Decorating a Small Living Room For Visual Spaciousness

If your living room is on the small side and you would love to make it appear open and spacious, it is easily accomplished. With the right use of color, furnishings and pattern, you can create a room that looks and feels much bigger than it actually is. With decorating, there are many ways to “trick” the eye and make your room look nearly twice the actual size. This article offers ideas for adding space to your living room, and making it more appealing as well.

Light colors equal space

Nearly everyone knows that lighter shades make a room appear more spacious, while darker colors look heavy and tend to close in a room. This doesn’t mean you have to use boring off-white or cream on your walls! Light, soft shades of yellow, green or any pale color will work. You can add small splashes of darker colors with accessories to add depth and interest to the room.

Increase the height of the room

How? This is easily accomplished by using a vertical striped pattern on the wall. Paint the stripes yourself if you can, or use wallpaper with a striped pattern. You might also consider hanging pictures and other wall decor a bit higher than usual or using white crown molding at the top of the wall where the wall and ceiling meet to pull the eyes upwards.

Light up the room

Any room that offers plenty of natural or artificial light looks larger than one that is dark and gloomy. If you have lots of windows, use blinds, curtains or other window treatments that allow plenty of light to flow through. Otherwise, use table lamps, track lighting or floor lamps to add more light to the space.

Another thing you want to do whenever possible in small spaces is to keep pathways to the doors that come into the room open. Avoid blocking doorways with furniture or accessories. To make your living room more inviting, consider arranging furniture at an angle, or place your sofa, love seat and chair around a beautiful area rug to create an intimate space where you can entertain guests.

With smaller rooms, it’s best to use furniture that is scaled down and sleek in place of heavy, bulky looking items. You also want to avoid complex patterns that are loud and busy. Opt for smaller patterns, or keep things basic and add interest through textures and fabrics.

Don’t forget the magic that a beautiful mirror can create! Placed to reflect the light from a window, mirrors can make your living room look twice as big. Keep accessories to a minimum to avoid a cluttered look, and use only a few key accents to liven up the room.

Put these ideas into action, and you can create a living room that is welcoming, beautiful and looks much more spacious than it actually is. It is truly amazing what you can accomplish by using the right colors, patterns and light. Remember light, airy, bright and uncluttered – easy to do!