Small living room design rules

Decorating small rooms requires some knowledge. Any mistake can make the room uncomfortable, tasteless. When decorating, all the nuances are important: light, color, furnishings, textiles, decor. All these components are dependent on each other. The process of creating a design project is complex, but interesting.

The advice of experts on the visual adjustment of the space will help you to choose furniture for a small living room in a modern style, to create a cozy interior. The review presents the best design ideas for a room where the whole family gathers in the evenings and on weekends, receive guests, arrange parties, family dinners, and tea parties.

Basic rules for creating an interior in a small living room

Before comparing several modern styles, you should understand the main principles of decorating a limited space:

1. When decorating a small room, they combine different shades of the same tone. They choose a neutral natural color that does not tire, is simple enough for mental perception.
2. It is advisable to select floor coverings in light colors: gray, beige, woody under ash, hornbeam. Dark colors are distracting, while light colors serve as a backdrop for furniture.
3. Simple geometric shapes, frameless decor are welcome.
4. There should not be a lot of mirror surfaces and gloss, flickering reflections are annoying.
5. Massive curtains with folds, lambrequins make the room heavier; light curtains, blinds with photo printing are suitable for a small living room.
6. Pillows, bolsters, blankets create coziness, but there should not be a lot of these decorative items.
7. Mixing prints, patterns on upholstery, wallpaper, curtains, pillows create visual clutter, make the interior tasteless.
8. The maximum design is allowed no more than three colors: the basic one prevails, the additional one emphasizes individual interior details, the contrasting one creates bright accents.
9. When choosing a decor, it is important to consider compatibility. Oval glasses in the cabinet doors, a round coffee table do not match rectangular posters and photographs. Porcelain and crystal are limited in modern interiors.

Note! Furniture, decoration, decor are chosen in the same style. It is difficult to create an eclectic interior in a small room.

How can you visually expand the space

If the size of the living room does not suit you, a visual expansion of the space is possible. Designers know a few secrets:

• When using textiles with glitter, curtains with lurex, the room visually becomes more spacious.
• Light curtains with vertical small patterns fill the room with air.
• Floor-length curtains suspended from the ceiling cornice create the illusion of high ceilings.
• The width of the window opening should be taken into account, the curtain should be 1/3 longer.
• The walls are stretched out by tall floor vases, a palm tree in a tub, a long cactus will be a great addition.
• Transparent cabinet doors, white furniture, glass decor will make the room look bigger.

There should be no dark furniture, bulky chandeliers, excess decor.

Which style is best for a small living room

First, about the classics. Massive wooden furniture with polished, inlay will make a small room even smaller. A spacious leather sofa is also not for a compact interior. It is better to choose modern minimalist styles that value monochrome, graphic, compactness and simplicity.

• Provence is ideal for romantic people. Pastoral motifs of tapestry cushions, small floral prints of upholstery, pastel colors of decoration and textiles will fill the living room with harmony and comfort. You can add a couple of lace napkins, a composition of dried flowers.
• A loft is an abundance of light, a minimum of decor and textiles. Light shelves, a small sofa with practical upholstery, a transforming table and video equipment - all the necessary furnishings.
• Minimalism allows for a modular wardrobe, a sofa-book, several shelves. You can diversify the interior with a floor lamp, a poster.
• The Scandinavian style is plaster or wallpaper under white brick, white furniture, a light sofa covered with eco-leather.

How to choose the right furniture

It is better to get from a bulky wall right away, it is better to choose glass showcases, compact sliding wardrobes with mirrored doors. In modern interiors, modular elements are placed that can be arbitrarily assembled. The size of furniture for a small living room matters a lot. The layout depends on the geometric features of the room. Long rooms are zoned, create an independent resting place with upholstered furniture, coffee table, TV, color scheme.

A good option is a functional transformer with a storage system, a folding tabletop for a tea ceremony. It is also better to choose a folding table, models with tabletop height adjustment are convenient. A living room with such furniture can be used for receiving guests.

Note! The most difficult thing is to equip the passage rooms, door blocks are decorated with fabric, installing cornices along the entire length of the wall.

