Decorating A Small Room

Here are some ideas for decorating a small living room or family room. There are things to think about beforehand to avoid mistakes that make the room seem smaller or cluttered. If you are looking for small room ideas, we have some to unlock the potential of your room.

Draw Eyes Away From The Entry Way

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When you are decorating one of the ways to make a small room seem more spacious is to use soft, pastel shades in your color scheme to make it warm and inviting.  Here are some other ideas.

Use Wood

One way to decorate a small room is to consider alternatives to traditional furniture. Sometimes these traditional three-piece type sets are space eaters.  You can still have a comfy area for relaxing with less space-eating furniture. Try swapping an upholstered armchair for a wooden rocking chair with cushions and traditional type bookcases for something slim, like a ladder type of shelving.

Use Stools For Seating

It doesn’t matter if you have a cottage in the country, a downtown studio, or a small starter ranch style home, it’s tricky making a relaxing room when there is a large door swinging open every time someone enters.  If you have a door that opens into a small room, or any room for that matter, try to take the emphasis away from the door or entryway by arranging seating to change the focal point of the room. Do this by strategic placing of chairs or couches and tables.  If money allows, consider a recessed type window to add perceived space to the room.

Use Vertical Decorating Techniques

The easiest way to decorate walls with vertical patterns is wallpaper.  Consider using wallpaper designs that complement your room and have vertical patterns.  Is your floor space small?  Then take the wall pattern up high, or use lighting columns going up, or from ceiling down.  You can also use patterns, like shapes and lines that pull the eye upward and make the most of a high ceiling, if you have one.  Window shading should echo any patterns you use, and allow for natural light to filter into the room.  To save space, and add lighting, consider a floor lamp rather than table lighting.

When you have a small room, the last thing you should do is cram it full of furniture. Instead, get a sofa that’s proportionally sized to the room, and if you’re still in need of more seating, consider stools. Stools  take up less space than bulky armchairs, and can be easily moved around. If you want a cozy living space you can cluster color coordinated objects like cushions and pictures to help, without loading the room with furniture.

Lighting

As well, try to make the most of natural light, and make window treatments simple and sheer.  If your room has high ceilings you are in luck.  Full length curtains are a great option because they draw the eye up and help give a room the illusion of more space. Adding subtle striped designs give depth, and draperies that can be easily opened, or blinds can add light and extra depth.

Get Creative

Before you start to decorate a small room, consider how to optimize the space, and be creative.  Think about using an L-shaped sofa rather than a traditional one.  Use space saving trunks in stead of tables, ladder style shelves or Think about an L-shaped sofa in a tight eaves space teamed with trunks that can function as coffee tables as well as handy storage. Maintain a dark room white to make the most of what little light there is.

Use Texture

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Decorating with white on walls, ceiling and floor can leave a space feeling clinical and stark. Take the chill off a compact nook with a homely leather armchair, red floor lamp and woollen carpet- all circled around a log-filled hearth. A tactile cushion and soft throw in viridian green add a final designer touch.

Use Lighting To Your Advantage

Lighting is important, as mentioned already.  Try using overhanging lights that illuminate a coffee table.  Illuminating a piece of furniture creates the focal point around which you can sit stools, cushions or chairs.

What About Space Under Stairs?

Make the most of the unused space under stairs by incorporating things like storage and other creative items.  If you have space issues in your small area and need to make the most it, then use that space under the stairs to add function and creativity to your room.

Work With Original Built Features

Give architectural features a modern update with a fresh coat of paint to give the room a modern look.

Warm Up The Whites

Give a white room heaps of character by adding artwork that you just can’t live without. A crisp, clear white wall is a good backdrop to add style and accessories and won’t make the room cluttered. Keep the paint palette simple; only one or two colors, and keep it consistent and cohesive.

Use Patterns And Themes

Patterns can help small living rooms just like big ones, but again be prudent about where you use them. Wool fabrics are good for a cosy country feel, but keep tartans, checks, paisleys and even florals confined to hurls and cushions on sofas and armchairs, leaving walls for plain paint colors. Add a natural flooring rug to bring the two sides of a room together.

Show Off Interesting Things

Just because your room is small doesn’t mean that you should stow favourite nick nacks. If you have objects that are worthy of showing off, display them.  Use a shelf, or even along the back of a sofa. This idea is great for when floor space is at a premium.

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Maximize Storage

Small living rooms need to be kept fresh and uncluttered with well-chosen storage. A great way to make a small living room feel larger is to keep it tidy, and to do that, everything in the room needs to have its purpose and place. Floating shelves are perfect for small rooms because they can hold a lot of things on a wall or in alcoves.  Also, floor-to-ceiling shelves and closets are great in small spaces.

When it comes to a small room, hard-working, multi-functional pieces of furniture are great. For example, a coffee table which doubles as a storage bin, to make it possible to clear away any clutter at a moment’s notice. You could also invest in lidded stools, or even a sofa with storage under the seat. Add wall mirrors and furniture with reflective surfaces into your design scheme to maximise the amount of natural illumination in your living room to make it feel bigger and brighter.

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