8 Unexpected Ways to Make the Most of a Small Living Room
Since giving birth to Eliza Joy last week (check out my blog post about our first week with Eliza Joy here) I have been so incredibly thankful for my amazing guest posters! Today I am thrilled to be talking about some HOME DECOR tips and tricks from my new friend Ashley!
Ashley loves experimenting with home decor, crafts and DIY projects. When she is not working she likes to travel to South East Asia every year to refill her energy and read as much as she can. Follow her on Twitter: @AshleyWillamson.
8 Unexpected Ways to Make the Most of a Small Living Room
The living room is a center point of the home and we all love spending time in there, relaxing with family and friends, reading a book or watching a movie with your partner, it’s a multi functional room that gets so much use.
But what to do if your living room is a little smaller than average? Cozy living rooms don’t need to limit your interior design ideas and in fact they can be one of the nicest rooms to decorate. If you are stuck for ideas or just want some inspiration, take a look at my top tips for decorating a small living room to make the most of the space you have.
1. Mirrors
There is a simple and easy way to make the most of your smaller living room, just add some mirrors! Mirrors can help trick the eye and make the space feel bigger and they can also help to reflect the light within the room.
This is great because all kinds of mirrors can work. Large, floor length ones are, in my opinion the best, but know that this isn’t practical for every home. If you can’t find space in your house for a full length mirror, then a gallery wall with lots of mirrors can work as great alternative.
2. Leave the Windows Open
If you are short on space in your living room, then curtains can close off the room as well as taking up valuable space. I really believe that getting rid of your curtains can let in so much light and make the room feel more bright and spacious.
If you need curtains for a little bit of privacy, I would consider searching for an inset blind to shade your room and offer a bit of privacy. A blind takes up less space than curtains and can still be as stylish as a pair of beautiful curtains.
3. Raise it up
One of my more unexpected tricks to make the most of a smaller living room is to use raised furniture to create height. Keeping your furniture off the ground gives the impression of space and helps to make your living room feel more open and spacious.
I love this tip because there are so many great options for raised furniture and its something that you wouldn’t expect to make a room feel more spacious but it works so well.
4. Coastal Design
I love to go to the beach, the sea and the sand is so peaceful, so when it comes to finding tips and tricks to making your small living room feel bigger, I just had to include a tip inspired by the coast.
There are lots of ways to incorporate coastal design into your home, but perhaps the easiest way is to use a color scheme of light blues and fresh whites to make the room feel brighter and in turn, more spacious.
If you are looking to create a coastal theme throughout the room, you can use light wood furniture or even paint your floor white. A coastal theme makes the most of the natural light and really helps to make those small rooms feel bigger.
5. Smooth Textiles
When working with fabrics, we all know that it can be easy to get caught up with beautiful thick and textured fabrics that would be so perfect in your living room, but when it comes to thinking about what textiles to put in your small living room, you should stay away from anything that adds unnecessary volume.
If you are looking for fabrics for your small living room, the smoother the better. It gives the room a sleek feeling without feeling too full and help to create smooth lines that will help organize your space better and help it to feel bigger.
6. Less is More
This is really one of the more unexpected tips that I have for you: put bigger furniture in a smaller room. I know what you’re thinking, but just hear me out, it might be tempting to fill your room with lots of chairs and a few smaller side tables, but this is the quickest way to have your room feeling overcrowded and small.
If you pick fewer but bigger pieces of furniture, you can trick the eye into thinking that the room is much bigger. Picking a few great multi-functional pieces is also way more practical, but more on that later…
7. Use a Light Color Scheme
I think that using a light and fresh color scheme is one of the easiest ways to make a small room feel bigger, though I think it is an option that is often overlooked. The trick to getting the color scheme to make your room feel bigger is to pick warm colors in neutral tones.
Using blues, creams and light warm greys can freshen your room as well as having the added advantage of creating a sophisticated and elegant feeling in your living room. You can paint the walls or even brighten up a darker couch with a light colored throw or some bright throw cushions.
8. Multi-functional Furniture
When it comes to picking your furniture for a smaller living room, it’s important to think about form as well as function. It’s important that in a small space you have furniture that can do more than one thing as it maximizes space and means you can cut down on furniture in the room overall.
There are a few ways you can do this, think about using an ottoman as a coffee table or getting some foot stools that can double as storage units. By thinking tactically about your furniture choices you can create space without losing any of the functionality.
So there you have it, my top tips for making your small living room feel bigger and more spacious. Let me know in the comments below if you are going to try out any of the ideas and if you have any more tips or ticks to make the most of a small space.
