Small rectangular living room layout ideas
Small Living Room Layout - 8 Design Tips
Turn your small, narrow living room into a functional and inviting space for you and your family.
Blog | Home Design
Creating a small living room layout that works can be a challenging task, especially if the living room in your humble abode is small or narrow. If not laid out properly, you can end up with a living space that feels overcrowded or like an empty ‘alleyway’. We know this isn’t your vision for your home. So, we are here to help with some expert tips on how to layout a small living room.
1. Make a 90 Degree Turn
Conquer a long, narrow living room by placing furniture at a 90 degree angle and perpendicular to the length of a room. It creates a boundary that gives the room definition and helps to prevent it from feeling tunnel-like. Pieces like a love seat or a medium-sized Barcelona chair can do the trick.
2. Create a Focal Point
Give your small room a focal point by creating an accent wall. You can use an artistic wall paper, a favorite paint color or creative layout of art work.
In this room, we used wallpaper and grouping of mirrors to create a focal point. You can also adorn your wall with framed photographs or paintings. Artistic shelving and storage units can create an effective focal point, while also providing valuable extra storage space.
3. Plan Your Pathway
Make your pathways a priority when planning the layout of your space. This is especially important for homes with an open floor plan. The easiest way is to create a straight pathway on one side of the room. In this narrow living room, you have two options. You can either place the walkway in front of the sofa or behind it.
Locating the pathway behind the sofa takes up a little more of the room. However, it clearly defines where you should walk and it makes the living room seating area more intimate.
Locating the pathway in front of the sofa allows the living room layout to feel bigger.
However, having circulation through the space and in front of the television may be disruptive. To determine the right solution, think about how much traffic comes through the room and how you intend to use the room.
Whichever layout you choose, make sure your pathway is clear and unobstructed. Avoid common pitfalls, such as a rug that lays halfway across the path which can trip you up.
4. Create a Cozy Corner
The layout for this small living room focuses on a corner of the room. Place your seating towards a corner and close together to create a cozy and intimate seating arrangement. Turn your side chairs at a slight angle to face towards the sofa. This creates a curved pathway through the room that is inviting and that does not interfere with the function of the room.
Extend the area rug so that you can walk across it easily. Place a decorative screen, an end table with a lamp or a large plant in the corner to “soften” it.
5. Try a New Angle
Believe it or not, placing a piece of furniture at an angle can make a small living room appear wider.
Introducing an angle can be the perfect way to break up a space. Do this with lighter looking furniture such as a desk or accent chair. This will keep the room feeling open and spacious.
6. Consider Your Coffee Table
While a coffee table may seem like a standard or conventional piece for a room, it doesn’t have to be. Get creative when considering your coffee table. Can you get some additional storage space by having a shelf underneath? Explore with unconventional pieces, such as an old trunk that can offer extra storage space inside or an ottoman (or two) with hidden storage.
7. Add Some Curves
A common mistake when laying out small rectangular spaces is to line it with rectangular furniture. Too many rectangular shapes can ruin your living room layout. Curves are sexy and pleasing to the eye. They are also an excellent way to add interest and flow to a small room.
Look for circular coffee tables and dining tables to add some curved lines to the room.
Round lighting fixtures can also help do the trick.
8. Create a Floor Plan
When laying out a small room, always determine the location of the largest piece of furniture first. For example, in this room the longer sofa fits best along the longest wall.
To figure out the best way to layout your room, take a tip from the pros and create a floor plan. It will help you to see your room layout and what will fit before you start shopping or moving furniture. This will save you time, money and effort.
You can create a floor plan quickly and easily with the RoomSketcher App, an easy-to-use floor plan and home design tool.
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Armed with these expert tips and tricks, you’re sure to make your small living room design a success!
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The pressure’s on when it comes to small living room layouts – you’ve got to juggle storage and seating and surface space and soft furnishing, while also making sure it feels calm and spacious. And yes, sometimes it feels like a bit of an impossible task. How can you ever arrange this amount of furniture into a small space while still keeping it feeling open and airy?
However, with some savvy planning and a discerning eye, it’s possible to create the perfect small living room layout. The living room is often a place to chill, a place to work, a place to entertain, and sometimes even a place to sleep, so it’s got to be a hard-working multifunctional space.
