How to make a small living room look bigger – tips and tricks to stretch your space
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Loading... - Sarah Wilson
- 19 May 2022
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Lack of space can make a living room feel cramped and crowded, which isn’t ideal in a space where you want to switch off, kick back and relax. Working out how to make a small living room look bigger has its challenges, but with clever use of colour, furniture placement and simple visual tricks, making a small living room feel more spacious isn’t too hard to pull off.
Start by taking a long, hard look at your living room and working out what bits of it work well and what bits don’t work quite so well. Re-assessing the space, getting rid of items that aren’t earning their spot and then re-working the layout, can do wonders in a small living room. And, of course, a good decluttter is a brilliant way of freeing up space that could be put to better use.
How to make a small living room look bigger
Colour is a game changer when it comes to small living room ideas. Using muted colours and soothing shades throughout can help to calm a busy space and create a cohesive look that in turn feels more spacious and easier on the eye.
‘When selecting colours for your living space, think about how you would like the space to feel. Perhaps consider soothing, tranquil green tones or more natural neutrals to bring warmth and harmony to the room,’ says Ruth Mottershead, Creative Director at Little Greene.
‘Neutral paint colours set the scene for harmony and tranquillity, while muted tones reflect nature at its purest and these gentle tones can warm cooler spaces and breathe light into darker rooms.’
1. Invest in a large rug
When it comes to living room rugs, big is better, especially in small living rooms. It might seem counterintuitive, but a large rug can help to stretch the space, drawing the eye and making the floor area feel bigger. If a rug is too small it can appear as if it’s floating in the middle of the room and look out of sync with the proportions of larger items of furniture.
Go for a rug that is as large as (or even wider) than your sofa if you can. A large rug will act as an anchor point in a living room that can help with how to arrange living room furniture. Run it under the legs of your sofa idea for small living rooms as well as the coffee table if possible and try to leave around 25-30cm around the edge of the room so you can still see the floor beneath.
2. Pull furniture away from walls
While it’s tempting to push all the furniture against the walls in a small living room to put more floor space on show and make the room feel bigger, it can actually have the reverse effect. Having everything pushed up against walls can limit the sense of space and horizon, making a modern small living room idea appear much smaller.
Try pulling sofas and armchairs away from walls to give them more breathing space. An easy solution for how to make a small living room look bigger, it will also make the room feel more inviting. No more dead space in the middle of the room. Group seating together to create a more relaxed, sociable feel.
3. Let more light in
Natural light can help increase the sense of space in a small living room, making it feel brighter, breezier and much bigger. Avoid heavy curtains and solid blinds that block out sunlight and instead opt for lightweight linens, voiles and sheers that will let maximum light flood in.
One trick for small living rooms that can help stretch the space, is to install a longer curtain pole at a standard-sized window. Extending the pole on either side of the window will make it appear wider and allow curtains to be drawn back fully allowing extra light in. Read More...
