Make a pocket-size living elbow room feel larger with our ideas for colour , piece of furniture , storage , and more .
Small living room present unique design challenge , but ordinarily none that a newfurniture layout , different pigment color , orsimple architectural featurecan’t solve . When determine on pocket-size living elbow room ideas , view how interior decoration and design choices like color , piece of furniture , storage strategies , and other elements can regard how it feels to relax or entertain .
Asmall spaceneeds careful provision for its seats layout , lighting , and traffic menstruation to keep it from finger cramped or overstuffed , pass water it arduous to get comfortable in a elbow room . With a few tricks , you may make a tight space look and feel deceivingly large . Implementing thesesmall life room ideaswill at once make it look like your four walls inflate and aid you get the most out of your square footage . Use these helpful style tips to sum more storage and visual blank space to your sustenance way , no matter your budget or timeline .

Credit: Josh Grubbs
Mirrored Furniture in a Small Living Room
Dane Tashima
It ’s no secret thathanging mirrorscreates more visual space in a room . However , the same can be said for mirrored article of furniture . A coffee berry table with a mirrored top will reflect light attractively .
Use Tall Vertical Shelves
KIM CORNELISON
When depend forextra storage quad , do n’t forget to look up . look for for tall and slender shelves for your distance so you have more room to stow away or expose your belongings . A brace of 6 - foot bookshelves will be much more utile than two shorter end table . Go with bookshelf that have open sides , and you could still keep your coffee and perhaps your telephone within arm ’s reach when lounging .
Small Living Room with Large Rug
Better Homes & Gardens
One design mistake we often see in smaller space is unsuitably sizedarea rug . Your initial instinct may be to go with a small 5 - by-7 - base rug in your humble keep room . However , a enceinte 10 - by-12 - foot rug can make the blank experience less cramp .
Arrange Furniture Efficiently
The correct furniture organisation is a little bread and butter way approximation you do n’t desire to skip . Although pushing all the furniture against the walls might seem like it would maximise space , the layout canmake a room feel closed in . rather , pull the article of furniture toward the nitty-gritty of the way to create a cosy conversation area . Leaving outer space behind the furniture for walk helps to raise the small room ’s open constituent , include the large window , two pan off door , and elegant arched entryway .
Use a Two-Tier Coffee Table
Joyelle West
One easy style to like a shot addmore entrepot infinite for your booksand collection is by enthrone in a coffee tabular array with two tiers rather than just one surface . This will give your deep brown board decor some much - needed breathing room .
Choose Double-Duty Furniture
Outfit a small living elbow room with article of furniture that can do double duty , such as an Ottoman dynasty or duo of poufs instead of a coffee mesa . A tray can promptly take these upholstered pieces from a nonchalant place to put your feet up to a control surface fit for entertaining . In this soused living room , theplush poufsalso ease the pain of inevitable knee bumps and impart a bold pattern to an otherwise neutral blank .
Sconce Lighting for a Small Living Room
Kim Cornelison
In term of little living room ideas , this one can make a huge difference . It ’s easy to run out of space for table and base lamps , but that does n’t mean you have to settle for turn on the big light . Tryinstalling a few sconceson the rampart for clamant mood lighting that takes up just any space . If place in new hardwired sconces is n’t realistic , go with a version that plugs into an wall socket . There are many ways to mask the electric cord .
High-Hung Curtains
Robert Peterson
There ’s a reason interior interior designer are always encourage their clients tohang their curtainshigher and wider than the windows themselves . It can make your window , and elbow room in general , find much larger . Always use this optical illusion to your vantage , specially in a small sustenance way .
Small Living Room with White Ceiling
Lisa Romerein
Color drenchinghas been rising exponentially in popularity , but it ’s a timeless design option rather than a fleeting trend . vividness drenching typically involves painting the walls , roof , and trim the same chromaticity but in unlike sheens . However , a medium - modulate ceiling can make an already tiny living elbow room feel smaller . take interpolate the painting method just a bit by leaving the cap whitened .
Sneak in Storage
hide out clutter in a small living roomusing article of furniture doubling as a computer memory whole . For a coffee bean table alternative that supply hidden storage , adjudicate a trunk . book , children ’s toys , extra blanket , and other item can be hive up inside for well-off approach , and this small sustenance elbow room estimate look corking in almost any elbow room . Add more storage by lay away basket under an open judiciary or using tote bags as decorative object while keeping dog leash ready to hand for everyday base on balls .
Small Living Room with Just One Accent Chair
John Bessler
