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Space Chase Getting You Down? Read Our Tips On How To Design A Small Living Room
Finding it hard to design a small living room?
Too much stuff, too little space?
Can't find the right spot for something...anything?
Are you here for practical solutions you can start using right now?
Read on. It's time to make it easier on you.
We choose our homes based on what we can afford and appeals to us. Sometimes we have plenty of space to create the look we've always wanted. Sometimes, space is a bit lacking and we have to do our best.
We want to give you some tips on how to do your best when trying to design a small living room. We've had large and small living rooms and we hope the challenges we've overcome with help you in your quest to design your most popular space.
Lessons From Our Past...
The greatest lesson we ever learned about how to design a small living room was "less is more."
You can't cram every piece of furniture you have into a small space. It just doesn't work. It actually makes your room look even smaller. We tried this once in an apartment. We bought a sofa, loveseat and coffee table combo. Looked great in the store, but once we got home, we discovered that it just took up too much room.
Instead of a sofa and loveseat, we should have tried just a sofa and chair or maybe the loveseat and a chair. That way the coffee table would have worked and maybe left some room for an end table.
About Those Entertainment Centers...
We have pages on this site devoted to extolling the virtues of entertainment centers, so it might sound a little odd for us speak negatively about them...but we're going to.
Entertainment centers, in our opinion, are not for small living rooms. They take up space and tend to dominate the room. In fact, in many small living rooms, you just don't have enough wall space to properly fit one. If you have no choice, this article may help you out... Interior Design: Arranging Furniture In A Small Living Room
We opted for an armoire when deciding on a piece of furniture to hold our TV and all our home media. It's elegant, it blends in with our decor easier, and it makes the room feel bigger because of its vertical shape.
Fitting items with a space is one thing, but another way to design a small living room involves fooling the eye into thinking there's more space than there really is.
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Eager to learn the basics of living room decorating? Sign up for our e-mail course, 5 Steps To A More Stylish Living Room. You'll get a new lesson in your inbox every couple of days! Time to get your creative juices flowing! |
Other Ways To Make Your Living Room Look Bigger...
I know we just got through saying, "Don't use too much furniture when you're trying to design a small living room," so don't get confused by this next point.
Big furniture makes a room look bigger. Shabby Chic(R) chairs are a great example of this concept. They're often oversized and very cushy. To make your living room look bigger, pair an oversized couch with an oversized chair. When our eyes see this they expect, "big furniture, big room." We see what we want to see, so the room looks bigger.
Having said that, a Shabby Chic(R) oversized couch and loveseat in the same small living room....probably not a good idea. You've got to have room to walk, after all.
We're all about sharing different opinions with you, so here's an article that takes a slightly different point of view... How To Make Your Room Look Large
More Great Tips...
How about a few more great tips to help you design a small living room?
- Use themes. Stay true to the decorating style of your choice. When everything looks like it belongs together, this tends to open up your space.
- Don’t use too many small items. This creates a cluttered look. Mix larger pieces, to serve as focal points, with smaller items.
- Mirrors are great for reflecting space and light. This works especially well with lighter colored walls.
- Accessorize. Capitalize on the small space with small area rugs and items that are personal. The smaller room with more personal items is a great fit.
- Use wall space. Think outside the box a bit. You can hang more than just framed art and sconces. What about shelves and blankets? Be careful to complement your furniture. Heavily patterned furniture should be matched with more neutral wall colors.
Here's a great site we found that focuses specifically on designing for small spaces, Furniture For Small Spaces
Finally, use the living room. You've got to spend time in your room in order to get a feel for what works best. Your living room is your most popular space, after all. Embrace the size and coziness. Keep in mind, people tend to socialize better in small spaces.
What better reason to throw a party!!!
It's been fun and I hope we've provided you with some great ideas on how to design a small living room. Are you up to the challenge?
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