Narrow room ideas
The 9 Best Narrow Room Layout Tips From a Style Expert
Amy Bartlam; Design: Jette Creative
The classic video game of Tetris can easily come to mind whenever you're confronting the mind-boggling task of creating a furniture layout in a narrow room. A couch may look ideal on a certain wall, but once a coffee table is placed in front of it, it can suddenly appear cramped—and a side chair is necessary for guests, but its small size feels larger between a plant and ottoman. So what can you do to win this real-life version of Tetris and create an airy space without much room?
"In narrow spaces, you'll often find yourself having to edit your ideal floor plan," says Alessandra Wood, Ph.D., the Vice President of Style at Modsy. "You may not be able to put that side table next to your sofa, or you might only be able to fit one accent chair rather than two."
Planning is key to furniture layouts in narrow living rooms, bedrooms, and more. If you're working with a smaller area, it's important to be even more meticulous with which pieces stay or go. Wood knows how difficult it can be to style an unusual space, and that's why she's offering her advice on how to deal with narrow room layouts. "Don't overload your layout," she says, which should be your mantra as you get to work. To dive deeper, Wood provides a few ideas for strategizing style in a narrow layout.
Read on for her how-to when designing furniture in a narrow room, and consider these tips your cheat sheet for winning the game against tricky square footage.
01 of 09
Becca Interiors
"If you're looking for narrow space design ideas involving lighting, wall sconces are the way to go," Wood says. "These babies light up your home without wasting valuable floor space or table surface area. What's even better? Many options can be plugged into the wall so you don't have to worry about the whole wiring issue. Some even swivel, giving you extra flexibility with your lighting, too."
02 of 09
Ann Living
"Kind of like how your mom used to say 'keep your feet off the sofa,' one of the best narrow design ideas involves keeping your furniture off the floor," Wood continues.
"Why? Because nothing makes a small space look even smaller like a bulky sofa plopped right on the floor. Instead, try using furniture that sits high up off the floor to make your small space look roomier. Pieces with long, tapered legs are a perfect choice. This is also a reason why the midcentury modern trend is so popular in urban cities where homes are a lot smaller."
03 of 09
Modsy
"Sometimes, it's best to skip a rectangular rug and embrace an irregular option instead," Wood notes. "After all, a rug that is clearly too big or too small will just draw attention to the size and shape of your room. Instead, try an irregularly shaped rug, such as cowhide, or even a round rug. This will create a sense of flow, and fill most of the floor space without drawing attention to the narrow shape of the room."
04 of 09
Amy Bartlam; Design: Jenn Feldman Designs
"When you can't make more space, you can always employ some apartment design ideas that make it look like you have more space," Wood adds.
"The oldest trick in the interior designer's handbook? See-through furniture! Opting for pieces made of glass or acrylic is a great way to trick the eye into thinking your space is larger than it is. So skip the bulky wooden coffee table in favor of a glass or acrylic option. It'll make your space look more open and airy—which, in turn, will help it feel larger!"
05 of 09
Elizabeth Roberts
"Carving out a path to navigate through the space is an important part of making your room comfortable and livable," Woods says. "Ensure that you have enough space between your coffee table and sofa to walk through easily. This might mean using smaller-scale furniture pieces."
06 of 09
Amy Bartlam; Design: Jette Creative
"Just because your space is narrow doesn't mean that you need to line your furniture up against the wall," Wood notes. "Play with pulling pieces outward—perhaps bookshelves behind the sofa, or a console table with lighting and accessories.
" Opt for smaller furniture that won't take up too much space when pulled away from the wall, and use decorative accents behind the sofa (like tall plants or floor lamps) to draw attention to the extra room.
07 of 09
House 9
Create specific areas in a long and narrow room rather than trying to design one conversational space: "If you have a room that is narrow but long, creating 'defined zones,' such as the main seating area and reading nook, will help break up space," Woods says. "Use a chaise or small sectional to segment the room and break up the narrow feel."
08 of 09
Katie Martinez Design
Instead of using a traditional coffee table, play with small nesting tables or an ottoman. "This allows for a place to kick up your feet or set down a drink without taking up valuable space," Woods continues. Bonus: Nesting tables can be tucked away when you aren't entertaining guests, so you'll gain extra floor space when they're not needed.
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Amy Bartlam; Design: Whitney Campeau Interiors
"In a narrow bedroom, get a storage bed.