In most surviving suite where distance is n’t an issue , you ’ll notice twoaccent chairssitting across from each other or the couch , which creates a nice place for conversing . However , just one accent chair positioned at a slim angle toward the sofa is just as effective for cackle . you could always perpetrate in extra seating from a folding electric chair or borrowed kitchen chair if you have extra company .
Dark and Moody Walls
Annie Schlechter
It ’s a vulgar misconception thatdark wallsmake a way feel more enwrap , but if you want to go dingy and moody , the tonality is to pull . Going with a color like navy or charcoal grey , as opposed to a intermediate downcast or gray , can create the legerdemain of more outer space . Just think of the vastness of the dark sky .
Skip the TV in a Small Living Room
Peter Molick
Hear us out — consider ditching the TV in the living elbow room . Large TVs attract extra attention to themselves in smaller living rooms . Alternatives could be using a portable projector to watch shows and movies or instal the TV in a unlike room , like a bedroom .
Add Your Personal Style
You do n’t need toskimp on stylewhen it come to pocket-size living room ideas . The trick is to scale down the size and amount of piece of furniture and decor so they do n’t overtake the space . begin with a few man of veracious - sized article of furniture , then bed in a curated survival of the fittest of accessories to provide grain and personality . The immature - painted campaignchest is a sheer statement among the low-key hues , which command attending and reflects the homeowner ’s artistic .
Clever Room Divider Use
John Stoffer
Some necessary things dish up their purpose in a small living room but may not front the prettiest . We ’re talking thing like Wi - Fi routers and guy bedding boxwood . If you do n’t have any other room to store these thing inside , you could turn the care away from them and use a room divider as a mask .
Establish a Soft Background
Visually blow over the perimeter of your distance for an expansive little living room idea . To make thewalls come along to recedeinto the scope , paint the paries , spare , and ceiling the same orsimilar shades of snowy . For the windows , choose sheer curtains that match the walls and have in as much Light Within as possible . This tidy elbow room has a soothing and relaxed feel because of the deliberate editing and monochromic color schema .
Small Living Room with Large-Scale Art
Mark Roskams
What your life way lacks in width , it just might make up for in height . If you have tall ceilings , flaunt them . Hang large pieces of artwork that reach nearly the top of the roof to draw the eye upward .
Maximize Seating with a Sectional
Asectional can be your best betfor maximizing seating in a tight living room . These corner - hugging man declare oneself multiple seats in one , allow for plenty of mill about distance without chopping up a small-scale elbow room . Here , a sectional is position in front ofbuilt - in bookcases , will just enough way to get at the lower cabinet . A circular coffee bean table nestled the seating make getting around easier and add a soft profile to the room .
Small Living Room with Books as Decor
Before you go purging your book collection to match into your miniskirt bookshelf in your dry pint - sized sustenance way , taste moving some of them off the shelf and into your interior decoration . In some cases , stacks of book can even duplicate as accent furniture . If you do n’t have room for yourlarge java table bookson your actual coffee tabular array , they may just make the perfect industrial plant outdoor stage .
Create a Focal Point
If your blank space lacks a natural focal pointlike a fireplace , create one . This clever , small living room idea feature a turgid , coloured piece of artistry that draws the focus to one wall . match bookshelf andwall sconcesflank the artwork , creating a pleasing good sense of symmetricalness . When decorating bookshelves like these , vary the height of aim on each shelf to keep the look dynamic and eye - catching .
Make Walls Pop with Art
Since it does n’t take up any precious floor space , artwork is a small living room theme that can go a prospicient path in upping the style agent . Vary the size of it and style of frame throughout the room to add ocular interest . To set aside for frequent swaps and rearrangement , airscrew framed art onfloating shelvesrather thanhanging each piece . Windows are leave ungarbed , making the view experience like extra graphics .
Keep Floors Bare in a Small Living Room
A small sustenance room idea that help keep an undecided impression is a bare floor . An unbroken sweep oar of wood flooring will make a elbow room look larger than a busy - patterned area rug . If you prefer covered floor , pick out the veracious size for the room , as a carpeting that is too small will call even more attention to the way ’s midget sizing . The rule of thumb for an orbit rug is that all of the furniture surrounding it should relate it so nothing feels as though it ’s float on its own .
Add Character to Walls
Dressing up the wall can add a muckle of eccentric to a tiny life room . For pocket-size rooms without much space for accessorizing , bring architectural detail to wallsby installation molding or paneling . A cryptical charcoal hue and picture frame moldings add up astuteness and personality to one bulwark of this living elbow room without taking up too much physical or visual space . Using amber andhot pink accentsadds bold inside information that juxtapose the more serious subtlety on the wall .
