The living room is designed to be a space where the family can gather, where you can relax with friends, and where you can all live together in the same space. However, if it feels like you don’t really have a whole of space in there, it can start to feel pretty claustrophobic. Here, we’re going to take a look at some of the ways that you can make your living room feel a lot more spacious. You don’t need to knock down any walls to follow the tips ahead. A few smart choices of furniture placement and design choices can do a lot of good alone.
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Get rid of knick-knack clutter
How many pieces of furniture do you have in the room that are solely for displaying elements of decor? If the answer is multiple, then you might want to look at tidying away some of those older decor items, and instead save it for the walls, instead. You can photos, art, and shelves on your walls to display all the things you love without needing bulky furniture to take up floor space to do it.
Use furniture that combines functions
If you’re looking to replace the furniture in the living room, then choosing those with contemporary shapes and slim lines can help you save some space, that’s for sure. However, you can also choose furniture that multitasks, so you don’t have to buy as much of it. For instance, if you buy a chair with a little table panel on one of the arms, it may reduce your need for a coffee table. Or you can buy a coffee table with some storage beneath it so you don’t need as much storage furniture. Multitasking furniture is fantastic for saving space in the room.
Keep the TV on the wall
The TV has, for better or worse, become a focal point of many a modern living room, so you need to consider how, exactly, you fit it into your space. Nowadays, most TVs are flat enough that mounting them on the wall isn’t very difficult at all. However, if you don’t want to do that, at least try to keep at is flat to one wall as possible rather than in a corner where it will take up a lot more space.
Pull the furniture into the center of the room
Traditional design dictates that you would want to press your furniture flush to the walls so that you have a lot of space between the different seats and tables and so on. However, a growing modern trend is to pull them in around a central area, leaving a walkway around them. Not only does this allow people to pass through the room without disturbing the view of anyone sitting on the furniture, but it creates a sense of space around the seating area, as well.
Float what furniture you can
We’ve already mentioned adding some shelving to the room as a way to migrate some of your favourite decor items to the wall, but that’s not all they’re good for. They’re an example of how you can float your furniture to keep its functionality without taking up as much floor space. Floating isn’t your only option, either. Furniture on hairpin legs are great for saving space, as well. Look at the furniture that takes up minimal floor space and might even allow for some storage like a wicker basket underneath to make greater use of the space that you have.
Make it bright and reflective
Making a room feel spacious isn’t the same as actually freeing up space in there. Of course, if you can get some real room then that’s a lot better, but you can also maximise any improvements you make by helping the room look and feel bigger, as well. Maximising natural light in your room can do just that. A brighter room also feels a lot bigger. Aside from switching window treatments to allow more light in, you should look at the possibility of using mirrors, or at least one large mirror, to better reflect the light around the room. You can also use bright colours on the walls for a similar effect.
The tips above can help you maximise the foot room available in your living room and, perhaps most importantly, help it look and feel a lot bigger, too. Keep them in mind if you’re looking at the room and wondering how to get rid of that smushed-in feeling.