14 Ways to Make a Tiny Apartment Living Room Feel So Much Larger

Ready to live large? Visually expand your square footage with these expert design tips that are surprisingly simple.

By: Brian Patrick Flynn

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Photo By: Brian Patrick Flynn, FlynnsideOut.com

Utilizing Every Inch

Every square inch of this small living room was used both functionally and decoratively, from walls covered in art to apartment-sized furniture and a mix of light and bright colors.

Coordinating Colors

To make this small living room appear larger, its walls, ceiling, trim and doors are all painted the same shade of blue gray.

Integrated Workspace

The perfect way to allow a small living room to serve double duty as a makeshift home office is to add a small-scale desk next to a sofa in place of an end table. Just make sure the overall height of the desk is no more than two inches above the back of the sofa.

Small Scale

When you don't have a lot of space to work with, get smart with accent furniture. As long as you get the scale and proportion correct, you can use a wide range of pieces as makeshift side tables. Here, an old two-seater dining table was cut in half and used as an end table.

Grouping Art

Take advantage of all vertical space in a small room by creating gallery walls. In addition to adding personality, you can also incorporate reflective objects like mirrors to help bounce light around the space or to create the illusion of slightly more square footage.

Mixing Patterns

Add complexity and depth to your living room by layering and mixing different patterns with contrasting colors ranging in scale from small to medium to large.

Accounting for Traffic

When designing tiny spaces that receive high traffic, it's ideal to put together a space plan that allows for plenty of flow in, out and around the area but with plenty of seating and storage options. Here, a 12-by-14-foot living room is broken into zones for lounging, working and eating with plenty of open space to move around.

Delineate With Rugs

Area rugs are an excellent way to instantly delineate one area of a living room visually without using valuable space.

Open Storage

Open storage coffee tables are an excellent fit for a small living room because they can serve double duty by offering table surface for books or offering up dining space while keeping things neatly stored in baskets below.

Neutral Staple Pieces

To get the most bang for your buck when furnishing small living rooms, stick with neutral staple pieces like sofas and coffee tables, then brighten up the room with colorful, patterned accents that can easily be changed up.

Statement Lighting

Anchor your living room with a statement light fixture that offers both texture and shape. In addition to keeping the space lit, it will also function as sculptural art.

Upholstered Surfaces

In addition to shape, scale and proportion, consider adding furniture which also add texture to your room. This open storage coffee table is unique thanks to its linen upholstery.

Versatile Seating

Maximize your living room's seating capacity with a mix of occasional pieces. Upholstered poufs and stools offer an extra space to perch but can also work as tables for impromptu dinner parties.

Hallways + Adjacent Rooms

Anytime space is at a premium and you're decorating rooms which open up to one another, consider keeping a consistent palette of light colors to unify the spaces rather than break them up. A mix of airy blues and light greens carry on from the living room, into the hallway and into the bedrooms.