If you have a small living room, you know that getting the layout right can be tricky. No matter how hard you try, it seems that you always end up shrinking your space rather than opening it up. If you still need some guidance for designing a stunning, welcoming space, then we have just what you need.
We’ll cover the best layout for a small living room and walk through how to maximize the square footage so that it feels open and expansive.
How do you set up a small living room?
Finding the best furniture layout for small living rooms is all about understanding how to use visual tricks to make a space appear larger than it is.
Create a focal point
Having a focal point in the room reduces the need for other decorative pieces. Find a statement piece in your living room and work your design around it. If you have a fireplace or TV, use it as the center of your design and face your sofas and chairs toward it. Feel free to experiment with the placement of your focal point if you can. Move your TV and console table into the corner of the room to break up the rigid boxy structure of the space. Or, place your sofa and chairs asymmetrically toward the TV to create a funky, eye-catching layout.
Keep furniture away from walls
Another tip to make a small living room feel more expansive is to keep furniture away from the walls. When your furniture is pressed against the wall, it can make the whole room shrink in on itself and highlights how tiny the space really is. Open floor space makes rooms appear larger, so having visible flooring around the entire piece of furniture tricks the eye into seeing a bigger room. For best results, move your couch and TV stands about a foot away from the wall or place your furniture in corners to face the center of the room.
Use a large rug
While it might seem contradictory, using a large rug in a small space can actually make the room appear larger. To pull this visual trick off, use a rug that leaves at least a foot or two of exposed flooring around the border of the room. Small rugs can make your room appear tiny and often leave the space feeling like it’s lacking something. Using a larger rug instead, you can ground the space and add additional detail to better your design’s natural flow.
How do you maximize seating in a small living room?
One of the trickiest aspects of designing a small living room is creating enough seating for guests, but with these few tips, you’ll be able to gather your friends and family comfortably.
Use ottomans and low seating
Ottomans and poufs are perfect for adding additional seating to your living space. They’re compact and easy to store away when not in use, allowing you to utilize your space as much as possible. Then, whenever you have a social gathering, you can pull them out and set them up around the room for low seating that looks stunning and works wonders in your home.
Additionally, many homeowners find using an ottoman as a coffee table allows them to create a multipurpose item for their space. Ottomans can create additional seating or act as a footrest when need be. However, it can also function as a table. Simply put a tray on top and add all of your table items to create a makeshift piece of multipurpose furniture.
Invest in a pull-out sofa
If you have a tiny living room, skip the traditional couch and opt for something more functional and compact. Pull-out sofas and modular sectionals are better suited for smaller spaces. They allow you to create a smaller couch when need be, leaving you more space in your room overall. And when you need the extra seating, you can pull out the extra cushions or utilize the modular setup to create space for everyone to sit back and relax.
Maximizing the space in your small living room is all about getting creative with your furniture. Use multipurpose pieces like ottomans and pull-out sofas to create additional seating when needed, and rely on larger rugs and furniture with legs to increase the visibility of your flooring. Small living rooms don’t need to feel cramped and cluttered. Take a different approach to create a stunning layout and appeal to the room’s natural charm to create an inviting and grand space.
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