9 design ideas for small living rooms

April Kennedy April Kennedy
Skandynawskie biele i szarości., 4ma projekt 4ma projekt 北欧デザインの リビング
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A small living room can feel fabulous with a smart design and layout. The scale limitation is actually an advantage in many ways. Small interiors are cosy, homely and comforting. A carefully-sculpted living room nest is the perfect place to hunker down and relax in the privacy of your own home.

But small living rooms become problematic when we go about designing and furnishing them in the wrong way. Obviously, they can easily feel cluttered. But decorating for small homes involves more than just restraint and simplicity. It involves scale, vibrancy, colour and more. Come with us to explore just 9 small living room design ideas. We promise there's something here to help!

1. Consider a modular sofa

While some generally recommend opting for small sofas, a modular sofa offers a couple of benefits. That small corner can be used to separate the living spaces in an open-plan layout like this. But more importantly, the corner and adjacent seating add a lot of comfort and cosiness for just a little bit of extra space.

2. Play with scale

One of the most common decorating mistakes many people make is to forget to vary the scale of the design. Everything in the living room should not sit at the same height. Consider a low-set sofa and add elements to raise the eye and encourage some visual movement in the room.

3. Move the furniture away from the walls

A big empty space in the middle of a living room won't necessarily make it feel larger. See how this small living room by Singaporean interior designers and decorators Space Atelier has been divided by moving the furniture away from the walls. The floating sofa really makes the room feel that bit more cosy and separate from the eating area.

4. Make the most of a window view

Window views draw the eye out beyond the boundaries of the small living room and make it feel larger. So if you have a window view, make it an attention-grabbing feature in the decor. This doesn't mean cluttering it up with objects, but rather orientating the furniture towards the window view. A built-in window seat like this is the perfect idea.

5. Add vibrance

Sure, a small living room should never, ever feel cluttered. But this doesn't mean it should be lacking in life either. Bold, vibrant artworks and accent pieces make a small space actually feel bigger. So don't be afraid to infuse life into the living room.

6. Avoid clunky coffee tables

There's nothing worse than tripping over a clunky coffee table. So invest in something small with round corners. It will make all the difference in a small home like this!

7. Built-in and streamlined furniture

Built-in cabinets add a whole lot of storage room without taking up a whole lot of floor space. While we do love a living room with vibrancy, the larger piece of furniture should really be minimally styled. Simple, white cabinets like this just blend into the walls and don't take up a whole lot of visual weight either.

8. Make furniture do double duty

Appartement à Paris, Meero Meero ミニマルデザインの 書斎

Multifunctional furniture is a must in any small living room. A simple bookshelf like this can fold out to create a small desk. If you have a sofa with a solid base, find something that can provide under-seating storage space as well.

9. Enhance the height of the room

Consider accentuating the height of the room by extending the curtains far beyond the height of the actual windows. Curtains that run from the floor to brush the ceilings like this make the room appear that bit bigger and more luxurious.

Sliding doors can make all the difference in a small home as well, so have a look at 9 sliding doors for a space-efficient small home. They might make all the difference!

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