Placing Furniture in a Small Living Room

Arranging your furniture in a small living room can present a challenge. How you place the furniture can determine whether the room looks inviting or crowded and cluttered. There are design elements that can give your room a feeling of airiness. Optimizing traffic flow and ridding the room of clutter are important factors. Proper use of lighting can enlarge a room visually. Your color scheme is critical. By taking these elements into consideration, you can have a living room that has style and appears to be more spacious.

Determine the focal point of your room. You might choose the entertainment center, a piece of furniture or a fireplace. Place your chosen piece at one end of the room. Arrange the rest of your furniture to complement the focal point.

Arrange a conversation area opposite your focal point. It could be a sofa or two smaller chairs with a table between them. Pull the chairs out from the walls at a slight angle facing each other. If you line all your furniture up against the walls, the room takes on a boxy look that emphasizes its small size. Further define your conversation area by putting an area rug under or in front of your sofa or chairs. Keep the colors in the area rug soft so it does not divide the room. Place your other chairs or sofa so they complement this arrangement. Ideally you should be able to seat six people.

Lighting is especially important in a small living room because it gives the illusion of space. Have at least three sources of lighting such as table lamps, floor lamps, overhead lighting and windows. Use mirrors to reflect the light and give the illusion of more space. Hang one or two mirrors on a wall opposite a light source to make a room feel larger.

Create good traffic flow. It is important that your guests be able to move easily through the room. Get rid of excess clutter, excess furniture or furniture that is too large for the room.

Choose a palette of softer neutral colors for the walls, window treatments and major pieces of furniture. This gives the room a feeling of spaciousness and airiness. Add patterns and brighter colors with pillows and smaller accessories.