A few tips for planning rooms with different geometries:

• In a square-shaped room, parallel and angular arrangement of furniture is possible. Graphic decor will help balance the space.
• In narrow rooms, reminiscent of a wide corridor, white furniture, a small corner sofa, and a round coffee table with a glass decorated table top are needed. Racks, bookcases, showcases for crystal and porcelain are appropriate.
• A small living room of a non-standard shape with a niche, corner ledges, an alcove, a panoramic semicircular window structure requires special furnishings. The choice should be made in favor of a fancy C-shaped sofa or with a curly back. It is better to make a semicircular corner cabinet. A small coffee table with curved legs will be complemented by a bench. Can be complemented with bookshelves, rounded shelves.

Lighting and backlighting features

The modern style of design will be emphasized by a decorative LED cord that is thrown around the perimeter of the ceiling. Luxurious chandeliers are acceptable only in classic interiors, but massive wooden furniture is hard to imagine in a small room.Do not forget that central lighting visually narrows the space.

Original sconces and wall lamps, multi-level illuminated ceilings, on the contrary, make the room wider. Living room decor and individual furnishings are often highlighted. A fashionable element is lower lighting, adjustable spots are built into the plinth, and compact ramps are installed. This lighting creates the illusion of high ceilings.

For reference. White garlands scattered on the wall, shelves, and shelves create a special atmosphere.

Color solutions

The color of decoration, furniture is limited to light colors. In a small area, you can make a stylish interior if you choose fashionable shades as the base color.

• White color in the living room is complemented by woody shades, colorful textiles, bright decor.
• The gray color in the hall is suitable for wall and floor decoration. It goes well with glass and metal furniture, graphic decor.
• Living room in brown tones should not be overloaded with decorative elements: stucco, patterns on wallpaper and curtains, sofa upholstery. All shades of brown are combined with sunny yellow and golden colors, textiles are chosen in shades of autumn foliage.
• The hall in blue tones will delight the pragmatists. Warm lavender shades soothe, soothe. Creative people can decide to decorate a small living room in a nautical, Mediterranean style.
• Green living room for everybody. Light marsh or light green color is preferable. In such an interior, photowall-paper and natural landscape, flowering meadow, tropical vegetation will be appropriate.
• A hall in lilac color is a squeak of fashion, but it should be borne in mind that saturated shades can be annoying.

Decoration and selection of accessories

The decor completes the style composition, helps to create the necessary accents, and distracts from other elements of the decor. Paintings, panels, corresponding to the design theme are always in trend. Photos, souvenirs and trophies from tourist trips are appropriate. Graceful flowerpots and figurines are not compatible with minimalism, loft, but will decorate the interior in the Provence style.

Curtains are chosen so that they complement the composition. Roller blinds and roman blinds are in trend, some prefer practical blinds.

Combining a living room with a kitchen

Despite the unification of the territory, the functionality of the premises is preserved. This is the main highlight of decorating a combined room. Zoning is necessary, this can be done with the help of furniture, flooring, wall decoration, lighting.

A dining area is formed on the basis of upholstered furniture. The table must be well lit. The dividing element can be a bar counter, vertical stands with potted flowers, an aquarium, dish cabinets with glass doors.

When pipes of utilities are visible, they construct a decorative box in the form of a column or a podium for flowers.

Important! It is recommended to install sliding partitions instead of doors so that kitchen smells during cooking do not scatter around the living room.

Design Tips & Tricks

A few words about wallpaper. Prints, abstractions and geometric patterns should not be pronounced, it is better to choose small options. With the help of floor coverings, you can correct a narrow room by laying the laminate across. Using tiles of different shades, you can zone the room.

Carpets are back in fashion. They are chosen for wallpaper or textiles. Manufacturers produce contemporary rugs in a variety of styles. This decor item creates coziness, increases the comfort of a quiet rest.

Video: interior options for a small living room

Photo examples of the design of a small living room

The owners of apartments with a small living room are not limited in the choice of style. Although the interior is created with an abundance of light colors, you can always create a unique atmosphere. It is easy to verify this in the selection of photos.