When it comes to small living rooms, it can be challenging to know how best to arrange the furniture and find a place for everything. Getting the layout right in any living room can be tricky, but it is especially important when it’s a small living room. At The Living House we always begin by exploring different layout options when we are designing rooms for our customers, to see what the possibilities are and what will work best for the space.

You don’t want the room to feel cluttered and overcrowded, but you also need it to have enough seating space for family and friends. All families need plenty of storage, and of course, you want it to look beautiful too. By getting the layout right, you can achieve clever things like tricking the eye to make the space feel larger, and creating a cosy living room that works for you and your family.

Here are some of our top tips for arranging furniture in a small living room and unlocking your room's full potential.

Don’t line the furniture up against the walls

It can seem like the obvious solution to line all your furniture up against the wall and leave the middle of the living room empty to increase the feeling of space. However, it can actually make the room feel smaller, as though the furniture only ‘just’ fits. Try moving your sofa and chairs 15 cm away from the walls. Bringing them a little closer to the centre of the room can create a cosier and more intimate seating arrangement. This is a really simple change and will instantly make a big difference, so have a go and give your sofa some breathing space.

Look up and make the most of the height

With small living rooms you need to take advantage of the whole room and use every bit of space. Take a look up and see how you can make the most of the height of your walls. Try adding bookcases, large plants, shelving, or floor lamps. If your ceilings aren’t particularly tall, this will help to draw your eye up and give the illusion of more height. If your furniture is at different heights, it will bring interest to the small space and stop it feeling one dimensional and bland.

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Furniture with legs

Avoid furniture with no legs or low chunky legs as it can make your sofas and sideboards appear bulky and blocky in the room. Instead opt for tall tapered legs so that you can see the floor space disappearing underneath. Being able to see under the furniture helps give the illusion of more space, which is key in a small living room. And as an added bonus, raised legs also make hoovering a lot easier!

Go large with the rug

A mistake we often see in small living rooms is to choose a small rug and place it in the middle of the room, not touching anything else. This makes the rug look like it is going to float away and draws your eye into the centre of the room making it feel smaller! Instead you need a rug that is large enough to fit underneath the two front feet of the sofa and your armchair to anchor it. It’s all about tricking the eye, and this larger expanse of rug pulls your eye out to the edge of the room making it feel bigger. It helps to link everything in the room together and adds to the cosiness factor.

large rug in small living room — @my_best_laid_plans

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Make use of multifunctional pieces

Think about furniture pieces that can be multifunctional. A footstool can triple as a coffee table with a tray, an extra seat when you have guests, and hidden storage to hide away what you want out of sight. Even the sofa can have storage within it with lift up seats for throws, books etc.

Built in furniture

Built-in furniture can be a great solution to house lots of stuff that you don’t want on display. It can provide closed storage cupboards that fill every inch of space. In a small room you don’t want to leave unhelpful gaps beside your bookshelves and cupboards. If your small living room has alcoves, then make the most of them and consider built-in alcove units. You can have storage cupboards at the bottom and shelves at the top for books, plants, and accessories. You can even incorporate your TV into the alcove unit and use the top of the cupboards as a TV stand.

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Mirrors

A small living room can benefit from a mirror, whether that's above the fireplace or sideboard - or anywhere really! A mirror will always help to bounce the light around the room and make the space feel bigger. Do be careful to make sure the mirror isn’t larger than the piece of furniture it is above though or it can look off balance and top heavy. Also pay attention to what it will reflect. In a small room you want to minimise the clutter, so be careful that you are doubling up the good in the reflection and not the bad.

Minimise the clutter in a small room

It’s always best to avoid clutter in any size room, but especially in small living rooms. Use rattan baskets to stylishly store things away. Place baskets on bookcase shelves for paperwork and collections and have big baskets to easily scoop up the childrens toys at the end of the day.

Take a look at your accessories and remove a few. Make sure there is some space around each one so they can each make an impact.

Lighting for your small living room

Lighting can make or break a room. It can help to add a cosy atmosphere and change the mood of a room. You may want to use your small side tables for drinks and find table lamps take up too much space, so instead try using a floor lamp. It will add height and can look great angled over an armchair to create a cosy reading corner. And don’t forget the walls. Wall lights have made a comeback recently, and there are some beautiful designs out there. Lighting up the walls will make the room feel larger, pushing the walls back and emphasising the edges and corners. We particularly love Pooky’s range for something a bit different, and Dunelm is great for stylish yet affordable options.

If you’re struggling with getting your small living room layout right, try our online interior design service to give you all the help you need. Whether you’re considering a full redesign or a spruce up, we can take the stress away, and give you confidence to move forward knowing that you will be avoiding the pitfalls. Our design packages are a flat fee and we can work to any budget large or small for your furniture, saving you money along the way and ensuring you get the results you really want!

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