Small Living Room – Tips to Make It Look Bigger

The living room is one unspeakably pleasant place, whether it's large or small. That's where the family comes together, guests are welcomed, and cookies are eaten. However, a small living room is easy to overload with furniture and other things, so it feels as cramped as a mouse hole and it's not enjoyable to be there, neither for your family nor for guests.

Fortunately, there are certain tricks to make a small living room look larger. At the same time, you can fit a sufficient amount of seating in there.

Light walls

Let's start with the old good trick of light walls. They visually push the room a bit larger than it actually is. And if you like patterns, you can boldly use them too, but stick to lighter tones. Choose curtains in the same color as well.

Let the light in

If your small living room is blessed with large windows, don't burden them with thick curtains, but let the light in. But if you don't want to leave your windows completely bare (the neighbor will see what candies you have in the bowl on the table), then use light fabric both in front of the window and as side curtains so as not to make the small room too heavy.

Mirrors on the wall

An old good trick is to make a room look larger with the help of mirrors. In our opinion, mirrors are very effective in any room and mirror frames can be a decoration in themselves. And you know what – if you're having a party, with mirrors in the living room, it feels like you have double the number of guests! Isn't that nice?!

Feng shui specialists, of course, say that mirrors in the living room can amplify guests' negative energy, but why would you invite anyone with negative energy to your home in the first place?

A coffee table can be both large and small

A larger coffee table is justified if it serves multiple functions. In addition to a table, it can also be used as a storage space, for example. A small old chest or box works well for such a table.

An ottoman can serve as many as three purposes. Place a tray on it and your ottoman is a table. Store magazines or blankets inside the ottoman and your ottoman is a storage place. And if you have more guests, the ottoman can also fill the role of a seat.

A small table is convenient because it can be easily moved and, again, in the case of a larger crowd, can be used as a step stool.

And a sofa can be… both large and small

There are multiple options with a sofa too. It's not that you can only put a small sofa in a small room. You know, you don't necessarily need a sofa in every living room. You can solve the seating issue with, for example, armchairs – four beautiful chairs that aren't huge in themselves, but are just right for your room.

With a large corner sofa, you can use the corner of the room and whoever happens to look through the door will find the room with the large sofa extraordinarily inviting and comfortable.

Choose a smaller, two-seat sofa if you want to place it more in the center of the room, not against the wall. This creates the impression that there is more space and plenty of air in the room.

A large rug is a good trick

You wouldn't think of it when decorating a small room, but actually a large rug is a good way to enlarge it, because it doesn't visually divide the room into small pieces.

Plants in the room

You might think that plants simply take up useful space in a room and you should put a storage box or something instead. Actually, it's the opposite – plants enliven the space, add depth to it and make it look larger.

Small living room – a cozy nest

A small room should definitely not be cold or sterile. Make it a comfortable nest where it's nice to be. Use cushions for this, blankets, and also choose a nice soft rug.

Transparent furniture tricks the eye

If you choose a transparent coffee table or a couple of plastic chairs, they won't burden the eye and the room will seem to have a bit more space.

Keep a couple of folding chairs in reserve

If you have a place to store them, it's good to have a couple of nice folding chairs reserved for when a larger number of guests arrive.

Also think about lighting

Although floor lamps and table lamps create a very cozy atmosphere, they can take up too much space in a smaller room. Use wall lamps instead.

Windowsills to good use

And lastly, make use of windowsills as well. You can place a flower or some small baskets and boxes there to store things. We've also visited homes where a couple of bar stools had been placed next to a high-quality windowsill – a good way to use otherwise empty space as a coffee table.

Here's a short video for your inspiration of small living rooms that really look inviting and comfortable.