Looking for some good tips and ideas for a living room for a small space? Do you have an open kitchen living room space and the living room will need to serve many different functions? Then this blog post will try to help you to create your dream space, even on a budget. Here are my 8 tips to make your dreamy living room come alive.
1. Start with what you will need
To make a living room into a space that really works for you, you will need to first list down what you need to make your living room work for you. This could for example be a place to watch movies with 2 people, space to eat for 2 on weekdays and 6 at weekend dinner parties, a desk to work from home a few days a week with good light and background. The key is to list down the requirements that you actually need, not how you which life was.
After you have made your list, label each item on the list if it is a non negotiable or not. Prioritise the importance of each requirements as well.
2. Take measurements
The next important step to decorate a smaller living room, is to take measurements. Every centimetre and inch matters when you have a smaller room. Make sure that you measure the distance between walls, but also floor to ceiling and height from floor to window.
When you have the measurements, draw the measurements out on a white paper. I tend to draw 3cm per 1m ratio. This will give you an overview of what you will have to play with and how furniture will look in the space.
3. Work out different zones
Now that you have a drawing of your space, it is time to get back to the requirements list. Try to devide the space on your paper into different areas for your requirements. If you have furniture from before, try to add the furniture to the drawing with a pencil and move it around with erasing it.
A brilliant way to create clear zones is to place furniture in the middle of the room, for example – add a sofa to the middle of the room and let there be some space behind it. The space behind the sofa can for example be used as an office space with adding a small desk. Adding a sofa in the middle of the room is one of the best ideas create clear zones.
Another way to create zones is to add separate rugs to each space. With a rug, you create an illusion that you are stepping from one room to another. This is a brilliant way to make different zones in a small living room.
4. Layer the room
To create an illusion that a living room is larger that what it is, try to add layers to the living room. This can for example be done with adding a console table behind a sofa with some lamps on or adding an ottoman under a window as a window seat. Try also to add taller items that further into the room from the entrance door.
The key is to create a space that seems larger than what it is. Do not be afraid of adding more furniture to a smaller space. More items can actually make a room look bigger, when its done correctly.
5. Use colours that expands the room
Colors can really impact how you experience a room. You should therefore make sure that you pick colors wisely when you are decorating a small living room. Lighter colors will make a room look larger than the room actually is and dark colors can make a room look smaller. Therefore, do not use dark colors like black, dark blues or browns on the wall and furniture. Try to go for whites and pale colors instead.
6. Add smaller furniture that fits the room
A trick to make a living room look bigger, is to add smaller furniture. Instead of a 3 seater, consider to buy a 2.5 seater instead. Look for coffee tables that are slimmer than a normal size or add a small round table that is easy to add in a corner and can make it easier to move around compared to a square table. Adding furniture that are slimmer or round can make a room feel larger and enable you to create zones in the living room even when the space is small.
7. Add multifunctional furniture
Another trick to add furniture that serves multiple functions. A really good item to add to a smaller living room is furniture with storage space. You can never have too much storage space when you are living in a smaller space. Furniture that have storage space can be an ottoman, a sofa where the fabric goes down to the floor and you can store boxes under the sofa or tables with drawers. There are many good examples of furniture with storage, if you start looking for it.
8. Add character and decorative items
The last tips to create a great space when you have a smaller living room, is to also add decorative items and things that means something to you. In the same way as layering the room with furniture, layering the room with decorative items will make your eye and mind wonder when you enter a living room. But remember to give the items breathing room around them, so it does not look cluttered.
I hope you found these tips valuable when you are decorating. Here are a few other blog posts about decorating living rooms
20 Living room favorites from IKEA
