Work With Small Rooms

Recently I have worked with a few projects where the living rooms are pretty small. So how do you get those rooms to both function and look good?

First keep the wall color and the floor color light and neutral. When the walls, floors and ceiling are all light you visually open up the space. If you are placing a TV in the room, you always need to consider where it will go. With today’s open floor plans, you may only have one wall, so there is only one option. It is important to keep walkways for proper traffic flow.

Considering all of these issues, you may have to scale down the furniture. Instead of a full length sofa, you may have to use a loveseat, or choose a sofa style that does not have big wide rolled arms. Find one that has very slender arms. Choosing furniture styles with clean lines, will keep the furniture from feeling too heavy or bulky, in the small space. Pick chairs that are not overstuffed, and look for chairs that have legs. Keeping that bit of space for light to show under a chair, goes a long way in keeping the room feeling light and spacious. Don’t try to pack more pieces of furniture into the room if you only have the need for more seating occasionally. Instead, borrow chairs from the dining room or a bedroom when needed.

Next ground the conversation area with a light colored, textural or patterned area rug. I like using glass cocktail tables when space is tight, providing function without feeling cluttered. End tables do not have to be glass. Finally punch it up with interesting artwork, accessories and window treatments.