Flexible living room furniture is king, such as modular pieces or those that can double up as seating and storage, yet it’s important not to cram it all in. Sometimes less is more, and leaving space to walk freely around the furniture will create a luxurious feel.
How do you layout a small living room?
As more of us work and play at home, the living room now has to cater to various roles.
It’s important to really think about how you spend your time in the space, as this will largely determine your layout.
When it comes to choose the best furniture for small living rooms, ditch the trad three-piece suite and go for versatility and mobility. A couple of stylish slipper chairs or a cozy love seat paired with footstools or ottomans that can double up as seating, storage or side tables, will be more valuable than a pair of bulky sofas. Look for shallow-depth furniture, modular designs and bespoke built-in solutions that will all curb clutter and save valuable floor space.
(Image credit: David Butler)
'Once you’ve decided on your key pieces, lay newspaper to mimic the size of the furniture you're looking to put in to help you visualize just how much room everything will take,' says Emma Deterding, founder of Kelling Designs . 'It'll also help you make important decisions about the size and scale of big pieces and whether the room will feel spacious or restricted.
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1. Opt for a symmetrical living room layout
(Image credit: Benjamin Moore)
'Symmetry makes everything easier on the eye and it’ll automatically make the space feel orderly and calm.' says interior designer Naomi Astley Clarke .
However, don’t go too streamlined; small spaces can often feel boxy so break up lines with plenty of curves and textured surfaces to add interest. She also suggests incorporating seamless hidden doors when wall space is at a premium – you can hang pictures on it, or even create a recessed bookcase within the door itself.
2. Float your furniture
(Image credit: Farrow & Ball)
Floating furniture is another good small living room layout idea, as it leaves the floor free, enhancing the proportions of the space.
As your sofa is likely to be the largest single item in your living room, it's worth paying attention to getting this key piece right. Our guide to the best sofas has some great options for smaller spaces - think compact shapes elevated on tall legs that add a feeling of spaciousness by allowing your eye to travel underneath the sofa to the farthest walls
Use a bit of visual trickery too – layered lighting will make a small living room feel larger by drawing the eye around the room.
The same goes for furniture; ensure you have a range of heights in the space as it’ll feel two-dimensional if it all sits on a low level.
3. Build it in
(Image credit: Future)
Swapping a sofa for a space-saving bench seat is a smart way to make the most of the space underneath a window. In this chic San Fran pad, ABD Studios utilized the corner by creating a stylish shallow-depth lounger, swapping a bulky backrest for a stash of plump cushions propped up against the windows.
4. Break it up
(Image credit: Emily Rickard)
If your budget won’t stretch to bespoke designs, modular furniture is the next best thing. Interior designer Emily Rickard hacked this Ikea Soderhamn sectional sofa to fit her space by popping a nifty triangular storage table in between two sections. It meant the sofa could fan around the corner of the room to gain extra floor space.
5. Make mirrors key in a small living room layout
(Image credit: John Marshall)
Mirrors are a brilliant way to enhance the perception of space and an essential to creating a small living room layout that feels light and open.
Why not go one step further and add a statement mirror wall for real glam factor.
'We always strategically place mirrors opposite windows to make a tight layout feel bigger and brighter,' says Costanza Ranieri of Ivar London . 'Just make sure it’s not reflecting other mirrors, as you get that never-ending effect, which makes for a very odd and kitsch space.'
6. Go floor to ceiling with storage
(Image credit: Future)
The best way to boost a small living room layout is to go for floor-to-ceiling living room storage. It’s an opportunity to create a shelfie-worthy space that will add bags of charm in a limited space.
Kingston Lafferty designed this playful bookcase with a ladder to access the full-height storage. 'Using mirrored paneling breaks up the solid block of cabinets and gives the illusion that the floor runs on beyond the furniture,' says Becky Russell of Kingston Lafferty .
7. Choose space saving furniture
(Image credit: Future)
Corner or chaise sofas are often a go-to in small living rooms as they give max comfort and take up minimal floor space, plus they’re fab for impromptu sleepovers.
