When you have a smaller space to work with, maximizing what you have is important. This blog post will show you all the best living room ideas for small spaces in order to do just that.
Living rooms should feel cozy and relaxing, not cramped and cluttered. Unfortunately, this can be easier said than done when you have a small living room.
In this blog post, we give you all of the best tips for living room ideas for small spaces. From where to decorate to sofa decisions, we give you smart ideas you’ll definitely use.
If you enjoy reading this one, you should definitely check out this blog post as well, which is all about kitchen ideas for small spaces.
This blog post is all about living room ideas for small spaces.
Smart Living Room Ideas for Small Spaces
1. Choose furniture with storage
When your living room is small, it’s all about maximizing the space that you do have. This means that your furniture needs to do double duty! Multifunctional furniture is one of the easiest ways to create storage space where there typically is none. Popular items that fall into this category are usually ottomans with storage, coffee tables with drawers, and media consoles.
2. Keep it light
If you’re looking for the best color scheme for your smaller living room, it’s best to go with lighter colors. This will make the space feel bigger and brighter, regardless of how tiny it is. That’s why different shades of white and cream are popular in homes, but feel free to experiment with more neutral shades or lighter blues and greens as well.
You can absolutely choose darker colors if that’s more your vibe, but it could make your living room feel smaller, leaving you with not the same amount of visual space to work with.
3. Use mirrors
Just like using lighter colors creates an illusion of more space, so do mirrors. They reflect light and scenery, making the area feel brighter and more open than it really is. If you have the space to do so, opt for a taller mirror. Taller mirrors draw the eyes up, making the room feel taller and, therefore, larger as well. We love a good illusion that works in our favor!
4. Hang your curtains high
Speaking of taller decor, another great tip to make your living space feel bigger is hanging your curtains as high as you can. Of course, we don’t want it to look silly if they’re too far above your windows, but hanging them higher gives the same illusion as the taller mirrors: it makes your windows and, in turn, your room feel larger.
It also makes it feel more grand and luxurious. Think back to all the beautiful spaces you’ve been in. Aren’t the windows typically huge with tall curtains? This is the perfect way to emulate that feeling in your own living room.
5. Use tall bookshelves
Having tall bookshelves helps in more than one way when you’re trying to make your small living room feel larger as well as maximize the space that you do have. First up, like in the previous point, it draws the eyes up, making your space feel larger.
But having taller bookshelves rather than short and wide ones allows for you to utilize the vertical space that you do have, leaving more space for other decor and furniture items.
6. Decorate vertically
This tip goes along with what we’ve been talking about in this post. If you’re going to decorate a small space, make sure you try to keep your decorations as vertical as possible. From curtains to bookshelves and paintings and more, the taller they are placed, the more spacious your living room will seem.
The vertical decor will draw eyes up instead of being focused on how small the space may be. Plus, sticking with decorating vertically rather than anywhere near or on the floor will free up space for other necessary items.
7. Don’t put your sofa against the wall
In certain instances, putting your sofa against the wall might be your only option, especially in really small spaces. But if you can help it, try adding a little bit of space between the wall and your couch. It seems natural to want to place the couch against the wall, but adding some space in-between will actually help make your space feel larger.
8. Get a straight couch, not an L-shaped one
It’s understandable that you want the biggest couch possible, but if you’re trying to make the best of your small living room, then the best option for you is to get a straight couch, not an L-shaped one.
People tend to gravitate towards L-shaped couches because they think it feels a little more cozy. That can be true, but it can also make your space feel smaller and more closed-in. Stick with a straight couch and you’ll notice the difference!
9. Don’t go oversized
This tip is pretty self-explanatory, but don’t go for oversized furniture if you already have a smaller space to begin with. There are plenty of furniture pieces that people are typically okay with having oversized, but they will make a tiny space seem even smaller.
Popular items that we’re talking about usually include televisions and sofas. People love large sofas because they give a really cozy vibe, while everyone loves a large screen to watch their favorite show on. If you’re okay with it, then we’re okay with it!
10. Hang your tv, if possible
If you’re going to opt for that oversized television, the least you can do is hang it on the wall instead of taking up space with a console to hold it. Of course this depends on if you’re renting or not and just how big your television is, but if you can, you should. This will leave space below to add extra items that are more necessary.
11. Keep it clean!
Keeping your space clean will always be an underrated tip that most people forget about. It is the easiest and cheapest way to upgrade any space of yours. Clutter can make even large, open rooms feel small, so imagine an actual smaller space.
It’s especially important when it comes to your living room because this is typically one of the more popular areas in your home, which means it’s more likely to collect trash or items that don’t need to be there. Make sure you schedule some decluttering time for your living room on a regular basis!
