How to make a small living room look bigger

Date:06/09/2022

Think big with easy ideas and a bit of trickery that will make your living space feel miles bigger!

Lack of space can make a living room feel crowded, awkward and unwelcoming, which isn’t ideal in a space where you want to relax after a hard day’s work. Working out how to make a small living room look bigger has its challenges, but with a bit of colour, moving some furniture around and simple visual tricks, making a small living room feel more spacious isn’t too hard to pull off.

Get the light in!
Natural light can help increase the sense of space in a small living room, making it feel brighter, breezier and much bigger. Avoid heavy curtains and solid blinds that block out sunlight and instead opt for lightweight linens, voiles and sheers that will let maximum light flood in.

Large Rugs are the way
When it comes to living room rugs, big is better, especially in small living rooms. It might seem counterintuitive, but a large rug can help to stretch the space, drawing the eye and making the floor area feel bigger. If a rug is too small it can appear as if it's floating in the middle of the room and look out of sync with the proportions of larger items of furniture.

Save space with sleek built-ins
Too many large bulky pieces of furniture can crowd a small living room and make it feel cramped. Opting for built-in furniture is a great way of making use of under-utilised alcoves and recesses and frees up floor space, rather than having lots of freestanding pieces. Paint built-in storage to match the wall colour to create a more unified look that can also help increase the sense of space in a small room.

Add height with contrast ceiling colour
In a small living room without much natural daylight, painting the ceiling a lighter colour is a good way of brightening up the space and making it feel loftier. Extend the effect in a room that features a picture rail, by painting the wall area above the rail to match the ceiling colour. It will make you less aware of where the walls end and the ceiling begins and will create the impression of extra height. You can also use small living room lighting ideas to accentuate the feeling of height.

Blur the boundaries
Wrap the room in colour, by painting the walls and ceiling in the same warm shade throughout. A good trick for small spaces, awkwardly-shaped areas or rooms with sloping ceilings, is painting walls, trims and ceilings the same colour ensuring that the eye doesn’t get drawn to the corners of the room which helps create a greater feeling of space.

Open up the view
In a through-lounge or open-plan living room idea avoid positioning furniture where it might block the view into the next area or across the space. Positioning larger items and bulkier pieces of furniture away from walkways will help to open up the space more and make it feel bigger.

Use some flower power!
Living rooms work best if there is a focal point, something that draws you in and the place where your eyes land when you enter a room. In a space without a small living room fireplace idea or any other stand-out features, create your focal point by wallpapering one wall in a lively print.

So, for all your carpet and flooring requirements look no further than the team at Blackberry Hill Carpets and Flooring. Call us on 01858 288 031 or email gareth@blackberryhill.co.uk.