Or, if you regularly have overnight guests, then you could take multifunctional furniture to the max by swapping your sofa for a sofa bed. Our guide to the best sofa beds has options that are comfortable enough to use as your everyday seating.
Also, choose curvy pieces – they not only look chic but save valuable inches by shaving off the corners. In this scheme designed by 2LG Studio , a sultry raspberry-red slipper chair adds glam without the footprint, while a matching footstool doubles up as a makeshift coffee table.
8. Create a cozy nook
(Image credit: Future)
Quirky niches and recesses are ripe for transforming into comfy seating areas as they don’t eat up valuable floor space. Even better, add storage underneath like in this apartment renovation by Vanrenen GW Designs to stash any inevitable living-room flotsam.
9. Work with a narrow living room
(Image credit: Future)
If you’ve got a long narrow living room layout to work with, think outside the box – literally.
Carve out niches, recesses and oriel windows to create seating opportunities as well as extra surfaces for books and knick-knacks. Architecture firm Loader Monteith added a series of frameless windows in this living room to avoid a dark corridor effect and to make it feel visually wider.
10. Make the most of wall space
(Image credit: Future)
If you’re working with a super-tiny space, slim picture ledges are a slick way of incorporating storage without taking up room with bulky furniture, as well as adding interest with books, art and photos. To maximize the illusion of space, a clever trick is to go dark – by painting both the walls and shelving black, it’ll make the walls look further away than they really are.
11. Pick a small living layout that embraces the coziness
(Image credit: Future)
“Avoid pushing the furniture back against the wall, even if you feel like you can’t fit it in,” says interior designer Emily Rickard. “A little breathing space around key pieces makes the room feel bigger, plus it will create an intimate and cosy vibe.
” A rug will also help ground the furniture and leaving a border of floor space will enhance the sense of spaciousness.
12. Utilize the back of the sofa
(Image credit: Future)
In a small living room, every surface is an opportunity, so think about using the back of a sofa, especially in an open-plan layout.
'We wanted to include a study space without impacting the elegance of the sitting room, where we knew we wanted two slim sofas facing each other,' says Sarah Peake of Studio Peake . 'Putting a slim desk against the back of a sofa was the perfect solution. Always try to incorporate a view if you can – we positioned it so you can gaze out the window beyond the sitting room.'
13. Rethink your lighting scheme
(Image credit: Sigmar)
Obviously, even small living rooms need decent lighting, but when you’re trying to squeeze every square inch out of the floorplan, table and floor lamps can feel like a luxury. Swing-arm wall sconces are a savvy choice as they make stylish reading lamps, leaving side-table surfaces free.
Hebe is the Digital Editor of Livingetc; she has a background in lifestyle and interior journalism and a passion for renovating small spaces. You'll usually find her attempting DIY, whether it's spray painting her whole kitchen, don't try that at home, or ever changing the wallpaper in her hallway. Livingetc has been such a huge inspiration and has influenced Hebe's style since she moved into her first rental and finally had a small amount of control over the decor and now loves being able to help others make decisions when decorating their own homes. Last year she moved from renting to owning her first teeny tiny Edwardian flat in London with her whippet Willow (who yes she chose to match her interiors...) and is already on the lookout for her next project.
tricks for creating a harmonious interior
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A square is considered the ideal figure for any room, but if you got a living room in the shape of a rectangle, this is not a reason to be upset.
The competent design of a rectangular living room will help to make the room harmonious and comfortable for relaxing and meeting with family and friends.
Features of zoning in a rectangular living room
Work on the interior of any room begins with the designation and distribution of functional areas. When thinking about filling a rectangular living room, it is important to follow two rules:
- Do not arrange furniture along the long walls of the room. Otherwise, instead of the living room, you get an uncomfortable and cramped corridor;
- Avoid symmetrical arrangements that look good in square rooms but accentuate the imperfections of other layouts.
When distributing the zones of the future living room on the room plan, it is important to consider the location of the window and the front door to the room. Consider the main layout options and ways to beat them:
Option 1. The window is located on a short wall, and the door is opposite it.
There is a great temptation to arrange furniture along long walls, which cannot be done. This will emphasize and enhance the feeling of a long and narrow room. It is necessary to zone the room with squares, put the furniture not along the long walls, but with the butt to it.