If the room is too small for one with drawers, you can get one that lifts up," she adds. "In your living room, opt for a media cabinet that can conceal your devices and provide extra storage. In narrow spaces, you need to have places to store excess goods so they don't feel overly exposed and cramped." Unlike traditional coffee tables, many ottomans can also double as a place to stow away necessities without keeping them on display (just don't forget the tray on top for drinks and décor).
The One Thing a Designer Would Never Do in a Small Space
Tips to make a narrow space seem wider |
(Image credit: Rikki Snyder / Becca Interiors)
These long living room ideas will help you turn a narrow living room into a space you will love for years to come.
If you have, or have ever had, a narrow, long living room at home, then you’ll be more than aware of the tricky task of making it look wider than it actually is, while desperately trying to make every corner look cozy.
You’ve probably spent hours rearranging furniture in a frenzied attempt to make your rectangular space look more square, but in the back of your mind you know that unless you knock down the walls and rebuild the room from scratch, there’s just little you can do.
Never fear – with some clever small living room ideas and tricks of the trade, there are in fact tons of ways to help turn that awkward living room layout into something stylish and sophisticated.
1. Keep a long living room clutter free
(Image credit: Future)
If there’s one thing that’s going to create the illusion of more space in a long living room, it’s decluttering – it can actually make a room feel wider in seconds.
Make sure you keep your room tidy and organized by using clever small living room storage ideas to remove toys, plants, knickknacks and other unnecessary items, and your space will instantly feel bigger and more pleasant to be in.
2. Use the right furniture for a narrow living room
(Image credit: Haris Kenjar / Hoedemaker Pfeiffer)
Furniture in long living rooms can be a cumbersome business, so it pays to invest in the right pieces – and consider the arrangement carefully, as interior design firm Hoedemaker Pfeiffer have done in this small, narrow space.
A great tip is to choose a sofa and chairs with open arms and exposed legs, and a glass coffee table. Both will keep the appearance of a much more open and free space, allowing light to filter under and around the furniture far more easily.
3. Pull furniture away from the walls
(Image credit: Future / Mel Yates)
Another important pointer is not to place large pieces of furniture against walls. And, just because a room is long, doesn’t mean you need to fill it all with furniture. Use the middle of the room to center the furniture arrangement, leaving the sides as open, but not dead, space.
4. Scale the furniture to fit a long living room
(Image credit: Future / Paul Raeside )
Scale the furniture to fit the size of the room and don’t block walking pathways. Pick the perfect couch for a small living room by avoiding oversized sofas, or too much furniture that will make the living room look smaller. Furniture and accessories blocking the view into a room will make the space look cramped – if you can see the floor, the room will look larger.
5. Light up a narrow space
(Image credit: Rikki Snyder / Becca Interiors)
Light helps to brighten up a room instantly, so first and foremost allow any natural light to stream indoors by taking down heavy, dark window coverings. If looking for apartment living room ideas , try sheer window treatments or install white wooden blinds or shutters to let the natural light flow into your room during the day, while simultaneously providing nighttime privacy, like in this narrow space designed by Becca Interiors .
6. Use mirrors to reflect light
(Image credit: Future / Jonathan Gooch)
Not surprisingly, decorating with mirrors can make a long living room look a lot larger. Hang a large mirror on a wall opposite a window or very near one to reflect the outdoors, broadening the feel of your room.
Mirrors reflect both natural and artificial light to make a room brighter during the day and night and they bounce light deep into the room, making it appear larger.
Mirrors on the walls and glass tabletops will make it seem like there’s a more open flow.
7. Use paint to visually enlarge a long, narrow room
(Image credit: Future / Richard Powers)
You can visually widen a rectangular-shaped living room by painting the two end walls a darker color than the other two walls. The gradation of shade and color of paint on opposing walls can either lengthen distance by using a lighter shade – or shorten a distance with a darker shade.
8. Zone a long room with accessories
(Image credit: Sarah Shields Photography / Whittney Parkinson Design)
Long living rooms rarely feel homely, but here Whittney Parkinson Design has used a few ingenious tricks to zone the space to make it feel far cozier.
Decorating small spaces with a rug can visually draw together the furniture, giving rooms focus and adding comfort. While a focal point that contrasts with the rest of the scheme can be visually interesting, disguising the awkward layout, something like quirky piece of art, vase or striking lampshade.
9. Hang pictures correctly
(Image credit: Future / Paul Raeside)
Walls that are covered with pictures and other wall hangings tend to make a room feel closed in or busy, so simply hang one or two large pieces of artwork to make the room feel wider and more spacious.
