Everyone desires a spacious home, but the budget doesn’t always allow it. Most times, you have to make do with the limited space you have. You must find a way to fit sofas, a coffee table, and an entertainment cabinet without cluttering the room or impeding free movement. This can be quite challenging for an interior design novice.
The secret to arranging a small room is purchasing the right furniture, using space optimally, and installing light fixtures to make the room feel bigger.
Use the following tips to help you furnish a small living area.
Try Café-Style Seating
If you’ve attempted to eat dinner at a coffee table, you know it isn’t comfortable without a little manoeuvring and pushing the sofa closer. However, a single person or a couple doesn’t always need a large dining table for every meal.
Consider a small round coffee table with two chairs if you do not have a designated dining room. You can purchase two more foldable chairs for use when you have guests – keep them hidden away the rest of the time.
Go High
Going high is one of the easiest and most effective ways of maximising space in a small living room. Instead of hanging your curtains above the window, take them closer to the ceiling. Ensure you buy longer curtains so they don’t look awkward when raised.
Regarding artwork and wall décor, raise them beyond eye level and fix them closer to the ceiling. For example, design your gallery wall so it extends to the top, and fix shelves beyond the typical middle of the wall. This layout draws your eyes upwards whenever you walk into the room, creating an illusion of space.
Use Décor to Add Visual Interest
Installing many light fixtures at different height levels draws your attention to separate areas of the room, making it look bigger and more interesting. Besides the lights, you can add a large artwork or built-in bookshelves to balance the scale.
Alternatively, you can fix wallpaper or add a bold accent wall.
Scale Down Furniture
Every piece of furniture is vital in a small living room. For example, choosing leaner tables and wall sconces saves floor space. Also, wall-mounted shelves and floating desks leave more room than traditional bookcases and workstations.
Opt for a loveseat instead of a three-seater or larger leather lounge for seating. A two-seater is more than enough to meet your needs, whether living alone or with a roommate.
for seating. A two-seater is more than enough to meet your needs, whether living alone or with a roommate.
Add Mirrors
Adding mirrors is a classic trick designers use on small spaces to make them look bigger. The reflective properties of mirrors add light and dimensions to any room, creating an illusion of space. Moreover, mirrors are inexpensive.
Remember, not all mirrors are the same. Mirrors with small bezels or a frameless design are the best for small rooms. Large frames reduce the mirrors’ effectiveness and can seem overpowering in a small living area.
Add a table lamp or a sconce nearby your mirror to boost its reflective properties.
Emphasise Patterns and Texture over Colour
Opting for unconventional décor ideas makes your home outstanding. For instance, if you have a small living room, play with various patterns and ideas to create multiple focal points and make it look bigger.
Use patterned throw pillows and combine them with patterned rugs and planters. You can also add different textures and prints to a singular colour palette. This showcases your style without disrupting its visual appeal. Leave small gaps between the decorations to create the illusion of vastness and openness.
Adopt a Symmetrical Layout
Humans love symmetry – in faces, nature, and home layouts. This is because symmetry conveys the feel of ultimate orderliness, maximising space in the smallest rooms.
Arranging your furniture pieces in symmetry can help you achieve and maintain a balanced layout. But, of course, symmetry works best with minimalism, so you’ll have to remove anything you don’t need. Think about the extra sofas, chairs, tables, and that large, bulky media cabinet.
Float Your Media Centre
Another way to free up floor space is to avoid a large, bulky media cabinet. Instead, consider floating it. Start by mounting your TV on the wall and fixing floating shelves for the decoder, speakers, and other entertainment gadgets. Choose an experienced installer who’ll hide the cords, which can be unsightly. If you have the cash, purchase wireless devices to reduce the cabling.
Use Large Rugs
Decorating a small living room is mostly about tricking the eye into believing it’s larger than it is. When you use a small rug in a tiny room, it looks like it’s floating at the centre of a cramped space.
However, a large, end-to-end rug does the trick. It anchors the room and creates an impression of spaciousness.
If you’re unsure of the rug size that’ll work for your room, use painter’s tape to map its outline on the floor. Then, choose different sizes to see the shape and size with the most significant spatial impact.
Choose White Walls
White is the best colour choice for small living room walls. It makes any room feel airy, soothing, and spacious. Moreover, white walls resemble a blank canvas.
White is great because it works with all décor themes. However, experts recommend choosing a white-on-white theme because it maximises this laidback and calm aesthetic. You’ll have a relaxing and welcoming living room if you add soft white, cream, or other pale-coloured furniture.
If an all-white room doesn’t suit your taste, add some colour by growing plants or purchasing colourful accent pillows and cushions.
Add Flowers and Plants
Growing green plants and flowers breathes life into your tiny room, provided you don’t overdo it – and that you look after them.
If you don’t have the time or passion for looking after plants, you can get faux plants that look like the real thing, adding the same pop of natural colour.
Wrapping Up
Having limited floor space doesn’t mean you can’t showcase your style. Decorating a tiny room isn’t much different from stylising a big one – you only need creativity and an eye for what works and doesn’t. The tips mentioned above are a good starting point.
If you’re ready to decorate your small living room, get in touch with Brescia Furniture today for high-quality leather lounges and other living room furniture.
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