7 Easy Ways to Make Any Small Living Room Look Bigger Instantly

We all love cozy spaces, and often a classic living room is the perfect place to create a comfortable, cozy atmosphere.

But small living rooms can also have their downsides. If not decorated well, they can easily feel cluttered or claustrophobic.

Luckily, there are plenty of design tricks to create the illusion of a larger space—you just have to execute them correctly. With guidance from some of our favorite design experts, we’ve rounded up some of the best suggestions.

Hang large artwork

While it may seem counterintuitive, interior designer Tara McCauley says large-scale artwork or a large mirror above the living room sofa is an effective way to tie a room together and make it appear more spacious.

“A tall piece of artwork or a large, beautiful mirror can accentuate the height of the ceiling and trick the eye into making the room appear larger,” says McCauley.

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Invest in wallpaper

While white walls can make your room brighter, they don’t necessarily make it look larger. Instead, Michal Rubin, principal designer at MR Interiors, suggests wallpapering smaller living rooms.

“Wallpaper is an instant eye-opener when designing a small space like a living room,” she says.

Rubin says you can choose a solid patterned paper or a bold repeating pattern. Either way, wallpapering a room is an effective way to visually expand the space.

Less is more

Home organization and decor creator Krisit Howard says she likes to use larger furniture in smaller rooms—but less is more.

“Keep the amount of furniture you use to a minimum, but choose pieces that can fill the space at the same time,” she says.

You may feel like a small couch, multiple armchairs, side tables, and lots of decor will spruce up your room, but Howard warns that this isn’t true.

In fact, she says, too much furniture will just make your small living room look busy. Instead, consider a larger couch with a simple coffee table—this will help your room feel simple and spacious.

Get creative with your home office options

Often, living rooms aren’t necessarily too small—they’re just doing too much. If you have a room that doubles as a room, it will look and feel much smaller than it actually is.

McCauley says she often sees this when the living room doubles as a home office. Instead of letting a desk take up space, McCauley says you should consider converting a closet, alcove, or work nook into a dedicated workspace.

“I recently painted the inside of a client’s closet a bold contrasting color and hung dramatic curtains in front, opening up to reveal a glamorous home office space,” she says.

With some extra shelves and creative drawer arrangements, you can maintain storage functionality and free up your living room.

Choosing carpets

Even if you have wall-to-wall carpeting or very limited floor space, area rugs are a great addition to a small living room, says Rubin.

“Look for rugs with subtle patterns or textures to highlight an area in the room and make the rest of the room feel larger,” she says.

Use interesting shapes

Decorating a small room can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be boring. Rubin says she likes to use interestingly shaped furniture in a smaller space.

“This helps the eye move and creates angles that weren’t there before,” she says. Think: arched console tables, round-back sofas, or pedestal tables.

Don’t be shy with color

Whether you choose wallpaper or not, Rubin considers color your best friend when it comes to making a room feel more spacious.

“For smaller rooms, mixing and matching colors with decorative accessories, like on bookshelves, will help create a focal point in a small space,” she says.

Like many of the tips above, this one will make your eyes move around the room, creating the illusion of more space.