Choose art that can sit wide but low over the sofa or fireplace for example, to bring the eye level down and help make the room seem wider.
10. Unite two rooms
(Image credit: Sara Tramp / Ginny Macdonald Design)
If you’ve got a long living room that’s divided in two – like a living room one end and a dining room the other – it might be worth picking a couple of your favorite colors and using them as key tones to coordinate the one space, as interior designer Ginny Macdonald has done here.
Plus, try and turn your sofa so it goes against the length of the room, to help break it up – you don’t want the line of your sofa running into your dining table, too.
How do you arrange furniture in a long living room?
If possible, try to avoid arranging all your furniture on one side of the long living room wall.
By alternating furniture groupings – or by utilizing the middle of the room better – it will effectively force the traffic flow to take on an 'S' shape, and stops the space looking too straight and narrow, much like a hallway.
How do you utilize a long living room?
Select furniture pieces that are in proportion to the size of your room – oversized cabinets, sofas and chairs can make a small room feel narrow.
Make sure you arrange your furniture at an angle to create a sense of depth to the room, otherwise if you place all furniture against the walls you might end up with a narrow look.
What's more, as long as your ceiling is painted in a paler color than your walls, no matter what the color, your ceilings will feel higher, helping a narrow living room feel more light and airy.
Jennifer is the Digital Editor at Homes & Gardens. Having worked in the interiors industry for a number of years, spanning many publications, she now hones her digital prowess on the 'best interiors website' in the world.
Multi-skilled, Jennifer has worked in PR and marketing, and the occasional dabble in the social media, commercial and e-commerce space. Over the years, she has written about every area of the home, from compiling design houses from some of the best interior designers in the world to sourcing celebrity homes, reviewing appliances and even the odd news story or two.
Designing a narrow room with a window: how to choose an interior and furnish it with furniture
Turning a long "pencil case" into a full-fledged living space - a living room, dining room, bedroom, nursery, office or dressing room
A narrow, elongated room is not uncommon in our homes. In addition, in such rooms there is often one window, because of which the lighting of the space suffers. Before you decide how best to deal with the "pencil case", you need accurate measurements.
Polina Anikeeva
3 meters or less?
The width of a narrow room is a critical indicator.
If a room is three or more meters across, there are quite a few options for arranging furniture. If it remains in the region of two and a half meters or even less, you will have to get out.
MWAI Architecture and Interiors
Narrow living room
Arranging a living room in a narrow room is perhaps the most difficult task. All family members gather in the living room, so there should be plenty of seating. Your choice - long sofas; it is even desirable that they be longer than usual. Strict lines of perspective will be smoothed out and the room will appear more rectangular. nine0005
The opposite wall can be decorated with shallow hanging shelves or built-in storage. And if the width of the room allows, you can even install a couple of chairs opposite the sofa. It does not matter that they will close the approach to the cabinets - if necessary, the chairs can be easily moved. But such a solution will allow you to conveniently settle down for family communication.
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Make Interiors
It is reasonable to divide not only a narrow, but also a long room into several zones: for communication (armchairs by the window or a desktop), a sofa + TV. Quite often, narrow elongated rooms have an alcove - according to the situation, they have a bed or a built-in wardrobe.
Juliette Byrne
If the length of the room is not enough, you can do without armchairs. Then compact puff tables will serve as an additional place to sit.
You can use a corner sofa to make up for the lack of seating. The lighter the model, the less its visual weight. If the same sofa were in rich, contrasting upholstery in relation to the walls, it would seem gigantic. Consider the visual weight of objects! nine0005
ABOUT THIS…
Question: Why does the interior seem overloaded? The main thing here is that the floor is clearly visible - this creates a feeling of free space.
Bright accents will also help visually adjust the volume of the room. Look at the photo above - thanks to the bright yellow details, the living room seems bright and spacious. nine0005
Interiors By Agostino's
A room with a window near the door can also be converted into a compact area with living room functions. In this case, an alternative to a long sofa is a soft group of chairs and a table. A great option is to furnish such a room with structures in the style of the 50-60s of the last century: visually light, on high wooden legs and with wooden armrests. Complement them with a shallow chest of drawers-credenza, as in the photo.
RELATED PHOTO…
► Narrow living room
COUTURE INTERIORS
Narrow bedroom
If the width of the room is more than 2.6 m, then the double bed can be placed across the room with the headboard against the wall and placed closer to the window.
