33 small living room ideas to make the most of your space
Looking for small living room ideas? Whether you have an open-plan living room layout or a small box-shaped sitting room – no space is too little for a brilliant decorating scheme. As the most-used communal room in the home, it's important that your living room caters to your needs, even if you're working with a compact space.
'The first step to maximising storage in small living quarters is, of course, to declutter,' says Kelly Collins, interior designer and head of creative at Swyft Home. 'Once you’ve decluttered, you want to find alternative ways to store away everything you need, without having to compromise your living quarters. Multi-functional furniture is the key to small space storage.'
If you've struggled to arrange furniture or choose a colour palette, these clever small living room ideas can help. We cover layout, storage, multi-functional pieces, colour schemes, clever visual tricks and more. Here are 33 decorating ideas and design tips to help you make the most of your space.
Small living room ideas: Slim silhouettes
In a small space, slim silhouettes are always a safe bet – chunky furniture can interrupt your line of vision, and obstruct the depth or width of a room, making it feel smaller. Glass coffee tables with slim legs double the effect, as do low sofas that show off more of the height of a room.
Small living room ideas: Utilise every corner
In a small living room every inch of space should be cleverly utilised. We love this idea of turning alcove shelving into a simple and clutter-free work from home area. For narrow alcoves, you may want to consider a desk that sits flush with – or protrudes slightly over – your alcove so you're not knocking your elbows on adjacent walls whilst typing.
Pictured: House Beautiful Soho Stripe Carpet at Carpetright
Small living room ideas: Furniture with storage
Multi-functional furniture is a gift in small spaces. Storage ottomans that double up as extra seating are ideal, especially those set on springs or hinges for easier access to the bits and pieces underneath.
Pictured: House Beautiful Layla Sofa at DFS
READ MORE: 14 of the best modular sofas for flexible living
Small living room ideas: Consider footprints
When space is of a premium, you have to be careful with the footprint of your furniture. Choosing pieces that are slightly smaller than standard – like this compact accent chair and super slim floor lamp – is key to adding everything you need for a comfortable living room without sacrificing too much floorspace.
Small living room ideas: Embrace maximalism
One for the maximalists. Just because you have a small space doesn't mean you have to decorate modestly. If bold print and lots of pattern brings you joy, just work it in cleverly – this living room still has space to manoeuvre, but brings colour and pattern in every single piece.
Pictured: Furniture and accessories at John Lewis
READ MORE: How to carry off maximalist interior design in every room in your home
Small living room ideas: broken-plan
Small living rooms can suffer from a lack of natural light, so if you’re in a position to make structural changes, adding an archway or even a pane of glass can recruit light from adjacent rooms without creating something totally open-plan.
Pictured: Divider wall painted in Conch Shell 052 at Benjamin Moore
Small living room ideas: Opt for light colours
Smaller living rooms are best decorated with light, pastel colours. From dusty pinks to chalky greys, a soft colour palette will ensure your room feels spacious. We love this creative combination of pink and lilac.
Shop the look at Oak Furnitureland
READ MORE: 50 inspirational living room ideas
Small living room ideas: Multi-use furniture
This small living room has a few carefully selected pieces to maximise space. An upholstered footstool doubles as a coffee table – and the tray keeps accessories contained – whilst the console table has a drawer for storage. An unused fireplace is always a good spot to display books, too.
Pictured: Walls in Honest John™ No.58 at Mylands
Small living room ideas: Think carefully about flooring
'The flooring plays a key role in setting the tone in every space, but particularly smaller rooms, so choosing the right style is a must,' says Sarah Escott, Design Manager at Amtico. 'When decorating a small living room, it's important to focus on simplicity, as the space can get cluttered very easily. Light woods and stones are perfect to give the lounge an open and airy feel and draw in the natural sunlight from outside.'
Small living room ideas: Modular sofas
A modular sofa with a chaise is a great option for adding a bit of extra comfort in narrow living rooms where the width of your sofa is restricted. Swyft Home is a great brand if you need something customisable – this Model 03 goes from two seats to 10, in a left or right corner shape, with or without an ottoman. ,,
Pictured: Model 03 Two Seater Left Chaise in Pumice at Swyft Home
Small living room ideas: Statement pieces
Instead of filling your room with lots of statement accessories, choose fewer but larger pieces. It could be an eye-catching floor lamp, accent chair, or a pendant hanging from the ceiling. In a small space we're looking for impact over volume.
Pictured: Zambia Accent Chair at DFS
Small living room ideas: Add a mirror
Mirrors are a classic design trick for making a small room feel bigger. They are great for bouncing light around a small room, and a wall-mounted option doesn't take up space. Consider placing two mirrors on opposite walls to magnify the effect. Mirrored surfaces on your coffee tables or sideboards have similar impact.
Small living room ideas: Don't be afraid of wallpaper
Choosing wallpaper for small rooms might be a little daunting, but don't let that put you off. 'Don't be afraid to combine different patterns. Mix classic designs such as stripes or florals with exotic styles such as ikats and kilims,' says David Harris, Design Director at Andrew Martin. 'Avoid making the space look too busy by choosing patterns in colours that complement each other.'
Small living room ideas: Be clever with your display
If you like your living room to be full of trinkets and treasured objects, contain them to a single sideboard. This will create a busy corner that draws the eye without having to add extra side tables or shelving to accommodate everything you want to display.
Pictured: Walls painted in Soho House No.266 at Mylands
Small living room ideas: Contain everything
Even neater than a sideboard is using trays to contain your accessories to a single spot and stop them drifting across tables or mantelpieces – you forgo none of the decorative extras, but just keep them arranged within a tiny footprint.
