![]() “After you’ve gotten rid of the stuff you don’t use, make sure you have stuff that makes sense for the space.” “Take stock in what you truly use and what you don’t,” he told us. Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up popularized this idea, and it’s also a point that Hill made. In fact, editing your belongings might be the best first step. ![]() To be clear, we’re not suggesting that you buy a bunch of stuff you don’t need. To find pragmatic solutions that work for tiny-home owners, as well as for renters who can’t rebuild their spaces, we spoke with small-space experts including Graham Hill of LifeEdited, Erin Boyle of Reading My Tea Leaves (we love her Life in a Tiny Apartment series), Erin Doland of Unclutterer, and professional home organizer Laura Cattano. Drawing on hundreds of hours of research, testing, and our own lived experiences, we’ve put together a list of essentials to help you make the most of every inch of your small space. But when everything’s in harmony and organized, even the tiniest space can feel expansive and refreshingly minimalist. Throw in some clutter, and a small space becomes chaotic, cramped, and generally unpleasant. Scale the furniture to fit the size of the room and don’t block walking pathways – oversized sofas or too much furniture will make the living room look smaller, while furniture and accessories blocking the view into a room will make the space look cramped – if you can see the floor, the room will look larger.Ī great tip is to choose a couch and chairs with open arms and exposed legs, and a glass coffee table, both will keep the appearance of a much more open and free space, allowing light to filter under and around the furniture far easier.Small homes are fragile ecosystems. The key to perfectly executed small living room ideas lies in a little forward planning. A carefully designed living room that incorporates plenty of concealed storage and furniture that is tailored to the space as in the living room pictures above can achieve a sense of comfort and convenience that belies a modest square footage. ![]() Homes that are short on space can still be big on style. How do you make a small living room look bigger? Any other reflective decorative surfaces, such as patinated mirrors, silver leaf or lacquer will make the space seem bigger too,' explains Irina Townsend, Keir Townsend (opens in new tab). 'Consider finishing the walls in polished plaster, a material that reflects light and increases visual perception of space. Make the most of reflective surfaces in a small living room. Finally, add fewer rather than more directional ceiling lights, positioned closer to the walls and angled away from the centre of the room to create a feature glow on, for example, a piece of wall art.’ How do you decorate walls in a small living room? The lowest level might be lamps on side tables the next would be lamps on a desk, console or chest. 'However, I think atmosphere and dimension can be added to small spaces with different levels of controlled lighting. ‘Some people feel the need to flood small spaces with ceiling lights to make them feel brighter and therefore larger,' says Claire Sa, director, De Rosee Sa (opens in new tab). Henry also explains that clever small living room lighting ideas can not only make a room lighter, but feel larger too: 'A lighting scheme that includes light sources at varying levels enhances the room and helps to create mood at different times of the day.’ 6. 'Sophisticated artwork and eye catching accessories can be displayed to provide lots of interesting little vignettes throughout.' A scheme featuring cleverly selected furniture pieces layered together with textured rugs and tactile fabrics can create a really inviting and comfortable space even if square footage is compromised. Henry says, ‘Don’t be afraid to go for bold color and pattern in a small space. He wanted Henry to bring a flavour of ‘the English country in the city’ to his London residence. This small, yet perfectly formed living room in a stucco fronted townhouse in London’s Chelsea was created by interior designer Henry Prideaux (opens in new tab) for an American client.
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