Just because your living room’s a little on the small side, it doesn’t mean you have to put up with a space that feels cramped and uninviting. There are plenty of opportunities to transform your small living room into a welcoming and stylish space. In order to help you gather all the inspiration you need, we’ve put together our top 8 stylish yet practical ideas for decorating small living rooms. These are the main factors to consider:
Choose light colours for the walls
Dark colours do have a tendency to make spaces feel smaller, and so when it comes to decorating small living rooms, it’s much safer to stick to light colours. Painting the walls with pale shades such as white, cream and grey, will help to make the room feel light, airy and open and will also prevent the room from feeling cramped.
Use mirrors to create space
Placing mirrors strategically around the room instantly creates the illusion of space. Mirrors reflect light across the room, creating the illusion of the room being bigger, whilst also making the space look brighter and adding a decorative statement. At IOL, we have a varied range of mirrors to suit all small living rooms, from decorative wall mirrors, to full length mirrors. The Milan Leaner Mirror is one of our favourite decor choices for small living rooms. Simple, but effective, this leaner mirror brightens up the space without overcrowding it.
Be clever with lighting…
A room that is well lit will always look bigger than a room that feels dark and dingy. That’s why, one of our favourite ideas for decorating small living rooms is to use varied lighting. Placing light at different heights draws the eye around the room, making it feel larger and more airy.
…And make the most of natural light
Let as much natural light into the room as possible by accentuating window spaces. Shutters and blinds are a great idea for decorating small living rooms as they provide privacy without taking up too much of the window space and blocking out the natural light. The more natural light that you can get to enter the room, the brighter and more airy it will feel.
Be bold with a rug
It might seem counter-intuitive, however using a large rug is one of our favourite ideas for decorating small living rooms. Large rugs draw the eye wider, creating the sense that there’s more space than there actually is. Just be careful to avoid small rugs as they have the opposite effect, making the room feel more limited. For advice on finding the perfect rug, check out our previous article that’s all about ‘How To Use Patterned Rugs In Your Home Decor Scheme’.
Install smart storage
When it comes to decorating small living rooms, any storage space that you can find is precious. That’s why it’s worth spending some time looking at smart storage solutions. Multifunctional pieces of furniture such as media units and sideboards with in-built storage are perfect for small spaces. Have a browse of our indoor furniture collection where we have a range of storage options like this available that are perfectly suited to smaller living spaces.
Swap a sofa for armchairs
If you don’t have enough room to install a sofa without taking up too much room, swap it out for a couple of armchairs. They’ll provide just as much comfort, without overcrowding the room and giving you the ability to move them around easily. Finished in luxuriously soft velvet, our Art Deco Velvet Scallop Chairs and Velvet Tub Chairs are just as comfortable as they are stylish, and fabulously suited to small spaces. Our leather armchairs also make practical yet elegant additional seating solutions.
Stack coffee tables
Our final (but by no means less important) idea for decorating small living rooms is installing nest coffee tables. Nest tables are perfectly suited to small rooms as they offer plenty of individual table space without taking up a large proportion of the room. You can also move them around the room as you please. Our Iron Coffee Table Nest or Firwood Coffee Table nest are both elegant options for a small space.