Option 2. The window is located along the short wall, and the door along the long one. A more successful layout that allows you to harmoniously place two or three zones in one room. For example, a dining area at the entrance, a seating area with a seating area in the center and a work area by the window.
Option 3. The window is located on a long wall. It is also a fairly convenient option for planning, which makes it possible to think in terms of squares and place 2-3 functional zones in the room.
Living room Isotta
The living room may include several zones:
- For rest and relaxation. This is, as a rule, upholstered furniture - a sofa and an armchair, a TV, a coffee table.
- For meals and guests. If the apartment has a small kitchen, then the living room can take on the functions of a dining room. In this case, a stationary or folding dining table and chairs are placed in the room. It will not be superfluous to place a sideboard or a display case for storing cutlery and utensils here.
- For work. Oversized apartments rarely boast a separate office. Therefore, a desktop for a laptop and a small rack for books and papers can be placed in the living room.
- For children's games. In the absence of a separate children's living room can take a children's corner. Its content depends on the age and number of children: toy rack, bookshelf, children's table, easel, etc.
The filling of a particular living room depends on the lifestyle, marital status, personal preferences of each person or each family member. When creating a room project plan, it is necessary, first of all, to determine for what needs this room will be used.
Otherwise, there is a great risk of creating a beautiful, but non-residential interior.
Arrangement of furniture in a rectangular room
The next step in planning the design of a rectangular living room is to decide on the furniture that will fill the room. In an effort to visually bring the room closer to the ideal square shape, you should carefully consider the following furniture options:
- The corner sofa has the ability to collect the space around itself and bring it closer to a harmonious square. The main thing is not to drive this piece of furniture into the far corner of the room, otherwise the room will take on even more elongated outlines. It is best to place a sofa with a banquette or a corner in the center of the room, as if highlighting a square in its center in the form of a main zone.
- A round dining table, like a corner sofa, can become the center of the dining area, bringing its outlines closer to ideal and pleasing to the eye.
It's nice to look at the transforming table, which, if desired, moves apart and becomes oval. This will be convenient if you need to place all guests at the same table. - A tall display cabinet, due to its verticality, will help to divide the room into zones, shifting attention from its length to height. On the contrary, a long modular wall of the same height will exacerbate the "tunnel" of the room, especially if it is placed along a long wall.
- A wardrobe in a rectangular room can only be placed along a short wall. Visually, the room will shrink by its width. If the room has a small area, then mirrored doors can save the situation. The reflection of the window in the mirror will expand the room, add light and air to it.
For a harmonious design of a rectangular living room, you should adhere to the following rules when choosing furniture:
- it is recommended to give preference to not bulky pieces of furniture;
- it is better to avoid overly decorated samples, adhering to a concise style;
- upholstered furniture in a rectangular small room should not be dark colors.
Little tricks for a harmonious interior
Any interior is made up of little things, and they can both save it and destroy it. Here is a short list of tips for harmonizing an elongated living room:
- Laying laminate or parquet should go across, not along the room. Such a trifle can visually make the room wider.
- A square or round carpet laid in the center of the room will perform a miracle and gather the entire space of the room around it. On the contrary, a long carpet with an incorrect pattern (too dark or with stripes running along the room) can destroy the entire interior.
- You can bring the room closer to the ideal with the help of light. Proper arrangement of fixtures for each of the zones will help to visually delimit the room. You should not hang several lamps along long walls, this will only emphasize the shape of the room.
- Thick frosted curtains can magically reduce the space of a room.
This trick should be used if the window is located on the far short wall. And you should not use it if the window is located on a long wall. In this case, it is better to opt for a light, airy tulle in a neutral tone. - A mirror located in the center of a long wall will help open up the space of the room. By the way, big pictures will also do this.
- Moving away from the living room in the form of a corridor will help fill the corners of the room. For example, large plants in designer flowerpots. Plants can also be used to zone a room.
Rectangular living room color scheme
The most important part of planning a living room is the choice of its color content. When working with a rectangular room, it is best to refer to the following color schemes:
- Light colored room. In such a room, a feeling of spaciousness and light is created, the feeling of constriction disappears. A similar technique should be adopted by the owners of small living rooms.
