You’re not alone if you don’t have a 10-foot sofa or massive gaming screen space. Many of us who live in an apartment or urban area also consider that space is a luxury! Trust Me!
The living room is the space, where the family and guests use to gather. Whether small or big, it should fulfill the basic needs of the room. A perfect living room should be able to function as a space for relaxation as well as entertainment for your family.
I know it’s a major challenge to accept the compact living for a flat or an older home with tiny rooms. But you can make it feel like it with a few design tricks. And you’re not even needed to take a wall down. Try these tips yourself to make small living room look bigger with tweaks on colour, furniture, windows, and much more!
01. Make Use of Large Mirrors
The designers often place mirrors in small places to make them feel larger. One of the most common idea is to hang a large mirror in a central location to create a focal point. To reflect light and good ambience, you can also add a light source such as floor standing lamp. If possible, try to place a mirror opposite to the window so that it will reflect the view and give the illusion of another window and bounce light around the room, making space feel airier!
You will like to visualize an Infographic on Mirror – A Decorative Element for Home Décor.
02. Make Your Furniture Mobile
Just imagine the fuzion scooter in your home; it is the exactly same when we think for furniture on wheels. Buying a small room furniture on casters (on wheels) will allow you to rearrange the pieces as needed easily, whether that means pushing a chair, table, or kitchen island out of the way or rolling a mattress into a position to comfortably set up overnight guests.
03. Add Lots of Lightings
Natural light is a best way in making a small living room look bigger, but artificial lighting helps too. Try to include several light sources to create a bright look in a day and more comfortable and cozier glow at night. You may use lighting with dimmers and consider using various types of lighting for instance, floor and table lamps, recessed ceiling fittings, hanging lights and wall couplings.
You may also like read and understand on various secrets of Natural Lights for home, helping you in saving your energy.
04. Install Floating Shelves
While living with less is always a great goal. But sometimes you just need some extra storage which offer storage space without the bulkiness of bookcases, chests, and cupboards. Yeah, I am talking about fitting an open shelf which keeps your room lighter and more open.
05. Open Plan Concept
When the walls dividing them are torn down, your small living room may become a large combination of living, dining and kitchen space. If major structural modifications are not possible, just remove the doors to any connected place and it will help a bit in making a small living room look bigger!
06. Update Your Room Using Light Colours
Some of the best strategy is to use light colours on walls, floors, ceilings and upholstery for furniture. Softer tones will make a room squeezed and more luminous. The neutral colour palette of whites or beiges can also expand the space and impart instant sophistication and create a calming environment in a room.
You would also like to look on what are tips to design the colour scheme for your home and some colour themes that the designers are rooting for their clients!!!
07. Choose Lightweight Furniture
When you shop modern furniture, consider its visual weight. This concept refers to perceive the heaviness of an object based on its size, colour and design. You should pick out the pieces that have a lightweight appearance, as the heavier ones will seem to tighten the small space.
For instance, you can use glass centre/coffee or end tables that take up less visual space than wooden ones and you can see through them. You can also pick an acrylic one table with an open metal base frame. Any furnishings that don’t obstruct views will make the area seem more open!
You can grab some of the best centre /coffee tables and side / end table designs for your living room.
08. Or Skip the Coffee Table Totally
Do you like to be very courageous? Miss the coffee table and place the snacks and other things on the side tables and the ledges. Leaving the table in the middle of a house instantly helps a living room look and sound much wider. Furthermore, almost all you need is a strong footstool anyway!
09. Add Hidden Storage
You can pick the modern furniture with a built-in storage to limit the clutter. A wooden box or storage ottoman as a coffee table works well. Along the perimeter of the room, you can add a small chest of drawers or a small cupboard instead of a table to boost the storage options.
You can also read our blog on
10. Downsize Your Sofa
In small spaces, the full-size modern sofa won’t work. You can choose the small room furniture with clean lines and exposed legs for the airiest look.
If you want to know more on sofas then have a look:
10 Tips to Choose a Sofa for Your Home!
How to Select a Sofa for Optimum Comfort?
Exclusive Sofa Designs for Living Room
11. Try for Backless Sofa
In an open-plan space, sometimes the best position for sofa is not on the wall but in the middle of the room. A backless sofa is a very elegant alternative and can be used from both sides and can act as a bonus when seating options are limited.
If you want to use it in a larger room someday, it can act as a divider between two seating area. It is one of the smart small living room idea, as this modern furniture can be used for bigger rooms too!
12. Or Just Skip Your Sofa
If your space is tight, you can also go for three or four arm chairs arranged in a group around the centre table. It is adorable for small room furniture!
13. Use Your Corners
Corners in a room are often left open which can be used by adding an accent chair or a corner bookshelf, that makes your room more livable.
14. Use Sheer Curtains
Soft sheers are also an excellent choice for window treatments in the living room provided you do not need total privacy. Curtains which are not completely opaque cause the eye to take a hint to the view that leads to a less closed space if the curtains are drawn.
And in this case if you also want some privacy or to block out the external light, you can also add layer opaque shades or curtains to keep both of your options ON.
15. Fake Bigger Window Treatments
Installing the curtain rods few inches away from the width of the window will visually expand the view and make the feel of wider window. The same trick works vertically, to expand the window height, you have to hung the curtain rods few inches above the window, that makes window seems taller.
With this, you will enjoy reading on how to choose the right window treatment for your house.
16. Draw Your Eye Upward!
If your small living room has a high ceiling, make the most of the extra space by decorating it in a manner that draws the eye upward. While the vertical space doesn’t help with squeezing in an extra seat but drawing the eye upward will give the impression that your room is far larger and grander and you can fill your vertical space as an art gallery as per your choice!
17. Add a Right Rug
If a rug is right, it really does boost your room, but done incorrectly, it looks smaller than ever before!
It may sound counter-intuitive but if possible, use a rug in each usable area that extends beyond the furniture. For instance, a sofa, coffee table and an accent chair covering rug would draw the eye wider and make the small living room look bigger.
18. Add Plants & Make it Lighter
Greenery makes the smallest space feel fresher and lighter. Usually, plants add depth to space. They are more effective for the corners, besides sofas and chairs. If you are living in an apartment, you can also hang it!
All in all, I hope you like all these ideas in making your room look bigger, brighter and lighter. With this note, I would also like to add that since you are living in small living room, it doesn’t mean you can’t express yourself. As we spend a lot of time in the living room, we can imbue your space with personality by using accessories that tell you and your family’s stories. Creatively framed frames, a sentimental grandparents’ items, or the personal work of art or the collections are perfect decorative items, personalizing your comfortable living room.
Well, tell us in the comments about your feel in making your small room look bigger with these ideas.
Image Courtesy: Image 10, Image 12 – coziem, Image 13, Image 17