A dark leather sectional topped with neutral-colored pillows rests on warm hardwood floors in this rustic farmhouse living room. Autumnal decor sits atop two dark corner shelves mounted on the bright walls. The contrast between the dark furniture, and the light walls and pillows balances the room while making it feel grounded.
29 Small Living Room Décor Ideas to Maximize Space and Style
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Published: June 1, 2023
Updated: November 25, 2023
Designing a small living room can be quite a challenge, but it doesn’t mean you have to compromise on style or comfort to achieve an incredible space. With the right décor ideas, you can create a cozy and welcoming space that suits your needs and reflects your personality. Whether you’re dealing with limited square footage, a tight budget, or an awkward layout, there are plenty of clever ways to maximize your space and create a stylish living room that you’ll enjoy spending time in.
One of the best ways to make a small living room feel more spacious is to use light colors, such as whites, ivories, creams, and pastels, which can help to really open up a space and create a sense of airiness. You can also play around with patterns and textures to add interest and depth to the room but try to stick to a cohesive color scheme to avoid overwhelming the space or creating visual clutter. Additionally, adding mirrors or other reflective surfaces can help to bounce light around the room and make it feel more open and airy. Keep scrolling to read other ways of maximizing your space and see some stunning examples that will inspire you to create a comfortable and stylish living room.
02 of Light and Bright Small Living Room Décor Ideas
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The wide ivory couch blends with the white walls and white area rug of the space creating a larger feel. The space is grounded with a few colorful and dark pillows, a black framed gallery wall, and a dark metal glass coffee table topped with a simple wicker basket holding a glass vessel displaying a few sprigs of eucalyptus. Try incorporating lighter-colored furniture to make your space appear larger.
03 of Traditional Sitting Room With Modern Furniture
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Two stripped poufs and a long cream couch topped with white, beige, and gray pillows face a modern wooden coffee table. The coffee table is topped with a small arrangement of a dark gray vase and a wooden trinket disk. The couch is framed with a black end table topped with a lamp and bouquet on one side, and a three-legged lamp on the other to create a sense of continuity.
04 of Contemporary Cottage Décor
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Use a dark, moody, forest green side table with a grass knob to add a pop of modern decor to a small living room. It rests next to a beige couch topped with a knitted throw blanket and some cream and green pillows. The end table is toned down with some natural decor such as a wooden bowl filled with pinecones, a woven basket tucked beneath, and a vase holding some pampas grass. By topping the piece with decor that matches the room’s aesthetic the piece seamlessly integrates and no longer seems out of place.
05 of White and Blue Bliss
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A soft pale blue armchair faces a cream sectional over a wooden coffee table topped with a tray and a small plant. The white rug is patterned with splashes of blue that tie into the armchair and dark blue couch pillows. When working with any space, big or small, keeping a cohesive color scheme makes all the difference and creates spaces that look professionally designed.
06 of Warm Boho Paradise
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This warm boho paradise features leather mid-century modern furniture, wooden storage pieces, an organically shaped glass coffee table, a white shag rug that anchors the space, and many lush plants. The coffee table is kept mostly bare with just a woven mat topped with a candle. The area has a lot of gorgeous furniture but still feels large and airy with the windows and lack of visual clutter on open surfaces.
07 of Gray Tufted Ottoman Coffee Table
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With small spaces having a statement piece of furniture you love is a perfect way to add a functional yet personal touch of fun. This space features a gorgeous gray tufted ottoman coffee table with wooden legs topped with a throw blanket and a white tray displaying green leafy spheres. Keep the rest of the room simple with a large white area rug and white couches topped with white pillows.
08 of Cozy Farmhouse Living Room
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A light gray armchair topped with a cream pillow and textured ivory throw blanket sits hearthside along with an ultramarine blue end table topped with a peace lily potted in a white ceramic vessel. The white brick fireplace and mantel are tastefully decorated with two large wooden turned candle holders, a few wooden lanterns, and a pothos planted in a wicker basket.
09 of Country Cottage Mantel Décor
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This wooden chimneypiece is topped with vintage candle holders and other neutral trinkets resting in front of a large antique mirror with golden filigree and embellishments. A refurbished painted crate rests below topped with a woven tote and a lush ivy potted in a white planter. Mirrors are perfect for small spaces by adding both depth and light to the environment.
10 of Clean and Simple Small Living Room Décor Ideas
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Two leather armchairs rest perpendicularly to a soft ivory couch topped with brown and cream pillows. A sofa table resting behind the couch is the perfect way to display decor without taking up too much space. Add a modern touch by adorning it with a large wooden mirror, a framed painting, a glass lamp, and a bouquet of white tulips resting in a black vessel.
11 of Dark Woods and Rich Reds
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A red door opens into a small living room featuring a dark leather sofa topped with matching pillows, and a dark wooden coffee table topped with candles, flowers, and a chess board. Choose an accent color for a fun pop of color, like the red drapes hanging around the large window that match the knitted blanket hanging off the couch arm and the red door.
12 of Eclectic Country Chic Décor
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This living room is filled with many armchairs and a brown camel-back couch topped with cream pillows. The refurbished apothecary cabinet-styled coffee table rests in the middle of the room atop a parent rug. The drapes are patterned and artfully frame the windows that are covered with bamboo blinds.
13 of Rustic Patriotic Farmhouse
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A dark rustic coffee table topped with a few books and a wooden crate filled with a bouquet and a few American flags rests in front of a dark gray couch. The wall above the couch is decorated with a basket with another patriotic bouquet and a few mounted square shelves for additional decor.