Pictured: Scalloped Wooden Tray at Accessorize
Small living room ideas: Add a gallery wall
Wall art is an easy way to add decoration without taking up floor space. A busy display of photographs, posters and prints in a gallery wall is a popular and impactful technique to use in small living rooms and narrow hallways.
Small living room ideas: snugglers
Wider than an armchair but smaller than a standard sofa, a loveseat offers versatility when configuring your living room seating arrangements, especially in a compact space.
Pictured: Coxon Snuggler and Elswyth Bishop Stool, both at Barker & Stonehouse
Small living room ideas: Make sure there's plenty of light
A great way to ensure your living room doesn't feel cramped is by letting the light flood in. Large windows or French doors are a gift – if you can, go without window dressing to maximise the light.
Pictured: Ercol Marlia Chair at Furniture Village
Small living room ideas: Scandi inspiration
Scandinavian style is a great fit for smaller living rooms owing to its natural brightness, use of light woods, slim silhouettes and minimal decoration. We've got our eye on Ikea's shelving boxes, which have been artfully placed on this living room wall as a hybrid storage/decorative feature.
Small living room ideas: Bring the outside in
Add invigorating elements from nature to breathe a bit of life into a cramped living room. Here you could use a lot of plants – brilliant for encouraging cleaner circulating air in stuffy rooms – or simply rely on a nature-inspired colour palette full of mossy greens and sunny yellows.
Pictured: Walls painted in House Beautiful Back to Nature at Homebase
READ MORE: 30 on-trend paint colours for every room in your home
Small living room ideas: Chaise longue
One for the truly tiny spaces. If you can't fit a sofa without compromising a lot of floor space, go for a chaise longue instead. They are wonderfully comfortable and great for lounging – go for one with a back if you tend to prop yourself up when watching TV or reading.
Pictured: SÖDERHAMN Chaise Longue at IKEA
Small living room ideas: alcoves
Alcoves can be really handy in a small living room and serve multiple functions – a spot for freestanding storage, shelves full of books, a home bar or mini WFH spot.
Read more: 12 alcove ideas to help you maximise every inch of space
Small living room ideas: Create different zones
Zoning an already small space may seem counterintuitive, but it can make your living room appear bigger. Introducing multiple areas – a reading nook and dining area for instance – is a clever visual trick that creates the allusion of rooms within a room. Open shelving is the best device to use in this instance as it won't break up your line of vision or obscure natural light.
READ MORE: 12 ways to divide a room
Small living room ideas: home bar
When designing a small living room, there are certain wishlist features that might not seem feasible, like a home bar. But by simply miniaturising your design plans – this sweet two-tiered side table carries all the home bar essentials – you can make room for a few small luxuries.
Pictured: Cartizze Bar Cart at Swoon Editions
Small living room ideas: Consider using one colour
'Using a single colour over the walls, woodwork (including bookcases and shelving) and up onto the ceiling will make the room feel larger and uncomplicated giving the illusion of more space,' says Charlotte Crosby, head of creative at Farrow & Ball.
Shop the look at Farrow & Ball
Small living room ideas: layout compromises
It’s an inevitability in a small living room that compromises need to be made. This sofa sits with its back to a connecting door – not the most obvious of positions, but one that allows homeowners to look out a window rather than into the adjacent kitchen.
Pictured: Ceiling painted in Novara Green at Victory Colours
Small living room ideas: Go cosy
Embrace the diminutive proportions of your living room by making it super cosy. Lots of soft furnishings, a sink-in squidgy sofa, plenty of rattan and a dense pile rug underfoot will go a long way in a small space.
READ MORE: 13 cosy living room ideas
Small living room ideas: Use your room height
If you can't build out, build up. Using the full height of a small living room is one of the most under-utilised design tricks. We love this bespoke shelving unit that combines storage and display. And don't be afraid of using a dark colour in this instance – it will highlight height really effectively.
Pictured: Storage unit painted in Blueprint™ No.50 at Mylands
Small living room ideas: furniture substitutions
This is a bit of a covert money-saver. If you have a small living room with awkward dimensions, you might have to spend a lot of money on bespoke, integrated storage. But first, try measuring up for a freestanding cupboard, vintage dresser, or even an antique chest of drawers – the sizes might work well without the extra cost of buying bespoke.
Small living room ideas: Add a strong colour
'It can be really effective to embrace a small space by using strong, darker colours such as Duck Green or Bancha to create a dramatic, intimate feel making you focus on the style of the room rather than the size of it,' explains Charlotte Crosby, head of creative at Farrow & Ball.
Shop the look at Farrow & Ball
READ MORE: Farrow & Ball's Blue Gray paint colour divides the internet
Small living room ideas: Bright on bright
This living room is a great example of how to create a brightening palette for the colour-averse. Select three or four variations of cream, white, and taupe to layer on top of one another – this creates the most serene environment.
Shop the look at Cult Furniture
Small living room ideas: Reconsider the lighting
Lighting is vital in cramped spaces – both to brighten and set the right atmosphere. A dimmer switch for overhead lighting is the easiest way to adjust the mood of the room, while wall lights give a gentle, diffused glow – perfect for relaxed evenings. Otherwise, add an extra power point or two so you can have table lamps or a floor lamp to provide lighting in a darker space.
READ MORE: Living room lighting ideas
Small living room ideas: Choose a large rug
An XL area rug can highlight the full size of a room whilst adding a touch of warmth and comfort underfoot. A patterned rug will do a better job of fully emphasising the dimensions of your living room, but if you err on the side of minimalism, a plain rug will do the trick.
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