- A plain room in a neutral pastel shade. It is best to opt for colors such as green, beige, delicate shades of blue, coral. They create a feeling of spaciousness, close to natural shades, set up for rest and relaxation.
- Highlighting a short wall with accent wallpaper. This will bring it closer, eliminate the feeling of a corridor. For the same reason, you should not use accent options on long walls.
- Beating the wall with two types of wallpaper pasted from the floor to the middle of the wall and from the middle and above. Oddly enough, this option successfully divides the space, diverting attention from its configuration.
In a small rectangular room, it is better to give up dark colors, wallpaper options with an annoying pattern.
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The arrangement of a rectangular room in an apartment often raises many questions. What color to decorate the finish to make the room as spacious as possible? What is the best way to arrange furniture? How to organize the space to accommodate several zones at once? It will take a lot of effort, and most importantly, knowledge of design tricks with which you can make a rectangular room beautiful and comfortable.
Features of arrangement
A rectangular-shaped room, although it creates certain difficulties in design, may well become a cozy comfortable dwelling, if you correctly approach the choice of decoration and furniture arrangement. The important point is to give an elongated room, especially if it is also narrow, as much free space as possible, “push apart” parallel long walls and take care of high-quality lighting. Each room in the apartment has its own purpose, but nevertheless, there are some general recommendations from experienced designers on how to better equip the space.
Rectangular room decoration
The first thing that begins with the repair of any room is the choice of finishing materials. Light pastel colors are recommended for rectangular rooms. The walls of the room, painted in different colors of the same palette, look quite stylish - in this way the room acquires additional latitude. Another design secret that allows you to visually distance one of the walls is to paint it in a bright contrasting tone, decorate it with wall panels (for example, under brick or artificial stone) or paste over with photo wallpaper.
To get rid of the effect of a closed triangle, the design of surfaces with different types of finishes, which process individual parts of the room, helps. It can be selected shades of wallpaper, laminate laid in different directions, or an asymmetrical ceiling. To make the area of the room wider, it is acceptable to lay the patterned flooring at right angles to the large walls.
Furniture arrangement
The correct distribution of furniture will greatly help to make the room more square. It is better that the room has one major furniture accent, for example, a sofa, around which further arrangement will be formed. For rectangular rooms, modular sets are chosen, with which you can easily correct layout flaws. Long wardrobes are much less common, as they can narrow the space even more.
Furniture should be evenly distributed throughout the room, and preferably asymmetrically, but not grouped. This issue should be considered in more detail depending on the functional affiliation of the room - we will talk about this later.
Rectangular room zoning
The division into zones will greatly diversify the interior. The distribution of plots depends primarily on the purpose of housing. For example, in the living room, you can additionally equip the dining area or the bedroom, making the room more functional, which is most important in small apartments.
For zoning, various types of non-bulky partitions are used - light plasterboard structures, glass screens, fabric screens. With the help of furniture it is also easy to separate a certain area. The sofa, turned back to the dining table, will separate the seating area with TV and audio equipment, which should be placed in the back of the room so as not to be a walk-through. In the bedchamber, the rack will help separate the corner for the child or the desktop.
It is also possible to delimit the zones with the help of a variety of finishes, which will also contribute to the "destruction" of the rectangle. Another great option is to place a certain functional area on the podium, which is most often placed at the end of the room by the window.
The tall design can become an additional storage system with drawers.
Lighting
The correct placement of lighting fixtures plays a big role in lighting a rectangular room. One central chandelier will not be able to fully illuminate distant areas, so local lighting is required, which can also play the role of a zonator. If you opted for spot ceiling lights, you need to know that in a rectangular room you should not place them around the entire perimeter - this will only enhance the geometric effect. It is better to place them parallel to two walls, and you can highlight the remaining areas with the help of sconces and floor lamps.
Interior tips and ideas
Having learned about the general secrets of decorating rectangular rooms, you can consider how best to decorate the room of one or another functional accessory. So, let's start in order.
Rectangular entryway design
The first room we enter upon entering the house is the entrance hall.
