1. PARE BACK YOUR FURNITURE
If you are starting total from scratch in a space, choosing the perfect small living room furniture is a good place to start. As with most small spaces, the rule less is more usually applies. You don't want your room to be crammed with furniture so go back to basics and focus on the key pieces of furniture your room needs to function as a practical living space.
2. FLOAT FURNITURE IN THE ROOM
In small apartment living rooms, a clever layout can make all the difference. The right arrangement will keep the space feeling open and airy rather than boxy and cramped.
When it comes to small living room layouts, we have a tendency to want to push everything against the walls, leaving this empty sea of floor space in the center. In fact, all that layout does is make the room feel empty and uninteresting.
3. IMPROVE SIGHTLINES TO MAKE YOUR ROOM FEEL BIGGER
An easy way to make a small apartment living room feel larger is to 'borrow' space from your other rooms. And by that we mean keep your layout as open-plan as possible – larger open doorways or glazing instead of solids doors can work so well in small apartments to keep the flow between rooms effortless, plus it means light can easily flow around the space.
4. EMBRACE MINIMALIST PRACTICES
Minimalism is known for working wonders in small spaces. You want your living room to be as clutter-free as you can make it as clutter is only going to make the space feel smaller. So along with sticking with just key pieces of furniture, you want to be organized, and have plenty of closed storage options that you can hide away unsightly essentials like TV remotes, tech, toys, etc.
5. CHOOSE BUILT-IN STORAGE
Effective living room storage is key in a small space. Bookcases, cupboards, console tables, all these individual storage pieces will quickly fill up a small room, so opting for built-in storage that can do the job of all these individual pieces is a simple way to gain back some space.
6. LAYER LIGHTING FOR A SOPHISTICATED SCHEME
Having a good lighting scheme is particularly important in a small apartment living room as a well-lit space feels much bigger than a dark room with just a single light source. The best approach is to layer your living room lighting, you want to create an all-over glow. Incorporate lighting at different levels, so as well as an overhead source, have floor lamps in the corners, table lamps situated on console tables, or a side table. This way you'll get multiple pools of light around the room.
7. USE CLEVER FLOORING TO EXPAND YOUR SPACE
Flooring types might not be top of your list when it comes to your living room design decisions, but it can make all the difference helping 'expand' your, add texture and create a seamless flow if you are dealing with an open or broken plan space.
8. GROUND AN OPEN PLAN LAYOUT WITH LARGE RUGS
A small square of rug floating in the center of your room is only going to make the space feel smaller and fussy. Rugs are also ideal for zoning apartment living rooms that are in an open-plan space as can be seen in this apartment designed by K&H Design. The living space feels separated from the dining room as the rug running underneath all the living room furniture almost acts like walls, making it feel more like it's own room.
9. CLEAR VISUAL BULK WITH ARMLESS FURNITURE
Ditch the arms on your sofas and chairs. You'd be surprised how much visual bulk it removes from the room and makes a space feel so much more open. See how in this small apartment living room, choosing a huge corner sofa but with an armless design doesn't break up the space. The fact that it's quite low-slung too means plenty of light can still flow around the room.
10. LOSE THE LEGS TOO
Where you can, wall mount your furniture. Floating pieces like sideboards and shelving free up the floor space underneath and tricks the eye, creating the allusion of a larger room.
11. PUT OVERSIZED FURNITURE IN THE RIGHT PLACES
It's tempting to fill a small apartment living room with small furniture for fear of overwhelming the room with large pieces. But sometimes you are best going big, one modular sofa is going to look less busy than a love seat and two armchairs.
12. DECORATE WITH A SIMPLE COLOR SCHEME
Generally speaking, the best colors for small living rooms are lighter hues – whites, pale greys, creams, beiges – all these shades are known for their space-expanding effects. So stick with those lighter colors on the walls, you want a foundation of lighter neutrals that you can then bring pops of color into.
13. MAKE USE OF AWKWARD SPACES WITH BUILT-INS
In small living rooms you need to make the most of every square inch, so don't waste awkward nooks and alcoves, put them to work, and build something into these spaces.
14. TRICK THE EYE WITH TRANSPARENT PIECES
It's the oldest interior design trick in the book, by adding glass, acrylic or lucite furniture to a small space visually takes up zero room but can add extra seating or storage. As light can travel straight through these translucent pieces they keep the space feeling open and airy but are functional too.
15. HANG MIRRORS TO 'EXPAND' A SMALL SPACE
Another old hack, mirrors. Mirrors are a really simple way to make a small apartment living room feel bigger and brighter. They reflect more light around the room but they can also play the visual trick of alluding to more space, broadening the room and blurring the edges. We would recommend going as big as your room can handle and positioning it in a space it will easily bounce any natural light back into the room.
16. GO LARGE WITH STATEMENT ARTWORK
Avoid gallery walls in small apartment living rooms as they can feel cluttered in a small space and instead pick one large piece of statement art that will be the focal point, as well as a distraction from the room's modest proportions.
17. ADD PLENTY OF TEXTURE FOR A COZY FEEL
Sometimes with small rooms, the best approach is to embrace the small proportions and create a cozy den-like space filled with texture and eclectic pieces. Be inspired by this grey living room and pile up the cushions, throws and rugs to create a cocooning space.