How To Make A Small Living Room Look Bigger And Brighter

Your living room is often the most important space in your home, as it’s one you’re likely to spend a lot of time in. That’s why it’s important to make sure it’s reaching its full potential. Whatever space you’re working with, small tweaks like creative lighting and furniture placement can help make the space feel light, open and airy. Keep reading to get actionable tips on how to make a small living room look bigger and brighter, to make it an inviting space that guests will love, and one that makes you want to use it every day.

You can also view our range of living room rooflights, bi-fold doors, and sliding doors to really open up your space.

Top tips to make a small living room look bigger

1. Use the vertical space

Drawing attention to the verticality of your space will make it appear taller. Adding tall pieces of furniture or a bookshelf can help make the room itself appear taller. Alternatively, you could opt for wallpaper with floor-to-ceiling designs. Even something as simple as raising your curtain rod above the window can make the room look higher than it is.

2. Don’t forget your ceiling

When it comes to the illusion of space, it’s important not to neglect the ceiling. Adding ceiling decorations like dangling light shades and hanging plants, or more permanent features, like rooflights, can also be a great way to give the illusion of space. Using a light, glossy paint or adding ceiling wallpaper can help draw your eye upward and reflect light effectively around the room.

You can get more ceiling decoration ideas to liven up your home in our blog.

3. Keep things central

While it’s likely to be your instinct to push large objects like sofas and coffee tables against the wall, we’d advise against this. This is because it encourages your eyes to go to the walls, making you more aware of the room’s dimensions. Instead, opting for a central layout gives you space on either side to draw your eyes, making the room feel bigger.

4. Get furniture that’s off the ground

Getting a sofa with visible legs, for example, will help give the illusion of more floor space. This is because you can see more of it; low furniture can make the room seem smaller and more confined.

5. Choose your patterns carefully

Opting for stripey wallpaper or painted stripes can help create the illusion of space. The direction you choose depends on the effect you’re going for – vertical stripes help to make the room seem taller, with horizontal ones giving an illusion of wideness. Patterns that offer an optical illusion, such as geometric or diagonal ones, can also elongate the space.

6. Go light on the paint

Sticking with colours like cream, light powder blues, light greys or yellows can be a great way to brighten up your living room and give the illusion of more space.

An accent wall in a brighter colour can also help brighten up the room and separate the space. It also helps the room appear less monotonous and constrained, making you more likely to spend time in there.

7. Keep living room clutter to a minimum

Less clutter means more space – keeping your decor simple and your floor clear will help the room look and feel bigger. The saying “tidy house, tidy mind” is very true here – you are likely to feel less enclosed with a clean house.

If you have things you simply can’t let go of or that you need, you could opt for additional storage solutions to keep your things visible but out of the way. This could be wall shelving or under-sofa storage, for example.

8. Keep curtains open during the day

Floor-to-ceiling curtains can be great for making the room look taller, but having them closed during the day can limit the amount of natural light that gets to your room. Keeping them open will help you let in as much light as possible. This is great for the illusion of added space, and making the room feel more welcoming.

You can learn more about the benefits of natural light in our expert guide.

9. Stick with lighter fabrics

Lighter fabrics, such as cotton, linen or sheer materials, are great for making a room feel more airy. They also keep a sense of privacy, whilst ensuring that plenty of light gets in to open up the room. Opting for lighter colours will also give the room a less oppressive feel, making it more inviting for yourself and any visitors.

10. Keep it simple

If you have a wide variety of objects in the room, or cluttered decorations, this can make the room feel smaller. You should always keep your pathways clear and leave space around furniture to give the illusion of bigger space. It will help you avoid tripping over, too!

11. Add mirrors

Mirrored surfaces such as coffee tables, or large mirrors can help reflect light. This gives the room the illusion of depth.

12. Get multi-functional furniture

Furniture with built-in storage, like an ottoman furniture, or nesting/folding tables can be a great way to keep your room minimal, whilst still having the things you need.
Multi-purpose storage like storage cubes can help you keep your things neat, organised and out of the way. This frees up more space to make the lounge space you want.

13. Accessorise with a rug or floor divider

Depending on the look you’re going for, a striped rug can help to give the illusion of a longer or wider room. Large rugs can also help to make the room feel bigger. If you separate the room with different textures, it can give a sense of distinct spaces, making the room feel bigger.

14. Use wall-mounted solutions

If you have items like bookshelves or a TV that take up a lot of the existing space, mount them on the wall to give yourself more floor room. There are plenty of creative shelving solutions out there to help preserve the look and feel of the room of your dreams, whilst giving you back some floor space.

15. Play with lighting

A mixture of floor lamps, natural light and wall/ ceiling lighting helps create a sense of depth in your room. Adding natural light to a room is a great way to open it up and make it a more desirable place to go; glass home features can help you let in as much light as possible. These include rooflights, as they can help illuminate all the corners of the room. Features such as bi-fold doors can also help you transform your space. This is because they can help psychologically and literally open up the space to the outside world, making the room feel less stifling. You can learn more about how to increase natural light in a room and how it can help your mental health in the colder months in our guides.

Looking to create the light, airy living room of your dreams? At Toughened Glass Systems, we offer a range of rooflights and skylights and patio doors to help you open up your space. From opening skylights to bi-fold doors and sliding doors – we’re sure to have an elegant feature to suit your home. Shop our rooflights and skylights and bi-fold and sliding doors, or get in touch with us to find what you need.

If you want to extend the creativity to the rest of your home, you can get more tips on how to make a room look bigger in our guide.

How to Make a Small Living Room Look Bigger and Brighter