Jackson Bean 
Small rooms require careful consideration when it comes to furniture placement. Instead of crowding furniture against walls, opt for pieces with slim frames that will appear less imposing while opening up more floor space for seating areas and tables.
Consider furniture that serves multiple functions, like an ottoman that doubles as coffee table, seating and storage. Shelving systems that allow you to display books or small trinkets also save floor space.
Light and Neutral Color Palette
Neutral colors create an effortless aesthetic and make any room appear larger. Opting for off-white shades creates a cozy yet characterful backdrop; then add splashes of color with fabrics, pictures and furniture for some added personality.
Mirrors can be an effective addition to a small living room by expanding sightlines and dispersing light evenly around it. Group multiple framed pieces together for an eye-catching gallery wall effect or add an antique foxed mirror for a rustic vibe.
Zoning schemes are another effective solution for optimizing small living room spaces, such as elevating built-in bookcases with full height shelving designs to take full advantage of vertical space without adding clutter to a room. This arrangement also serves as a useful place for blankets and pillows while still leaving floor space open for seating elements or tables.
Focal Points
Small living room ideas should be functional and practical, like an ottoman that serves both as seating and storage. According to Wayfair’s Resident Style Advisor Nadia McCowan Hill, multifunctionality is key in creating an inviting yet well-functioning space – it allows you to make the most of every inch without compromising style!
Mirrors can help broaden sightlines and diffuse light more evenly across a room. Lean a decorative floor mirror against the wall – like Ursula Carmona did here – or install a buffet with multiple mirrors that doubles up as storage solutions.
Don’t let your ceilings become blank spaces: by hanging pictures and artwork to draw the eye upward, they can visually expand the room. Also consider fitting shelves and cabinets seamlessly into alcoves in order to use every inch of space available in your room.
Minimalist Furniture
Furniture with exposed legs is an excellent way to achieve minimalist living room ideas, allowing the eye to explore underneath and opening up the floor space.
Low-slung love seats create a cozy seating nook without interrupting visual flow in this modest living room, and textural accents such as wicker coffee tables and ribbed ceramic lamps add visual interest in its neutral palette.
Mount your TV instead of using a bulky media console to free up more floor space for seating and tables, and bring balance into the room through matching storage designs to maintain its streamlined aesthetic. A bookcase paired with wall sconces can double as an instant display vignette; making the room seem instantly larger!
Layered Lighting
Lighting layers can help maximize space when designing a small living room, according to interior designer Lucy Vaughan. Lamps add extra lighting that illuminate specific areas and make for a cozier atmosphere if your ceilings may feel limited by an eye-catching statement chandelier.
She recommends mounting a flatscreen TV directly onto the wall rather than leaving it freestanding on top of a media console, in order to free up more floor space for decorative and functional pieces such as shelves. She further notes that doing this can save both floor space and floor time in general.
She suggests leaning a large mirror against a wall to reflect ambient lighting and visually double the size of any space, and especially recommends opting for one with character such as being aged or antiqued as it will add interest and character.
Walls for Storage
Zoning and storage elements that focus on creating space are key to making any living room appear larger. Moving items off the floor clears away visual clutter and makes surfaces appear cleaner; floating shelves, ladder bookshelves and magazine racks bring storage up towards the ceiling while opening up floor space below.
Furniture that doubles as storage will help free up floor space and declutter surfaces, advises Wayfair’s Resident Style Advisor Nadia McCowan Hill. A tufted ottoman equipped with hidden storage can double as both coffee table and footstool while keeping blankets, pillows, toys tidied away safely away.
Draw the eye upward by choosing a paint color that has darker sections nearer the bottom than at the top, which will make walls appear taller. This technique works especially well when combined with wide flooring planks and neutral hues that visually expands a room.
