while warm or cool artificial lighting can either enhance or alter tones. Soft, warm lighting generally makes look richer, while cooler bulbs can give walls and decor a crisper, more modern feel. When choosing wall colors and the decor to zhuzh up your space, consider how different lighting interacts with your chosen shades.
Don’t let your room size stop you from having your dream living space.Ready To Maximize Your Living Room?
Decorating Den Interiors can help you create your perfect living room — and you don’t have to move or completely renovate your space. Instead, our personal decorators will help you redecorate the room to meet your needs and lifestyle.
Our team knows how to rework even the most awkward or small rooms for a stunning finish that will have you never wanting to leave. Do you have a living room with a funky wall that sticks out, making it difficult to find a workable layout? No worries! Is your living area cramped and difficult to decorate, keeping your family from fully enjoying it? Don’t sweat it! Our professional decorators understand the ins and outs of design rules and can employ their extensive expertise to rework your small living room for a result you may not even recognize.
Need a fairy godmother to work some magic in your home? Find a personal decorator near you to experience a transformation fit for a princess.
The post How To Decorate a Small Living Room: 8 Tips appeared first on Decorating Den Interiors.
