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I can pinpoint the moment I started rethinking the layout of the living room. I was standing in my new, empty apartment, staring at four solid walls. The space felt very small—like the room was getting smaller the longer I stood there. It’s small, tight, and completely limited. Then something started. What if the room wasn’t there at all? What if they asked me to be more thoughtful?
In fact, many of us fall into the living room. The television goes there, the sofa goes here, and the lamp fills the corner. But when square footage is limited—as it often is in townhouses and small homes—art becomes less optional and more important. Compact space forces you to consider every inch.
“Small spaces require more thought and planning, especially multi-functional spaces like the living room,” says San Francisco-based interior designer Regan Baker. “It’s important that the room feels inviting and comfortable, given the space constraints, but also because it’s used a lot.”
Featured image from our interview with Chloe Crane-Leroux by Michelle Nash.
Designer-Approved Ways to Maximize Your Space
So, where do you start when space is at a premium? According to Baker, it starts with work, flow, and scale. And as the designers below echo, the best ideas for a small living room aren’t about cramming—it’s about being intentional about what you choose to bring.
With a few thoughtful shifts, even the smallest living room can feel calm, airy, and well-designed.
Start with Light
If a small living room feels tight, lighting is often the first thing to reconsider. Almost every designer points to the same place to start: look up. Floor-to-ceiling drapery, especially in light or lightweight fabrics, can instantly make a room feel longer and wider. Architect Trisha Snyder of Butler Armsden Architects recommends mounting window treatments higher than the window frame to draw the eye upward. The effect is subtle, but transformative—the walls feel taller rather than boxed in.
Color plays a similar role. This does not mean that everything has to be pure white, but maintaining harmony is important. Karen Harautuneian of Hub of the House Studio leans on natural tones in small spaces, drawing inspiration from wood finishes and textiles to create a palette that feels cohesive rather than mixed. When everything speaks the same language, the room feels calmer.
Then there is meditation. A thoughtfully placed mirror—across a window or near a light source—can bounce light around a room and make it look twice as deep. It’s one of the easiest ways to make a small living room look bigger without adding more furniture. In compact spaces, light doesn’t just shine. It describes the situation.
Choose the Right Scale
It’s tempting, in a small living room, to think that bigger is better. The deep part feels cozy. A large coffee table sounds great. But scale can make or break a cohesive space.
“Too much furniture—or pieces that are too big or too small—can really change the feel of a home and whether or not it’s inviting,” says Baker. In a highly functional space like the living room, flow is as important as comfort.
If space is limited, the part becomes your anchor. A medium-sized sofa with visible legs feels lighter than a large one that hugs the floor. Leaving an awkward space around furniture—even just a few inches—allows the room to breathe.
Planning also saves you from costly mistakes. Amy Youngblood, principal designer of Amy Youngblood Interiors, stresses the importance of mapping out your layout before buying anything new. “Considering flow and size will help you know which material to choose,” he says. Even a simple sketch can determine whether a piece will enhance a space—or destroy it.
Create Target Domains
One of the biggest myths about small living rooms is that they can only serve one purpose. In fact, joint positions tend to work harder. They host movie nights, coffee mornings, work-from-home hours, and quiet nights when you put your feet up. The key is definition.
Rather than letting everything blur together, create subtle areas within the room. A rug can set up a large living space. A console or bookshelf can gently separate the work area from the rest area. Even one living room chair placed near the window can carve out a study corner without ruining the design.
Multitasking is important here. Baker recommends choosing pieces that serve more than one role—like a built-in bookshelf that doubles as a desk or a large ottoman that can serve as a coffee table and extra seating. “It’s important for the room to feel inviting and comfortable,” she says, “but also functional, given how it’s used so much.”
When each area has a clear purpose, the room feels less cluttered and more cohesive. Even a small living room can hold many occasions well.
Structure, Not Clutter
When a small living room feels cramped, instinct is often to remove things completely. But the answer isn’t destruction—it’s choice. Texture adds depth without adding visual noise. Think linen upholstery, a woven basket, a wool rug underfoot. Natural materials create warmth in a way that many decorative materials cannot. Instead of layering more “stuff”, layer contrast—smooth next to rough, soft next to structured.
Harautuneian often advises finding your palette from the basics that already exist in the room—wood tones, upholstery, architectural details—so everything feels more cohesive than competing. When color and texture feel connected, the space naturally feels calm.
Youngblood recommends focusing on decorative moments rather than spreading them out. A single piece of artwork anchors a wall more effectively than a busy gallery. A stack of books and one sculpture feels more purposeful than five small accessories vying for attention.
In a small living room, fewer, better things create more impact. When texture replaces clutter, the space feels thoughtful—not crowded.
Use Length + Vertical Spacing
When square footage is limited, walls become your biggest asset. One of the most effective ideas for a small living room is simply to think upside down. Tall bookshelves draw the eye up and create storage without taking up much space. The art hanging above enhances the wall. Drapery installed near the ceiling subtly lengthens the room.
Youngblood often reminds clients that a small living room still has volume—and that volume shouldn’t go unused. Vertical storage, layered lighting, and high shelves all help maximize space without crowding the floor. “It’s about using every inch thoughtfully,” he notes.
Layered lighting is very important. A combination of pendant lights, floor lamps, and table lamps add dimension and warmth. If the light is at too high a height, the room feels uneven rather than flat.
In a small living room, thinking upwards changes everything. The space may be cramped, but it doesn’t have to feel cramped.
Plan With Purpose
When I think back to that first apartment—which felt impossibly small—I realize that the change wasn’t about square footage. It was about vision. A small living room does not need to be “fixed”. It needs to be understood.
Editing becomes less about abstraction and more about refinement. Choosing the pieces you really like. Leaving space where space is needed. Allowing the room to support the way you live, instead of forcing it to resemble a design you’ve seen elsewhere.
The best ideas for a small living room do not try to hide the size of the space. They respect it, and when you work with the room instead of against it, something unexpected happens.
The walls stop closing in. The room softens. And what you once felt limiting begins to feel completely personal.
This post was last updated on February 27, 2026, to include new information.
