How To Style a Living Room (4 Designer Hacks for Small Spaces)

If you are anything like me, you live in a cozy little apartment with huge aspirations to make it something beautiful. But then reality sets in and you’re struggling to work around those little spaces with weird nooks that make no sense and limited options to fix it.

So how do you style a living room with little space? Here are just a few options:

Choose furniture with a small footprint, make it functional, use lighter pieces to brighten up the space, and pick furniture that doubles as storage.

If you’ve been banging your head up against a wall (that you can’t break down for more space), then keep reading. I will be providing you with several different styling ideas for multiple different scenarios.

Small Living Room Ideas With a TV

I’m not sure why in all the pictures of living room layouts there are never any TV’s. I get they aren’t very pretty to look at, but almost everyone has one so why are they not included?

At any rate, you are probably trying to figure out how to make your living room look like all the pictures you see but with a big black box as the focal point.

Here are a few ways you can try:

1. Entertainment Centers That Double As Storage

Be careful which one you choose. With a small space, the bigger the footprint, the smaller your space will feel.

Try and pick one that provides extra storage but doesn't overpower the space.

Entertainment Center Ideas That Provide Extra Storage:

• Cubes

• Dressers (yes, the right size dresser is a great option for extra storage)

• Entryway tables that have multiple layers for storage purposes

2. Mount Your TV

This option involves more commitment and can be a daunting task. Check with your landlord to confirm you can mount your tv, but if you can, it's a great option to get rid of an entertainment center or allow more flexibility on what kind you get.

Play around with your living room to see what works best for your lifestyle.

If you don't spend a lot of time in front of the TV, don't invest a lot of time and money into. Get a small TV that fits on small entertainment center and call it good. Or veto the TV all together.

If hosting social gatherings is a huge priority for you, invest more into the seating.

If it's a mix, find a balance on good seating and a good sized TV.

And if you are feeling really fancy with the money just burning a hole in your pocket, I suggest looking into a frame TV. They are incredible and a great focal point!

Small Living Room Ideas With a Fireplace

This one is tough. You can’t move the fireplace anywhere so you are stuck with very few options to work with.

Fireplaces in apartments are not completely useless though. Depending on the fireplace, you can mount your tv on the mantel which means that is one less piece of furniture you have to buy and find a place for.

If you can’t mount your tv on the mantel or wall, it is a great place to showcase some decor and add more light.

Lots of seating is optimal, but with a fireplace, you may want to veto the big couches and cozy chairs. Nothing makes a small space feel small like crowding it with furniture that's too big.

A decent size couch with maybe one low profile chair will be all you need.

Small Living Room Ideas On a Budget

Now for the dreaded topic of money. Decorating a space, no matter how big or small, can get expensive.

But it’s not impossible to make some impactful changes on a budget.

Here are just a few:

• Low profile coffee tables with storage

• Entertainment centers with storage

• A nice rug to tie in your furniture and add warmth to the space

• A mirror to bounce light off of

• Some photos or decor to add your own personal touch

I love a good Target run, but before you go, check Facebook Marketplace and local thrift stores. You will be amazed at what people get rid of.

I have found all types of furniture, decor pieces, and even curtains for next to nothing. And if you want a fun inexpensive project, thrift store finds are a great place to start. It just takes a little more time and commitment but it’s worth the reward.

4 Decorating Hacks For Your Small Living Room (Apartment Friendly)

Living in an apartment can be challenging for those creative minds that want to go all out and make their home one to remember. But when you can't change the paint, the floors, cabinets, hardware, etc., it can put a huge damper on things.

Here are just a few designer hacks you can do that are renter friendly and will make a huge impact on your space:

1. Create More Light

You can do this by choosing those brighter pieces of furniture and accents. The change seems small but the difference is huge.

Accents To Brighten Up a Room:

• Curtains

• Pillows

• Throw blankets

• Rugs

• Furniture (coffee tables, end tables, bookshelves, etc.)

• Decor (wall art, lamps, etc.)

2. Use Mirrors

Mirrors are a GREAT way to create more natural light as well as make a room look bigger.

When choosing where to put a mirror, pick a wall where natural light is directed toward. This creates an illusion of depth as light and color bounce off the mirror into the room.

Our eyes perceive the bouncing reflections as increased volume, making the room look bigger.

3. Use Long Curtains

This one is probably my favorite! Why? Because you get two benefits for the price of one. The right curtains will not only brighten up the space but they will also make it look bigger.

To brighten up the space, it’s simple, choose a lighter color of curtains.

To make the space look larger, hang them closer to the ceiling and let the bottom of the curtains just slightly kiss the floor.

Look at that! The picture speaks for itself. It’s crazy how much bigger the area looks just by hanging them higher to the ceiling. Once again, creating an optical illusion that the room is bigger than it actually is.

4. Keep Decor to a Minimum

No matter how big or small your space may be, nothing makes a space feel smaller than it actually is by cluttering it with too much decor.

Home girl loves some good decor pieces. To me, it’s the best way to add your personal touch to a room. But too much is just that, too much.

How do you know if you have too much decor? It’s pretty simple.

When you walk into a home or apartment, if all you see is decor, it’s too much. You want decor to be an accent, not a staple. Your coffee table is the staple, but the 15 candles in apothecary jars are not.

Your grandma's house is a great example of this. I love my grams, but wow, decor and knick-knacks everywhere.

Yikes! That’s too much of everything. Patterns, colors, furniture, and decor. My head hurts!

That’s better! Enough to add layers and texture, but not enough to overpower the room.

That’s a Wrap

Well I hope you are feeling inspired to be bold with your home and make some necessary changes.

This is YOUR home. Do what makes you feel happy and at home. Sure, there are rules of thumb to follow, but none of that matters if you feel like you live in a magazine catalog and not a home.

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Until next time,

Miriam