Small Living Room with Corner Vignettes
Edmund Barr
When coming up with idea for your lowly life room , think of agency you could apply every inch of precious material estate . Corners tend to be overlooked areas in a living room , but they make perfect spots forcozy reading nooks . Floating furniture can take care lovely in a larger place , but remember that it ’s hunky-dory ( and much more practical ) for your furniture to touch the wall in quaint rooms .
Go with Space-Expanding Colors
The correct coloring material schemewill instantly make a little living way look large . Since pale and cool color speculate light , paint colors such as shining white and light blue make the conjuring trick of a bigger outer space . house painting carpentry , trim , and door the same color as paries also helps them “ go away . ” Although the furnishing in this elbow room arebright and bold , their lowly profile keeps them from feeling heavy and allows the sunlight to stream through the windowpane and add to the expansiveness .
Fake Taller Ceilings
This modest living elbow room idea makes a short roof appear taller . Hang curtain just under the cap rather of immediately above the window frames . Install curtain rods exsert more or less beyond the frames to make windows come along larger . Substantial fabric will give atraditional looking , while airier sheers are more casual .
Stick to a Clean Color Scheme
Keeping your color pallet simplewill make a small living way look great . Stick with neutral and just one or two colour to deliver a streamlined and well - ordinate look . In this sustenance room , snowy bulwark and furniture combine with ablack fireplaceto form a neutral instauration , while dollops of blue and a touch of woods tones drop anchor the outline and keep it interesting .
Embrace Natural Light
Brie Williams
Windows make visual space in a room , and innate light lends a mother wit of enlargement . Whileadding a novel windowrequires more architectural preparation and perhaps the help of a contractor , swap out an old unanimous threshold for one with windows can be a pretty promiscuous DIY . Additionally , consider installing a silver screen door so you may afford the front doorway entirely on a nice day . In the terminal , you ’ll finger much less closed - in when relax in your petite life way .
Small Living Room with Close Furniture
EDMUND BARR
In larger spaces , you definitely have the luxury of more respiration elbow room when it arrive to your life room article of furniture layout . However , do n’t be afraid to go with a more cosy emplacement . As a oecumenical rule of thumb , your furniture can go as tight as 30 column inch beside each other , and your sofa can be as close as 14 inches from your coffee bean table .
Snug Sofa Table in a Small Living Room
Jason Donnelly
If you think you do n’t have room for asofa tablein your living way , opine again . Putting a sofa table behind your couch and against the wall will create a whole fresh Earth’s surface for expose interior decoration . It will make more control surface space , which is especially helpful if you have to go with a belittled deep brown table to fit your space .
Small Living Room with One Large Lounger
David Land
The safe small living room ideas run to be the one that go against your initial instincts . This crown is no exception . When pick out your furniture , do n’t stray away from larger sofas and sectional . Opting for one large seating composition can dislodge up more room than endeavor to cram in multiple modest pieces .
Picture Frame Molding
Carson Downing
Another room to take advantage of your bread and butter room ’s vertical space and visually stretch the paries is by install another architectural feature , likepicture frame molding . If you ’re experience up to a DIY , it ’s fairly easy to do yourself !
Ornate Crown Molding in a Small Living Room
Adam Albright
Another way to punctuate the upright distance in a small living area is toinstall crest moulding . This ornate architectural detail will give your eye more space to explore .
Use Moveable Coffee Tables
Gordon Beall
Easy - to - move article of furniture is a must for little living spaces . You call for article of furniture that ’s adaptable to the day ’s plans , whether that ’s an offhanded yoga session or a gather of friends . For model , or else of opting for one coffee mesa , try on using two smaller I . If you want to take it a step further , go with nesting tables .
Work With a Limited Color Palette
Robin Stubbert
When it comes to people of color , less is more in a tiny plebeian space . Too many colors can produce a sense of overwhelm . Sticking with chiefly neutrals and one or two other colors will make your living elbow room feel more roomy and serene . However , there are always elision to this formula .
Intentional, Minimal Decor
PANICHGUL STUDIOS
When you do n’t have a batch of space to work with , it ’s authoritative to size up every item you set in your life room . Aim to keep interior decoration to a minimum , and make certain what you do choose to keep and display holds signification . This will make your space find more curated and intentional .
Small Living Room with Maximalist Patterns
Kelly Marshall
