How to Make a Small Living Room Look Bigger

If you have a small living room and big ideas for what you’d like to do to it, the good news is that there are plenty of ways to make a small living room bigger. Small doesn’t have to mean cramped or cluttered. Instead, it can be cosy and inviting, simply through your choice of furniture, where you place it, your colour palette and more. If you’d like to learn all the tips and tricks to make the most of your space, here’s our guide to how to make a small living room look bigger.

What Makes a Small Living Room Bigger?

There are lots of different tactics you can employ to ensure you make the most of your space. We’ll take you through a selection of small lounge ideas to ensure you’re fully informed before making any decisions about your décor.

Furniture Placement

In a small room, furniture placement can make all the difference, and while it seems logical to place your furniture as close to the walls as possible, giving you more floor space, by doing that you can make the room appear smaller. Furniture placed next to your walls can limit the sense of available space, and it’s actually better to move them in from the walls, creating a cosy space that doesn’t feel too hemmed in.

What Colour Makes a Room Look Bigger?

When researching small living room ideas, colour will be a popular topic for discussion because it can really impact on the overall feeling in your space. There are two schools of thought when it comes to colour palettes for small living room layouts. The first is to go light, either with white or neutral shades to open up the space, especially if you have limited natural light.

The second is to go dark and essentially soften up the hard edges in your room. Not only does change your perception, it makes for a cosy, inviting interior.

Be Clever with Your Sofa Choice

As one of the biggest pieces of furniture in your living room, your sofa will inevitably take up a fair bit of room but certain designs will take a lot more room than others, so when it comes to sofa ideas for small living rooms, a slimline design is the best option. Look at sofas or sofa beds with slimline frames such as the Bletchley, and sofas with low backs such as the Studio, and consider light colours to prevent the sofa overwhelming your space.

Use Mirrors as an Illusion

A tiny living room can appear bigger through the use of mirrors. Cleverly placed mirrors can create the perception of a much bigger space, the larger the mirror, the larger your room will feel.

Avoid Clutter

With a small room, you need as much floor space as possible – clutter and unnecessary furniture or accessories will only serve to emphasise the lack of space. Where possible, keep clutter out of your living room and you’ll really notice the difference.

Use Sumptuous Textures

While clutter is out, you don’t want your room to feel empty or lacking in persona – and this is where sumptuous textures come in. They don’t take up any more room than other textiles, but they bring real warmth and cosiness to your space. Think sheepskin rugs, velvet sofas (or cushions), leather armchairs and beautifully textured wooden furniture such as coffee tables or sideboards.

Layer with Lighting

In small spaces, light is important. Where possible, make the most of any natural light coming into your room, but if there isn’t much to play with, the lighting you introduce can change the look and feel of your space. Rather than one main light, look at having several lights throughout your room, creating layers and giving the impression of space.

Get Creative with Storage

When decorating a small living room, it’s all about working out how to maximise the space you have, and where possible, making all items work as hard as possible for you. For example, when looking at furniture for a small living room, if you have a sofa with storage, it immediately helps to reduce clutter, without taking up any extra space. Look at shelving, so that you can keep your books without needing a large bookcase. With every piece of furniture, consider whether it has more than one purpose.

Make Your Walls Appear Taller

As well as making your floor space work harder for you, why not make your walls do the same? There are lots of different ways to make your walls appear taller, including panelling – which is a budget friendly way to make a real impact in your interior, and if you paint it a different colour to the rest of your wall, it makes the walls feel taller. Alternatively, paint your ceiling the same colour as your walls, removing all the angles and changing the perception of space in your room.

Wall Décor Ideas

As well as panelling and wall colour, hanging large pieces of art is a better option than hanging lots of smaller photos. While a gallery wall can look great, it can also make the space feel cluttered and can make the room feel smaller.

Window Coverings

If you’re trying to decide between curtains and blinds for your living room, when it comes to small modern living toom ideas, blinds are a great option. While curtains can create a sense of cosiness, blinds are light and take up a minimal amount of space, which is ideal when space is at a premium!

Can you put a Large Sofa in a Small Living Room?

The answer is yes, you can, but you have to accept that a large sofa will detract from how you use the rest of your space. If you’re happy for the sofa to be a focal point, and you see relaxing on the sofa as one of the main uses in this room, and you don’t mind if it prevents other pieces of furniture being used, then go for it! It’s all about working out what you want from the space and how you plan on using it.

How do you put Two Sofas in a Small Living Room?

If you’re keen to have two sofas in your small living room, the key is meticulous planning and choosing your sofa styles carefully. Slimline sofas are the best option, and if you’re struggling to find two sofas that will fit, a sofa and a love seat or armchair might be a better solution, with both taking up less room than a standard two-seater sofa. In terms of positioning, you could look at placing your two sofas opposite each other, or in an L-shape. Ultimately, it’s about working with the space that you have and styling accordingly.

How Can I Make My Narrow Living Room Look Bigger?

Cosy small living room décor looks wonderful but if you’d like to make your room appear bigger, there are a few tweaks you can make to your décor, including:

• The use of mirrors
• Removing any clutter
• Making the most of any light (and where there isn’t much natural light, adding in lighting)
• and also looking at creating zones in your space, perhaps having a dining area at one end and your seating area at the other.
• The use of rugs can also make a big difference to styling your zones.

How Do You Make a Small Living Room Look Bigger and Brighter?

If you want your living room to look bright, make sure to factor colour into your small lounge ideas. And not just on your walls but across your furniture, artwork and floor colour. The use of panelling can help to create the perception of height and mirrors can help make your room appear bigger.