Small living room decor ideas

Having a small living space is not a disadvantage. Quite the contrary; small spaces can feel very cosy and homey if organised the right way. No, you don't need magic - all you need is some creativity and styling, and you can transform your home into a lovely, comfortable oasis. There are plenty of decorative tips for small places, but in this article, we'll focus on small living room decor ideas and tricks on making the space seem bigger and broader.

But first - declutter

Look around your living room - does it seem cramped and cluttered? If it does, it's only natural you don't want to spend much time there. Therefore, the first thing you should do before organising and decorating the space is to declutter. Not only will your living room look neater, but you will feel much better when you get rid of your excess stuff.

The easiest way to declutter is to make three piles:

• Hold on to things that you really need and use.
• Throw away broken and unusable items.
• Give or donate stuff you no longer need, but someone else might.

If you have many things you want to keep but have no room in your home, it has become very easy to find storage for all your clutter. A good idea is to rent a long-term storage unit close to your home so you can always have easy access to your belongings.

Choose the right furniture

When you live in a small place, it's crucial to mindfully choose the furniture. Most importantly, you must make sure not to cram in too much of it. For example, select a sofa that is proportional to the size of the space. If you still lack seating space, add stools as they don't take up much room and can easily be moved around.

If your home is generally small, a good idea is to use multi-functional furniture. Choose a sofa that turns into a bed as it can be useful if you have guests around. On top of that, they come with built-in boxes which give you extra storage.

What to do with walls?

When dealing with a small space, it's essential to be creative and wisely use every inch of available space. When you look at your walls, you'll probably notice there is plenty of space to be used. Also, by using specific colours, you can completely transform the entire room and make it seem bigger than it is.

Choose light colours

For your living room to seem bigger, wider and brighter, paint it in a light, neutral colour. Even though darker colours are trendier at the moment, they can really close up the space and aren't a good option for smaller rooms. Light shades, however, make the room feel more cosy, airy and open and can do wonders for small spaces, especially if you don't have much natural light coming in.

White is probably the best one to choose as it goes well with any other colour. Having your walls painted white gives you plenty of opportunities to play with furniture colour and patterns. You can even add interesting pieces of artwork without feeling like the walls are closing in on you.

Our advice is to choose a warm colour as it will make the room feel more inviting and cosy. But there are many other decorative paint techniques for the walls you can choose from.

Maximize the storage space

As every inch of your small living room counts, you should really think about smart storage solutions. Nowadays, you can find interesting pieces at a really low price or, even better, have them custom made.

You should tend to use up the vertical space you have. You don't want it to go to waste when there are so many options. Fitting stacked floating shelves is a good idea, and you can use them for books or souvenirs from your travels.

Look around your room and see if there are any unused corners or nooks. There are plenty of ways to use them to your advantage and create additional storage space.

Use the lights wisely

Nothing can beat natural lighting - it makes the room feel fresh and airy. All the sunbeams reflecting throughout the room make the space seem wider and more expansive, so make sure not to block your windows with dark curtains.

If you have small windows or no windows at all, invest in good light fixtures and make sure to have at least their working lights. To make the most of your space, choose lighting that can be hung from above or attached to the wall.

One of the easiest but very effective small living room decor ideas is to add a mirror to make the space seem bigger. Mirrors reflect light, both natural and artificial, and can really brighten up your living room. They can also look good simply as a decoration.

Additional tips

And lastly, here are some additional small living room decor ideas that can help you make the most of your small space!

• Try replacing curtains with blinds. Why? Because blinds make the room seem taller and, therefore, make the room seem bigger.
• Wall-mount your TV and use the TV shelf to store other items (books or your favourite trinkets).
• Think of ways to use the awkward space. For example, if you have a bay window, consider building a seating solution.
• Add statement pieces such as an oversized table lamp or a gorgeous piece of art, as they will draw attention from the room size.
• If you have a staircase, make sure to use the space. You can use it for built-in shelves or even a small workstation.

We hope you liked our small living room decor ideas and that at least some of them helped you take full advantage of your space. Have a good one!