If your style leansmore maximalist than minimalist , you’re able to still toy into that , even in midget quarter . or else of packing your space to the brim with collections , impart interestingness with extra patterns .
Utilize Small Living Room Furniture
Every in counts in humble aliveness rooms , especiallywhen it comes to furniture . employ armless sofas or those with a narrow design to fend off taking up too much space . Their slim footprint can make the difference between take enough seating room and being overcrowded . The narrow , slatted coffee mesa lend just the correct amount of surface infinite for the room , and the open face add to the airy atmosphere .
Select Low-Profile Furniture
The success of many little living rooms trust on clever furniture choices . Complement the size of it of the elbow room with downhearted - visibility furniture that denigrate visual interruption . A pair of low - slung chairs allow an continuous view into this life elbow room , while matching sofa provide a chat - favorable seating arrangement . Keep coffee tables at the right superlative and proportion to low - profile seating .
Reclaim Storage in Small Living Rooms
capitalise on every uncommitted column inch with this small livelihood room approximation : behind - the - sofa storage . skid a narrowconsole tablealong the back of the sofa to make a landing spot for books , novelty , and other detail . choose for a short bookcase or locker instead of a table for even more storage electrical capacity .
Minimize Visual Weight
pick out clear furniture and appurtenance that take up minimum visual blank space . An acryliccoffee tableis a modest living elbow room idea that ply a fashionable , almost invisible solution in a way where lots of texture , color , and pattern are already displayed , include the upholstered sofa and stack stone fireplace . The tabular array provides a stout yet lightweight spot for pile record book , flowers , and other accessories .
Decorate a Small Living Room with Mirrors
Usemirrors on one wallto make a small aliveness room feel more subject . Mirrors get out off their expanding act by bouncing luminance around to other parts of a elbow room . opt onestatement - making mirroror group several mirrors together to make a striking focal point while stretching the dimensions of a small elbow room . billet mirror opposite window to maximise the brightness level they reflect .
Layer In Texture
Add interest with design elements that do n’t take up space . A small living way idea that adds interest is to use avariety of texture , such as tranquil , coarse , and stringy , that can bestow deepness and point without postulate surplus space . A mix of linen fabrics , woven material , outskirt details , and warm wood tones enlivens this infinite .
Maximize Furniture Pieces
It might fathom counterintuitive , but a few oversized furnishings can make a small outer space appear larger . adjudicate to cram in too many minor pieces can create a cluttered feeling . A sofa with a chaise longue helps this room live large in shape and function , while its sleek intent keep with the home ’s contemporary look .
Create Dimension in a Neutral Palette
Dana Gallagher
A light , neutral palettereflects light up to help oneself a distance find brighter and — in turn — larger . However , when you ’re working with a palette of almost all neutrals , it ’s important to create dimension and involvement . Here , creamy blank walls are framed in a yellowy - beige trimness , which draw the center to the elbow room ’s lines and produce a sense of dimension . A nubby jute carpet and panel wall add texture to the soft palette . The sheer armchair offers a welcome hit of pattern and personality .
Living Room Ideas in Favorite Colors
You ca n’t go wrong , no matter what size a living room is , if you inculcate it with people of color that makes you glad and comfortable . For a living elbow room that supercharge energy , go for ared pallette . You may not require all - red paries , but a red couch , red mantle , or a red area rug will add enough red to make an impact . If you ’re concerned in something more subdued , look to grayfor a subtle color that can be affectionate or coolheaded .
Green is a good choicefor nature buff who want to bring some of that outdoorsy experience to the interior of their homes , especially in place with long winters . Go bold withemerald greenorsubdued with subdued sage . If you prefer a subtle pallette , neutrals are always a go - to option . Add colouration as much or as little as you like to aneutral roomto tincture personality .

Credit:Dane Tashima

Credit:KIM CORNELISON

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Credit:Joyelle West

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A vibrant living room by Cloth + Kind with walls painted Benjamin Moore Hazy Skies.Credit:Robert Peterson

Credit:Lisa Romerein

Credit: Hector Sanchez

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Credit:Peter Molick

Credit: Annie Schlecther

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Credit: Brie Williams


Credit: David A. Land

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Credit:Edmund Barr

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Credit:Adam Albright

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Credit:Kelly Marshall

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Credit:Dana Gallagher