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6 Ways to Maximize Living Space in a Small Home

December 17, 2020

Having a small living room doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy style and functionality in the heart of your home. With the right approach to small living room layouts and furnishings, you can create a space where you love spending time with friends and family. Here’s how to maximize space in a small house so you can start working on your dream living room setup.

Small Living Room Layout Tips

When it comes to evaluating your living room, it’s all about understanding and appreciating the available space. These ideas can help you adjust your mindset to effectively organize your room.

Create a Floorplan

By creating an accurate floorplan, you get a better feel for exactly how much space you have and how the shape and features of the room can support your lifestyle. For example, if your living room has a large window, this area could be perfect for setting up your desk or crafting table. Have a difficult corner to work with? Sounds like the ideal reading nook or music spot!

Try breaking your living room floorplan into different sections for each of the ways you like to use the space. To make these distinctions even clearer, you can paint the walls of each area in your living room a different color or shade. This will help maximize the space in your small house both visually and functionally.

Couple measuring small living room layout

Make Use of All the Space

Once you’ve made a floorplan and decided how you want to use your living room, you can put the entire space to work. There are a few small living room layout ideas to keep in mind when organizing the space, starting with the furnishings. Don’t push furniture up against the walls, which can emphasize the limited space. Even with a small living room layout, you should have a few inches to spare so you can float your furniture away from the walls.

As well as keeping furniture from in front of any windows, you can simplify window treatments to let in as much light as possible. Getting plenty of natural light in the room can give the impression of more space. While the square footage of your living room floor may be limited, you may be lucky enough to have high ceilings. Use lots of shelves to remove storage and organizational items from the floor and show off the unique space!

Embrace Your Small Living Room!

Having a small living room can feel like a disadvantage, especially if you love to entertain at home. However, a small space gives you an effortlessly intimate environment. Position your small living room furniture sets in a cozy huddle and see how it brings people closer together and encourages conversation in your home. 

You can also celebrate your living room with a statement piece. While a larger decor item may seem counterintuitive for a small space, a gallery wall or eye-catching light fitting can actually make your room feel larger by adding more visual intrigue. In fact, with the right interior design, you can really maximize the living space in your small house. Take a look at our effective decor tips for limited spaces to get even more inspiration. 

Small Living Room Furniture Sets

Now you’ve got your small living room layout, it’s time to think about the right furniture for your space. There are several routes you can take to really get the most out of your living room.

Opt for Multi-Purpose Furniture

Multi-purpose furniture can help you get everything you need into a small living room layout without cluttering the room. You can choose pieces with built-in storage, such as ottomans. Ottomans can also be used as coffee tables, extra seating, and foot rests quickly, easily, and stylishly. If your living room doubles as your spare room when your relatives are in town, you can even consider adding a daybed to the space for a practical and playful addition. 

Switch Out a Furniture Set for a Sectional

A sectional may be a large piece of furniture, but with just that one piece, you can seat all your friends and family in a small living space. A stylish sectional can also work as a statement piece while offering a cozy seating option.

Southern Motion’s Gigi Recliner for small living room layouts

Choose Furniture with Small Dimensions

You can also choose small living room furniture sets. Antiques are a great option for small living room layouts, as they come from time periods when rooms were typically smaller. Swap one large coffee table for a few small antique coffee tables or choose lower furniture to create the illusion of higher ceilings — and more space —in your home.

If you’re looking for something more modern to maximize space in a small house, you can consider floating furniture. Hanging seats and Lucite tables create a sense of spaciousness and style while fulfilling the main needs in your living room. Similarly, backless furniture doesn’t cover up focal points in the room but does provide handy additional seating.

You can also find specially designed furniture for smaller living rooms. Southern Motion’s Gigi Recliner has a functional swivel base, small dimensions, and wall hugger technology, making it ideal for a small living room layout. To get the perfect furniture to maximize the living space in your small house, find your nearest Southern Motion retailer here.

Find a Retailer

Independent retailers display differing selections of Southern Motion furniture. Southern Motion is represented by many independent retailers throughout the US, Canada, and Mexico.

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