How to Reorganize an Overcrowded Living Room

If your living room seems small and cramped, do a complete make-over. Turn it into a modern open space living area. Let's start with an empty room.

1. Paint the walls white. White will make the room appear a lot larger than it is. If you'd like to use an accent color, paint the door jams and window molding a light color, like beige or soft rose. If you want to use a border along the ceiling, choose a thin pattern to match your accent, again going with a light color. This will make the ceiling appear elevated.

2. Choose light colored flooring. If you like a carpeted living room, go with a low pile carpet in a beige or other light earth tone. For tile, choose a simple light color design that does not overpower or take attention away from the room as a whole.

3. Use one entire wall for a shelving unit. These shelves should be floor to ceiling and wall to wall. If you do not want to have them custom built, then buy enough matching bookcases to cover the wall. Arrange the shelves to hold different size items. Arrange the middle section to hold your TV, another to hold a stereo and one for such things as DVD player, VCR, etc. Use other shelves to hold DVDs, picture frames, keepsakes, and whatnots.

4. An L-shaped, semi-circular or sectional sofa placed around one corner would provide sufficient sitting room and invite cozy, intimate conversations. There would be no need to crowd extra chairs into the room. Choose a light color fabric and don't overdo things with too many throw pillows.

5. Invest in a couple of adjustable wall mounted lamps. By mounting lamps on the wall, you save space. If you choose the adjustable ones, you can enjoy reading while you relax. The ones that uses 3-way bulbs will come in very useful for a number of things.

6. Don't clutter up the walls with a lot of pictures or art deco. Choose one painting or portrait to hang and put all the other pictures in frames on the shelves.

7. Get rid of the coffee table. You don't need it. Place a small end table at each end of the sofa and one in the corner between the sofa sections. I recommend glass and chrome instead of the heavy bulky wooden ones.

8. Clear off the tables. Any knickknacks that usually sit on the table can just as easily sit on your shelves. Knickknacks sitting everywhere take up space and causes clutter.

9. Use florescent lighting. With the white walls and light colored furniture, you will not need as bright a light as you would in a darker room.

10. Invite a few friends over and see if this open space living area is a vast improvement over the cluttered, homey room it use to be!