How to Make Your Small Living Room Seem Larger

Your living room is small and it drives you insane. You're not alone. Many homes today seem to have smaller living room areas and by the time you move in your furniture and other accessories it can seem absolutely tiny. You can, however, fix this by decorating your living room and arranging the furniture in such a way that it makes your living room seem bigger. You do not need to rip out a wall or take over the dining room to do this. Here are a few tips to making your living room look bigger without hiring a contractor or spending a lot of money.

Say good bye to the clutter.

There is nothing worse than having too much stuff in a small space. If you have collections of items you want to display, do it on shelving or behind glass doors of curio cabinets. Crafts and other items that you enjoy working on while sitting in the living room can be hidden beneath table skirts or even between the couch and the wall. By keeping the floor space clear and the tables free of clutter, you give your living room space a more airy feeling.

Keep areas that you walk in free of objects.

You are better off arranging your furniture along the walls than in spaces where people are going to walk through. Put larger pieces of furniture along the walls. Place taller pieces along the wall as well. Do you need that coffee table? If not, remove it from the room and you'll have more space to walk through. Leg and foot room are a must if you are to not feel crowded and cramped when sitting, entertaining or visiting in a small room.

Use light, soft colors to decorate with.

Paint the walls with a soft tone of blue or green in order to get the maximum effect and make the room seem larger. If you want, off-white, pale yellow, or even a shade of pink will also help make the room seem bigger. Additionally, a monochromatic color scheme with your furniture and curtains tends to give the impression of more room than there actually is.

Let the light into the room.

Eliminate heavy drapery curtains from your windows and use sheer curtains to let outside light into your living room. If your window is not very big, or is shaded add table lamps, track lighting, or recessed lighting to the room.

Glass table tops and mirrors help make the room seem bigger.

It's an illusion, but being able to see the floor through glass table tops will actually help towards making the room seem bigger than it really it is. Add a few mirrors to the wall as they will help reflect the light and the space of the room back into it and help give it an open feel.

Bigger pieces of furniture really make a difference.

Yes, your living room is small, but when you use a few strategically placed pieces of large furniture in place of numerous smaller pieces, the room will feel more open. They will provide you will more open space and large blocks of soothing color.

There are many decorating tips that are helpful for maximizing the space you have and making it seem like more. There really is no need to call in someone to tear out walls when with a few strategic moves you can make your small living room seem much larger and roomier. For more helpful ideas visit some of these helpful do it yourself websites:

www.freshome.com

www.ehow.com

www.interiordec.about.com

Source:

Freshome, ehow, about.com and authors experience with tiny rooms!