If the width is about 2.3 m, then you will have to forget about a large bed in the bedroom, unless you make it built-in from wall to wall or not be content with a "one and a half" - a narrow double bed 140 cm.
In the case when the bedroom is very small , try to expand the end wall with a headboard with decorative techniques: for example, decorate it with mirrors or wallpaper with an optical effect. nine0005
RELATED PHOTOS…
Narrow Bedroom Design
Interior Marketing Group
There is another way out: to save inches for passage, discard the bed frame, order the heaviest and thickest mattress and put it on a low base as is usually done in hotels.
A thick mattress in a stretch sheet will look like a full bed, but at the same time you will save at least 15 centimeters on the frame of the bed itself. There should be at least 40 cm left for the passage between the wall and objects, preferably 50–55 cm.
Photo on the topic ...
► Design of a small bedroom
Read also
Task: design of a narrow bedroom
Beau Intérieur
If the passage is located between the bed and the wardrobe, then this is the distance big. In this case, it is more convenient to place the bed along the room close to the wall and headboard towards the exit.
As an option, you can make a high headboard combined with shelves. This cabinet will successfully zone the space. On the other side of the closet, you can organize a mini-wardrobe or put a small table for a laptop. nine0005
INT2architecture
It may be successful to have a built-in structure that leaves no passages between the bed and the wall at all. However, this option is more suitable for young people. For older people (they often wake up at night), getting out of the depth of the bed and climbing back will be inconvenient.
aminteriors
Built-in designs offer many options: in a narrow bedroom, you can provide an additional pull-out mattress or a wardrobe in the headboard. nine0005
Turchenko Natalia
In the photo: the bedroom is so narrow that the bed could be placed either across (as in the photo) or with the headboard to the window (the hostess was uncomfortable). The passage was deliberately narrowed - the bed rests against the ledge, which allowed the sofa to be placed from the side of the kitchen (see plan)
AIBD - American Institute of Building Design
Narrow children's bedroom
Reception of a symmetrical arrangement of objects often saves narrow rooms. Especially children's bedrooms for one or two children. Children are usually not embarrassed by the small distance between the beds. Moreover, they are happy about this and will jump from bed to bed with pleasure in the absence of adults.
nine0005
Important: If the location of the window allows, it is better to place two beds opposite each other than on top of each other (on the upper floors of loft beds it is usually stuffy).
RELATED PHOTO …
► Narrow children's room for two children
Olga Shangina | Photography
Photo idea: a bed in a narrow bedroom often has to be moved with the long part against the wall. Designers in these cases turn it into an ottoman - a sofa with an orthopedic mattress: we remove the linen and use it like an ordinary sofa
Maria Pilipenko
Narrow cabinet
In cabinets, you can use the same symmetry rule with respect to the window, only for built-in cabinets and surfaces. If both shelves and surfaces are the same width, this will visually balance the room. Yes, perhaps the table would like to be wider, but even this, less than 50 cm wide, is quite enough.
FRUKTOV INTERIORS
If the window is not located in the center of the room, but closer to one of the walls, then it is logical to make insets only on one side, but in this case it will be possible to increase the depth of the working surface. Built-in tables make it easy to bypass load-bearing columns if there are any in the room. nine0005
Clifton Leung Design Workshop - CLDW.com.hk
In rooms where the width varies from window to door due to load-bearing structures, several workstations can be marked out: one along the window, the other along the wall. A very useful thing if there are two people actively working from home in the family and it is inconvenient for them to share one table.
Yana Ivanchenko
Narrow dining room
Oddly enough, but a narrow room with one window may well be a dining room if the kitchen and cooking area are nearby.
The main thing here is to choose the right table. If you need a non-standard narrow version, you can look for ready-made tabletops for desks (they are already dining tables) and complement them with designer legs. Or make a table to order. nine0005
Teresa Sapey + Partners
Narrow room design secrets you didn't know about - INMYROOM
Tips
To make a narrow room not look like a wagon, even a designer needs to work hard. We remembered the win-wins and learned new ways to adjust the volume of a narrow room - take note!
As long as there is a Soviet building, the issue of narrow rooms will be relevant. The rectangular shape of the room is inconvenient, and this is a fact. But that doesn't mean it can't be fixed. The only problem is that the standard methods of visually expanding the size of a narrow room do not work in this case - neither the light colors of the walls, nor the standard arrangement of furniture will bring much effect.
