Keep It Simple Sweetie! Living Room Interior Designs For Small Spaces

by Ashish Rai | January 20, 2024 | 5 mins read

Simple living room designs for your home

Don’t let a small living room pinch your style! Increase the potential of a small living room with carefully selected design and decor that fit the space.

If you live in the city chances are you reside in a studio apartment or small home. One of your biggest concerns will be on designing and decorating a small living room. You might often find yourself asking the following: How do I arrange my TV, sofas, couches and chairs without feeling cramped and cluttered? How do I make it all work together so my space is multifunctional and has room to breathe? 

Are we right? Well fret not, you are at the right place at the right time! Check our ideas to design a small living room with everything from bold colours, magnificent layouts and funky accessories to craft a space that is big on style.

Mirrors Create The Illusion Of Space

Adding mirrors does not create more space in your living room but creates the illusion of it. Place a big mirror on one wall in your living room and watch how it transforms the dimensions. Mirrors also bounce off light and break visual clutter. Make use of movable mirrors like in this image. A mirro partition stands gracefully behind the sofa making the room appear larger than it is.  A mirror on a wall doubles up as decor and is a budget-friendly hack to create the illusion of space.

Simple living room design with the mirror is a budget-friendly hack to create the illusion of space.
Mirrors can make small spaces appear larger in an aesthetically pleasing way
Functional and aesthetic living room designs for your home

Scale Down On Furniture

Every piece of furniture matters if you have a small living room. To utilise small living rooms well consider leg-free pieces of furniture and attach units directly to the wall. We are talking about wall mounted shelves. Also opt for tables with lean exposed legs and tight-back sofas as they are friendlier in spaces that are small. Also see these old crates in the image here? Notice how well they have been used as shelves and side tables? Well that is what we are suggesting – get creative!

Simple living room interior design where sofas as they are friendlier in small spaces.
Choose furniture that doubles up as storage too

Also, check out Living Room Furniture Design Ideas

White Walls Are A Canvas Of Decor Possibilities

Coming home to a simple and stately white living room will give you much-needed peace after dealing with drudgery of day-to-day life. White walls are your answer to make a small space look big and it always works. In this image we see a pure white backdrop that gives a plethora of possibilities to play around with colourful decor, textured accents, houseplants and furnishings.

Simple living room, play around with colourful decor, and furnishings to create a sense of expansiveness.
Play with white and lighter colours to create a sense of expansiveness.

Work The Angles To Your Advantage

If your living room has an unconventional layout, then here is your chance to use it to your advantage. Turn your weird wall or a corner into the focal point of your room. Bring in a centre table and decorate it with a vase or basket as we see here. There is also a bicycle atop a side table – a neat trick to take the eyes of the layout and make it a focal decor element. An arrangement like this can spice up your living room, does not cost a dime but instead gives it a designer slant!

Simple living room ideas decorate the weird wall or a corner into the focal point by combining mix elements.
Mix and match and combine elements to make use of all angles in the layout

Also, check out 10 Brilliant Living Room Wall Decor Ideas

An L-Shaped Sofa To The Rescue

An L-shaped sofa will save you space and efficiently so as it hugs corners so well. This sectional sofa paired with a sleek coffee table in the centre of the room gives you ample space to move around. Choose a minimalistic style of interior design to compliment your sofa as shown in this image. The TV unit too is seamless in its design and blends in well without making the space look cramped. Add a tall floor lamp for a mellow and warm vibe to your living room.

Simple living room ideas choose a minimalistic style L shaped sofa to save space.
Maximise the space of your living room with an L-shaped sofa
Get a free design consultation from design cafe

Also, check out 5 Latest Sofa Designs For Your Living Room

K.I.S.M.E – Keep It Simple And Minimalistic Everytime

A fun acronym for a small and enjoyable space! If you are a newbie when it comes to interior design and decor keep it simple. Avoid going overboard with too many pieces of furniture or decorative items as your living room will look cluttered. Stick to basics, neutral colours, and minor experiments. Opt for occasional tables and slender furniture as it frees up floor space. See the chair here in this image? It’s as slender as can be. Standing shelves will help you store your books and knick-knacks. Minimalism always tricks the eye into believing the room is larger than it really is. Cool eh?

Simple modern living room needs to be airy, fresh and uncluttered with a few pieces of  mindfully chosen furniture.
A minimalistic design is always best for a small living room

A small living room needs to be airy, fresh and uncluttered with a few pieces of mindfully chosen furniture. Multifunctional pieces are the best as are sleekly designed ones. That being said, we hope you will incorporate these ideas into your living room interior design. Make the most of your small living room. If you have new ideas, please do share it in the comment section below.

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Ashish Rai is a content writer at Design Cafe home interiors blog.

Ashish Rai

Ashish Rai is a content writer at DesignCafe and believes that words have the power to change the world! He comes with five years of experience and has experimented with various roles including sales, a tourist guide, and ran a tattoo parlour too!

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