Naturally, every owner wants it to evoke the warmest feelings, be comfortable and functional. It is better to decorate a narrow room in light colors, while the floor can be much darker - this combination will visually expand the space and “raise” the ceiling.
If possible, it is better to get rid of interior doors and arrange arched passages instead. There should be mirrors on the walls, which, in addition to their main function, “push apart” the walls. Small modular structures, a wall hanger, a corner cabinet installed against the wall with an entrance door are suitable as furniture. For a rectangular hallway, modern minimalism or Scandinavian "light" rigor is most suitable.
Rectangular living room design
Comfortable arrangement of the living room is the key to a good rest in the circle of close friends. It is important to place a sufficient number of seats, equip a recreation area, and in some cases, other functional areas. When choosing furniture, you need to build on the size of the room: if the room is rectangular, but spacious enough, you can install a set along one of the walls, a spacious modular sofa that is easy to arrange in a favorable direction.
For a cramped room, it is better to stop at minimalist interior items. In this case, a laconic coffee table, simple armchairs or a no-frills sofa, narrow shelving or modular designs are quite enough.
Visually expand the living room with light colors and transverse stripes in the floor and ceiling decoration, which can be present in the location of the laminate, in the patterns of carpets or ceiling beams. An empty wide wall can be made accent by hanging a beautiful picture on it, a panel or gluing a photo wallpaper.
To separate additional zones, of which there should be no more than two in the living room, you can use through shelving, carpeting, curly ceiling structures or elements of upholstered furniture.
Rectangular Bedroom Design
To correct the proportions of a rectangular bedroom, it is enough to correctly select and arrange furniture. The closet can be given a place in the corner along the wall with a door - thus, a spacious storage system will appear in the room and the geometry of the area will be balanced.
The bed can take pride of place in the depths, being turned back to the wall. Finishing is best organized in a light palette, with some variety. For example, small walls can be pasted over with wallpaper with a small print, and large ones should be left plain. On the floor, following the general rules, you can lay a coating with a pattern opposite to large walls.
To expand the space, sometimes the method of hanging mirrors perpendicular to short walls is used. A particularly interesting design will turn out if the mirrors are part of the wall cladding in the company of wallpaper or decorative plaster.
Design of a rectangular children's room
The design of a child's room raises a lot of questions from parents, because here it is necessary to equip several separate areas for games, activities, recreation at once, as well as carve out a place for a wardrobe, shelves for books and leave enough space. Here you can not do without zoning. One of the best options is the design of the podium, on which you can place a bed or a desk, and in the interior space - drawers for linen, clothes or toys.
In small and narrow rectangular children's beds, the bed can be built into the inside of the podium and, if necessary, be pulled out.
If it is not possible to equip a podium step, you can purchase a bed that transforms into a small sofa and install it along one of the walls. Another worthy option is a loft bed, under which a work, play area or a wardrobe with bedside tables will be placed.
A desk is most often placed near the window, which will provide a good supply of daylight and help to adjust the space. In order not to clutter up the room with cabinets, you can use the walls to place hanging shelves, shelving. Striped wallpapers, curtains, floor coverings laid across the room or diagonally will help create an optical illusion of expanding space.
Rectangular kitchen design
For a rectangular kitchen, there are several options for installing a kitchen set, and the choice depends on the size of the room and the need of a particular family for certain elements.
The main forms of installation are:
- Single row (linear) - furniture and appliances are located along one of the long walls, and the dining area is parallel;
- Two-row - implies the placement of all items in the headset in parallel on both sides of the kitchen; a dining area or a place to relax is organized by the window;
- U-shaped - arrangement, when the furniture is located along three walls, occupying the area near the window. Such a set provides enough space for storage and cooking, but leaves almost no opportunity to install a dining table;
- L-shaped - installation of furniture along adjacent walls. In this case, you can expand the window sill, making it a continuation of the countertop, and then there will be enough space for the dining table.
In a narrow kitchen, you can install a transforming dining table that can be easily folded or hidden in the countertop. A modest bar counter can also play its role. In the interior design of a rectangular kitchen, it is better to give preference to light colors, glossy surfaces of facades and modest decor.