14 of Warm Hygge Style Décor
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This warm cozy living room features a textured area rug, a wicker chair, a pale gray couch, and a wooden coffee table. Use different textures like the fur throw on the wicker chair, the knitted blanket on the couch, and the myriad of different materials making up the pillows to soften the space. An organically shaped candle holder decorates the top of the coffee table along with a small potted plant.
15 of Simple Sleek Sitting Area
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Many entrances face this small living room, so the area is sectioned off with a large patterned rug to give the space a structure. On top of the rug sits two matching black and white chairs facing a leather coffee table that rests in front of a light gray suede couch. Floor lamps rest on either side of the couch framing in the world map art hung on the wall above.
16 of Hearth and Ivory Furniture in Airy Living Room
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Turn a white mantel in this small living room into an art piece with cut logs tucked together along with moss beneath the candle-filled mantelpiece. The rest of the room is kept bright and fresh with soft white heathered furniture, sheer white drapes, and a cream area rug covering the mid-toned hardwoods.
17 of Chic Small Living Room
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This chic small living room has an ivory couch topped with neutral pillows facing a wooden coffee table resting on a patterned rug. The wall behind the couch features a framed painting with the same wood tone in the frame and the hutch resting to the right of the sofa and the wooden accent wall to its left. Keeping furniture very streamlined and low gives a larger and less cluttered appearance to the room.
18 of Glamourous Dark Teal Couch
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A dark teal velvet couch is the showpiece is this glamourous living room, topped with ivory cushions and a matching throw blanket. An antique soft gray chair rests to the side of the couch along with a matching ottoman facing the white coffee table adorned with a book and potted pilea plant. A sofa table painted the same teal as the couch, as to blend in, rests behind it against the large windows displaying a wooden dish and a potted monstera adansonii.
19 of Relaxing Retreat With Large Windows
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This white couch is topped with countless white, blue, and gray cushions and is backed into a corner filled with windows illuminating the room. A solid round coffee table takes up minimal space on the woven rug and is topped with a tray and some eucalyptus resting in a clear vase. Next to the couch rests two woven baskets to act as both decor and extra storage which is vital in small spaces.
20 of Bohemian Living Room With Lots of Seating
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Two couches of the same style but opposing fabrics rest against the walls in this bright and airy living room. The leather couch is topped with cream pillows white the white couch features leather-colored pillows to create a gorgeous contrast that isn’t too overwhelming. A set of wooden hexagon wall shelves adorned with potted plants brings in the much-needed greenery to the space.
21 of Proper Living Room With Light Hardwood Flooring
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The light hardwood flooring in this home makes the living room look proper and open. Two greenish-blue chairs with beige pillows sit on top of a golden rug. A black and white striped couch sits in front of an open window with vertical open blinds. A small round dark wood coffee table is in the middle of the rug.
22 of Modern Farmhouse Living Room
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This farmhouse living room features white furniture, a warm hardwood floor covered with a dark rug, and some wooden accent pieces. Style the coffee table minimally with a wooden trinket disk and some water propagations to keep the space feeling light and airy.
23 of Bright Boho Neutrals
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A large beige couch topped with white, beige, and leather pillows dominates this living room surrounding a round light wood coffee table with a glass vase filled with red leaves. Hang a gallery wall of images with thick white matting and thin wood frames on the wall above the couch to keep to the soft neutral color scheme.
24 of Layered Rugs and Wooden Accents
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An ivory sectional faces a wooden coffee table topped with some simple seasonal decor in this Scandinavian-styled hygge home. A wooden floating shelf above the couch features a woven basket, some framed prints, and a festive garland. Layering rugs can bring so much dimension to a space without taking up any real square footage, such as the two area rugs that are layered beneath the coffee table and couch.
25 of Soothing Sanctuary With Neutral Shades
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A small light wood side table topped with a book and ivy plant rests on the dark hardwood floors next to the gold-standing floor lamp. The pale gray sectional is topped with white, beige, and brown pillows and a warm brown throw blanket.
26 of Modern Farmhouse Living Room Décor Ideas
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A board and batten wall displays a gallery wall of modern farmhouse prints. A gray sofa with white pillows and a brown throw sits against the wall. A second sofa is embellished with brown and black and white accent pillows. An oval wood coffee table is positioned over a gray and beige rug in the center of the room. It displays a wooden tray with a potted plant and a small white candle. A woven basket sits nearby holding a large faux tree.
27 of Classic Southern Living Room
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A beige couch topped with patterned pillows rests beneath an elaborately framed painting in this classic southern living room. The room is further decorated with a dark teal armchair, a blue and cream diamond patterned rug, and a metal coffee table adorned with books and a potted ivy plant.
28 of Farmhouse-inspired Small Living Room Ideas With TV
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This small and rustic living room features built-in shelves stocked with wood and a small TV inset under shelves with farmhouse accessories. There is a welcoming fireplace in the room, a mantel decorated with a foliage garland, and a unique piece of wooden art above the mantel. A white accent chair is arranged by the TV and fireplace and is decorated with a comfortable throw and accent pillow.
29 of Warm Farmhouse Living Room With White Shiplap Walls
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A warm farmhouse living room features a white couch layered with matching pillows. A white armchair draped with a blanket is arranged around a rustic warm wood coffee table adorned with fall foliage in a clear vase paired with a stack of books and a small candle. A white mantel accessorized with a framed print of a tranquil fall scene paired with a rustic warm wood fireplace serves as a delightful focal point. White shiplap walls brighten the room and a white area rug is layered on warm wood flooring that runs throughout.
