How to Design and Layout a Small Living Room

Just because you’re short on space, doesn’t mean you have to miss out on style! Compact homes are undoubtedly more of a challenge when it comes to creating picture-perfect furnishings, but it doesn’t have to be all that difficult! As long as you follow a few rules of the design world, you can feel confident that your space will be looking, and feeling, like the home you want to be in, in no time – regardless of the square footage. Read on for how to design and layout a small living room, like an interior design pro…

Choose furniture to scale

This tip sounds logical, but if you don’t make a conscious point of sticking to it, you’ll find that your home looks incredibly crowded, incredibly quickly. Make sure to take some meticulous measurements and keep them on hand throughout your entire shopping process. This is especially important when it comes to selecting one of the, or rather the, most important piece in the room – the sofa! Unfortunately, you just can’t overpower a tiny room with a huge sofa, it won’t only look wrong, but it will make your space feel crowded and stressful – not what you want when you’re looking for some downtime!

Use reflective surfaces

Mirrors are incredibly useful for smaller spaces. They reflect the space and make you feel like the room is twice as big, so take advantage of their power! Find one large, statement mirror to prop near your core furniture, and think about incorporating some smaller mirrors as well. Adding a few different sized pieces into your art or photo displays can create the illusion of a bigger room. If you really want to up the light reflection of your lounge, select a few shiny vases and bowls for added effect.

Be smart about storage

No matter how large or small your home is, a messy space is going to feel smaller. It is imperative to minimize the clutter in your living room; this will free up some much-needed space and make the room look clean and airy. You can achieve this clean and clear vibe by selecting furniture that helps you out with some storage solutions. This can be a coffee table with lots of drawers, side tables with storage below and a roomy blanket box to stash magazines and books.

Don’t forget your walls

Never forget the storage and display opportunities that are living above you! Install a few simple floating shelves, create some photography and art displays, or introduce a decorative feature wall. A statement wall in a pop of colour or adorned with an embellished wallpaper will look artistic, interesting and inviting without overcrowding the limited space.

Get natural

As it’s one of the biggest home wares and design trends right now, it’s pretty hard not to mention houseplants when you’re talking about decorating any kind of home! A curated selection of plants creates a natural, healthy vibe in your home and brings a wonderful element of design into all spaces. The great thing about plants is that you can display them in lots of creative ways, add a few hanging plants and a statement corner piece to bring some life to your small lounge.

Multi functional furniture is your friend

This is in the same vein as finding pieces with storage solutions! Multi functional pieces allow you to feature the furniture that you want without giving up your space! Multipurpose your seating with a few bar stools used as side tables, a fold-out sofa bed or a blanket box as a coffee table.

Itching to furnish that living room of yours? Head to your local Fyshwick furniture store to start your design process! Enjoy!