Style Guide: Make The Most of Your Small Living Room

Regardless of its size, your living room is the place where your family should be able to relax, socialize, and spend some quality time together.

If your living room happens to be a bit smaller, don’t despair – there are many ways in which you can make it appear larger and go from feeling claustrophobic and trapped into feeling cozy and comfortable.

So, if you’d like to improve the appearance of your living room and make it seem bigger than it really is, here are a couple of ways in which you can do that.

Focus on the lighter colors

Painting your walls white and embracing pale furniture is a great way to make any small room feel larger and brighter.

If you’re afraid of making your living room too simple and monotone, don’t worry – you can always spice it up with textures and patterns, and you can add a pop of color with various decorative accents like houseplants, picture frames, etc.

Finally, keep your curtains light as well – they don’t have to be white, but a lighter color will help you maximize the light that gets in, which will make your room appear more spacious and lively.

Make use of mirrors

Mirrors are often used in smaller spaces to make them appear larger; the trick is to place them strategically so they can reflect more light.

For example, you can place one big mirror in the center of your living room in order to create a nice focal point. Moreover, consider adding a light source in front of it, like a nice scented candle or a pendant lamp.

Another great idea is to place a mirror across one of the windows, so it reflects the view and creates the illusion of another window.

You can also put a couple of windows across each other, so they can reflect each other and make your room appear even more spacious.

Think about the furniture

When choosing your living room furniture, think about its appearance. Every object has a perceived heaviness based on its size, color, and design.

With that in mind, you should opt for stylish and chic lounges that look light, as they will make your space seem less constricted.

For example, sofas and armchairs that have legs are always better for smaller rooms than those furniture items that appear more “boxy”.

Similarly, choose a glass coffee table because it will take up less visual space due to its transparency. As for the colors, just like with your walls, pale shades work better than the darker ones.

Decorate it vertically

If your living room happens to have a high ceiling, make use of that extra space by drawing the eye upward with decorations.

For example, you can use floor-to-ceiling drapes for the area around your windows. You can also fill all that horizontal space with some artwork, or you can install some high shelves and fill them with books that you can arrange by color.

This way, people will look beyond the eye-level, which will make your living room look a bit bigger.

Breathe life into it

One of the best ways to brighten up your living room is by introducing some plants into it. For example, tulips and daffodils are a great choice because of their lively colors.

If you’re more interested in something “leafy”, choose ferns or spider plants – they are also great because of their texture, and as already mentioned, textures are a must in neutrally painted rooms.

Finally, you can also choose some fragrant flowers if you want to make your living room not just look good but smell so as well.

Let in more light

A room that isn’t properly lit will automatically look smaller because it will make you feel drowsy and claustrophobic.

So, make sure to let in as much natural light as you can during the day, and ensure that it is well lit after the sun sets.

Also, try to layer your lights – have one overhead base light, but also add some desk lamps for your work and reading area, candles for ambiance, and perhaps some string lights for visual appeal.

Just because your living room is small, it doesn’t mean it has to look small. If you learn how to decorate it properly, you can transform it into a space just as beautiful as any other bigger room.

So, make sure there’s enough light in the room, introduce some colorful plants into it, paint it wisely, spice it up with textures, and choose the right furniture for it.

You should also make use of the mirrors and pay attention to the vertical space as much as you do to the horizontal. After all these changes, you and your family will surely enjoy your living room more than ever before.