4 min read- Small living rooms can be some of the most difficult to decorate as many feel they have to compromise on design to save space.
- Popular small space trends hinge on neutral color palettes, which designers say is likely working against best intentions.
- Every room, regardless of size, should have a focal piece. In living rooms, that could be the couch, coffee table, or even an armchair.
It can be frustrating trying to fit your big design dreams into small spaces. Limited square footage can sometimes feel like it's forcing you to settle instead of designing to your highest aspirations. While there’s no magic wand to instantly increase your space, you shouldn’t feel like you’re crammed by clutter or living in a dollhouse, especially in the heart of your home. Living rooms are tasked with being functional, cozy, and chic all at once—add in the additional factor of a small space, and you’re in for a design challenge.
As both a relaxation and entertaining space, living rooms can be a daunting space to design. In the quest to optimize your square footage, you’re likely to make some mistakes, and your design choices may be short-changing the aesthetic of your living room without even realizing. Below, peep six mistakes designers say may be making your living room “tacky”—plus how to conquer them once and for all.
Taking Minimalism Too Far
Minimalism may have its applications, but according to Bridget Teik, principal designer at the interior design firm Teik Byday, it has no place in your living room, no matter how tiny it may be. Teik encourages designers and DIY-ers alike to embrace rich dark tones and patterned pieces for smaller spaces, noting their depth and expansive quality.
“We have designed many small living spaces and love to incorporate darker tones; they often make the space feel more expansive and larger, as if pushing the walls further back! Layering in multiple patterns and textures makes the space interesting and cozy—more is more can work in a small space,” Teik says.
Planning Too Much Negative Space
Of course, you’ll have to consider your dimensions, but don’t focus too much attention on planning for “white space” or empty space in your living room. Designer Abigail Horace of Casa Marcelobelieves that a maximalist mindset is the key to unlocking the potential of small spaces.
“In a small living room, people often mistakenly choose furniture that is too small or fail to fill the space adequately. Instead of making the room feel larger, it makes the room feel unfinished and sparse,” Horace says. “Fill up the space as much as you can! Add the larger rug instead of the one that only fits under the coffee table. Fill the wall with art, add wall-to-wall drapes instead of tight to the window. It will help make the space feel intimate and warm instead of sparse and demure. Embrace your petite space and douse it in color! It always feels more intimate and welcoming this way.”
Prioritizing Company Over Comfort
We’re all building our homes to our personal aesthetics. Small spaces inherently feel cozier, and if you’re confronted with a tiny living room, that’s exactly what you should lean into.
“Prioritize your daily comfort over that of your occasional guests. Where you sit daily should be comfortable enough for you and anyone else who lives in your home. Accent chairs used only by guests could be dining chair frames instead of large lounge chairs that take up significant space,” interior designer Johanna Lyle, head of her namesake design firm Jo Lyle & Co, says. Buy that extra plush sofa and load up on the throw pillows. In your home, it’s all about what makes you most comfortable.
Putting Your Furniture Against the Wall
Interior designer Louis Lin wants you to stop outcasting your furniture, even in a small space. “One of the biggest misconceptions in small spaces is that pushing all furniture to the perimeter will make the room feel larger. In reality, it often flattens the space and creates a visual openness in the center, which kills the flow of circulation,” Lin says. Instead, you should focus on creating what he calls “spatial dialogue.”
Think of this as your furniture placed with actual purpose to create shapes and pathways that cater to how you move and flow around them, but he’s also not saying that your couch needs to take center stage. “Always float a sofa off the wall, even by a few inches to reduce visual clutter,” Lin says. “The goal isn’t to maximize emptiness, but rather to choreograph the spatial flow and create visual rhythm.”
Committing to Neutrals
While a neutral color scheme can feel like the epitome of chic design, Lin warns against deploying the palette in the hopes of alluding to a larger space.
“There’s a longstanding belief that small rooms should always be painted white or pale neutrals to feel bigger. While light colors can work beautifully, they’re not the only solution — and sometimes they actually strip a room of depth and atmosphere,” Lin says.
Like Teik, who believes in bringing patterns and textures into design to create depth, Lin is making the case for dark, moody colors to make their living room debut, especially in smaller homes. “Rich colors create a sense of immersion that allows the boundaries of the room to dissolve. Deep olive, mineral brown, warm clay, or muted botanical tones can make a small living room feel grounded,” says Lin.
His pro tip? Dabble in tonal layering, which uses color saturations, tones, and textures to build visual interest and depth—painting your ceiling the same hue as your walls is a great place to start.
Messing Up Scale
While your room may be small, your décor shouldn’t be. Interior designer Mallory Robins of the Kansas City-based firm, Kobel + Co,isn’t a fan of dressing up already small spaces with miniature furniture.
“People often try to match a small space with small-scale items, but that usually results in too many pieces in the room and no clear focal point,” says Robins. The best décor is planned and intentional, to achieve a curated look, Robins suggests buying big. “Focus on ‘fewer, larger pieces, which will instantly make the space feel larger, calmer, and airier.”
