Catégorie
If furnishing a small living room is proving a headache for you, don’t panic – we’re going to share a few tips to help you make decisions.
First and foremost: take your time. The living room is one of the main rooms in your home, so be careful not to make any mistakes you might later regret.
Reading time: 4 mins
Contents:
- Use light colours on the walls and ceiling
- Choose furniture that is the right size
- Use mirrors
- Play with verticality
- Install bespoke furniture
- Use multifunctional furniture
- Make the most of natural light
- Minimise the space taken up
- Choose suitable lighting
- Define the fields
1. Use light colours on the walls and ceiling
Although you might be tempted to paint the walls in your favourite colours, we wouldn’t recommend it if you have a small living room. Dark colours tend to make a room feel cramped. If you want to make the room feel bigger, keeping the walls and ceiling white is your best option.
With white walls, you can really show off your furniture and décor. You could still add a splash of colour to make the living room feel a bit cosier – here are a few ideas:
2. Choose well-proportioned furniture
If you put in furniture that’s too big, your living room may look even smaller than it actually is. If the furniture is too small, your room will look rather ordinary. To make the room look more spacious, we recommend furniture with slender lines that isn’t too bulky. Also, if you need storage space, make the most of the room’s vertical space – go right up to the ceiling!
3. Use mirrors
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? It’s you behind your screen, of course, but let’s get back to the matter at hand. A mirror can be very useful when you’re furnishing a small living room.
Position it strategically. Not only will this make your living room seem more spacious, but if you place it opposite a window, you’ll maximise the natural light!
4. Play with verticality
Add a sense of grandeur to your room by installing a bespoke bookcase – or a TV stand, for example – that stretches from floor to ceiling. This will draw the eye upwards, creating the illusion of a higher ceiling (it’s a handy trick). What’s more, creating a piece of furniture like this will give your living room a focal point.
5. Install made-to-measure furniture
With bespoke furniture, you can give free rein to your creativity and let your imagination run wild. If you have lots of knick-knacks, filing cabinets and accessories at home, why not build a storage wall, featuring cosy recesses that would avoid the pitfall of a monolithic structure that constricts the visual horizon of your living room?
6. Use multifunctional furniture
In every circle of friends there’s a hidden gem, a veritable human Swiss Army knife: a master in the kitchen, a DIY wizard, the perfect candidate to fit into any set of in-laws. Can you picture him? Now imagine a piece of furniture that embodies this all-rounder. A bookcase that transforms into a TV stand, or one that conceals a secret desk – that’s the ultimate magic trick for freeing up or creating space in your small living room. One more wave of the magic wand: add some lighting touches like in the examples below, and your living room becomes ‘the place to be’.
7. Maximise natural light
A word of warning: this little trick loses its charm in the face of autumn showers or when shrouded in winter’s dark cloak. Keep your windows clear to let natural light dance through your space. If you fancy some curtains, choose ones as light and airy as a summer breeze. And for a dazzling finishing touch, place a mirror opposite that window as if to capture and multiply the stray rays of light!
8. Minimise clutter
If the art of furnishing is synonymous with pleasure in your vocabulary, furnishing your small living room does require a touch of restraint (yes, we’re keeping an eye on you). Opt for a sofa of a sensible size to keep the walkway clear. Don’t be tempted by a forest of freestanding furniture; an uncluttered space gives the illusion of a larger room. To sum up: keep it simple!
9. Choose suitable lighting
Although being in the spotlight comes naturally to you, a small living room isn’t the right setting for that sort of show. To create an ambience worthy of your evenings, opt for a range of lights: a discreet floor lamp, a colour-changing bulb, an intimate table lamp or subtle recessed spotlights. Each light plays its part in creating the unique atmosphere that defines you.
10. Define the zones
In the theatre that is your living room, every act deserves its own set. Imagine delineating the scenes of your daily life without raising the curtain: a reading corner for introspective solos, a workspace for recitals of productivity, and a relaxation corner for soothing duets. Use rugs and furniture like clever stage managers, orchestrating the transitions between the scenes of your life with a subtlety worthy of an award-winning production. In this way, even in the intimacy of a small living room, each area reveals a story, a character, a moment in life.