The play of colors and textures, the correct zoning of the compressed space and the illumination of the necessary elements of the interior help to expand the narrow part of the room - it is these techniques that together can adjust the room of the “carriage” type and bring its shape closer to the cherished square. But first things first. nine0005
Volumetric wall covering deep color, 3D fabric, perspective murals
Usually, in order to expand the space, most owners of narrow rooms prefer to glue plain wallpaper or paint the walls in one light color. But such solutions are not suitable for a trailer room - secret design techniques should be used.
Trick #1: The right combination of wall color saturation
Your task is to highlight the short walls and reduce the size of the long ones. To do this, cover the long walls, or at least one of them, with a light tone, and the short one with a deeper, more saturated color. nine0005
Technique No.
2: original decoration of a short wall with a window Colored curtains or draperies are the best decoration: they give the room airiness and conceal extra centimeters of length. Pay attention to the wall-length curtains with 3D prints that look like paintings or photo wallpapers.
If there is no window on this section of the wall, and you have held a brush in your hands more than once, use the surface as a blank canvas: paint a pastoral or trendy urban landscape, and then highlight it, creating the illusion of light from the window. nine0005
Reception No. 3: Long Wall Mural with Perspective
A plain or mountain range receding into the distance will visually expand the room horizontally, which means it will level out the disproportion of a long narrow room.
Proper zoning of a narrow room podium, carpet, sofa and other helpers
Make two functional centers appear in the room. Just do not try to divide the room into parts with a bulky closet or a blank floor-to-ceiling partition - in this case, one of the sections will completely lose natural light.
Better consider more efficient options. nine0009
Option No. 1: podium
With it, you designate an area in the room that can be used both as a bedroom, if you place a bed on the podium, and for work - a comfortable chair and a compact table will help create a mini-office . Use the space under the podium for storage.
Option #2: Contrasting color carpet
Perhaps the best way to highlight a separate area. But using a different flooring is a common mistake that designers advise to avoid. nine0005
Option 3: compact sofa
A proven alternative for zoning tight spaces. Put it across the room - and the way the large area serves as a living room, and the smaller one becomes an office or dining room.
Option No. 4: mobile partition
It allows you to save those situations in which the construction of solid walls is unjustified or their construction is impossible for some reason. Of course, mobile partitions serve more as a visual division of space, but they create a very clear boundary between the two zones.
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Option 5: curtains
The most romantic and cozy way to divide a room into zones. The fabric allows you to protect the desired area and add brightness and softness to both "rooms". You can choose translucent fabrics that create a light haze, or you can choose heavy ones to finally separate part of the room.
Proper arrangement of furniture
One of the most common mistakes is placing furniture along the walls, which visually lengthens a narrow room even more. Abandon the idea of placing a coffee table directly in front of the sofa - use the principle of shifting furniture to one side. nine0009
Example #1: the less furniture, the better
There is not much furniture in the living room in the photo, and it is grouped and arranged in such a way that there is a lot of free space - the room looks wider than it really is. Another good solution that allows you to visually change the proportions of the living room is a screen in the corner.
The design does not look bulky and takes up little space, but at the same time it radically changes the appearance of the room.
Example #2: A good company is the key to success
The use of several small sofas and armchairs instead of one large sofa allowed to visually expand the space. Of course, wide-angle camera lenses used for professional photography can make even a small room appear large and spacious. Nevertheless, based on the size of the furniture that we see in the photo, we can conclude that the length of the room is not more than four meters. The size of the small sofa at the end of the room suggests that the width is also about 3.5 meters. It is this small sofa that gives the interior of the room a complete look: without it, the living room would look like just a long corridor. nine0005
Example #3: Focus on shape
The key to success in decorating a narrow room is round tables and other pieces of furniture. The living room in the photo combines a place to relax and a dining room.
Both tables here are round, which helps to drastically change the proportions of a long room visually.
Remember the magic of mirrors because everything ingenious is simple
Large mirrors are an easy way to create the illusion of extra space and the most effective technique when working on small and narrow rooms. Place a mirrored closet along a short wall. Large round and square mirrors or a composition of them - along the long one. The result will not keep you waiting: visually the room will become much wider. nine0005
Expert opinion: advice to InMyRoom readers
It would seem that we have already told about all the techniques for visually correcting a narrow space. But it turns out that there is another powerful weapon - artificial lighting!
Olesya Larsen - architect, graduated from the Moscow Architectural Institute in 2008 with a degree in architecture. She also studied at the British Higher School of Design (interior design course). He believes that in design, as in architecture, it is important not only how the object will look, but also how and from what it will be made: it is important to combine the aesthetic and functional objectives of the project.
