Everyone wants their living room to look as if it just came out of a glossy magazine spread. If only space permits, you would have squeezed every condo interior design inspiration you have spotted online. But given the space and our resources, you are left to figure out a system that works for you. If you try to seamlessly fit every detail of your life into your condo living room, you will most likely be frustrated each time.
Finding ways to design your condo living room in such a way that it is both stylish and functional is important if you want to get the best out of condo living. The trick is to organize your living room so that it will look bigger and structured but elegant and neat at the same time. Here are some genius ways to organize your condo living room:
1. Use furniture for multiple purposes.
Having a small living room does not mean you should live with bare essentials. When it comes to choosing furniture pieces, being smart will help you achieve your dream small living room design. Furniture with multiple purposes will prevent you from cluttering your small space with necessary furniture pieces. For example, you can purchase a sofa that can also be converted into a bed.
2. Choose furniture that is compact in size and doesn’t take up much floor space.
Furniture can easily take up space in your living room. When buying furniture pieces, go with compact ones with minimal designs that are designed to specifically maximize space. You can also go with modular furniture that can be rearranged for whatever space you have.
3. Use furniture with clean lines and minimal adornment to keep the look streamlined and uncluttered.
Furniture pieces with clean lines and minimal adornment look sleek and lightweight. The more minimal your furniture pieces are, the more you have the freedom to style them without making them and your space look cluttered. When it comes to furniture upholstery, it is best to go with solid colors and use texture for design instead of going for bold prints.
4. Choose low-height furniture so that people don’t feel cramped when they’re seated or standing in the room.
Low-height furniture is best for small spaces because they’re compact and gives an illusion that your small living room is bigger. A low-height or low-profile furniture such as a sofa is also a useful way to reserve a beautiful view from your window or the artwork on your wall.
5. Choose transformable, collapsible, or foldable furniture.
Transformable, collapsible, or foldable furniture are pieces of furniture you can fold or extend to suit your need and space. This may include a table that can be extended, a pull-out drawer table, a sliding worktop, or a foldable bed you can store away when you are not using it.
6. Arrange furniture so that it doesn’t block doorways or windows.
Aside from the type and size of the furniture, placement of these matters when it comes to living room design for small spaces. Make sure not to block windows so that light can enter your room. In situations where you need to place furniture in front of your windows, maximize the remaining light by using mirrors and other reflective surfaces or have a lighting plan.
7. Place seating against walls instead of in the center of the room so that people have more room to move around freely.
When arranging furniture pieces such as sofas and seats, it is best to arrange them in a way that accommodates walkways and has less traffic flow. You can place your seats around or directly facing a designated focal point but do not pull sofas and chairs away from your outer walls so that you have a cozy conversation area.
8. Create designated areas for different activities.
Setting specific areas for different activities in your home, the more organized your living room will be, no matter how small it is. It is also easy to place your furniture pieces when you know which area in your small living room is dedicated to a specific purpose.
9. Keep the floor clear and uncluttered for a spacious appearance.
The more things you have on your floor, the more your living room will feel cramped. To make your home look spacious, refrain from putting too many items on your floor. It would also be best if you keep items in their respective storage spaces instead of letting them lay on your floor which can also be a safety hazard to the people in your living room.
10. Group smaller pieces of furniture together instead of scattering them throughout.
Grouping smaller pieces of furniture will make your living room look tidier and more spacious. When grouping smaller pieces of decor or furniture, make sure that they are ideally spaced apart.
11. Use storage ottomans and baskets to store extra items.
An ottoman is one of the most useful pieces of furniture at home perfect for a small modern living room design. An ottoman comes in various shapes and sizes. You can use it as a comfortable footrest, a stool, or a coffee table. To maximize your space, it is best to choose ottomans with storage, that way you can use it to store items in your living room that may clutter your space.
12. Hang curtains high on the wall to give the illusion of taller ceilings.
To elongate your wall, place curtain rods near the top of your ceiling. Ideally, your rod should at least be two to four inches below the ceiling. Choose striped curtains to create an illusion of height. You can also choose solid-colored curtains. If you want to hang printed curtains, choose a small pattern and look for prints with similar colors in your living room.
13. Hang curtains to separate the space into different areas.
Wall dividers can take up too much space in your living room layouts. For versatility and privacy, it is best to use curtains as dividers. That way, you can also put them on the side if you need bigger space for an activity in your small living room.
14. Place a rug in the center of the room to define space.
When you place a rug in your living room layouts, you add a focal point in the room and a visual divider which makes your space more cozy and comfortable. To make your living room look bigger, choose the correct rug size. In terms of color, lighter tones visually expand space.
15. Add a mirror to reflect light and create the illusion of more space.
Mirrors can help you achieve your interior design for a small house’s living room because it reflects light around and mirrors the room. A big mirror is good for small living rooms because it expands the sense of the visual space. Remember to stick with a simple frame as ornate frames can hamper your goal of making your space look roomier.
16. Use light colors and neutrals to create a spacious feel.
When it comes to small living room design, light and neutral colors work best because they make the room more reflective of light which makes it more open and airy, instead of dark shades that tend to absorb light.
17. Maximize vertical space by using shelves and cabinets to store items instead of taking up floor space.
Another key to making your small living room look bigger is by reducing clutter. Shelves on the wall are great places where you can place other items you want to be in your living room without them taking up your floor space. Cabinets are also ideal pieces where you can store several items in your living room to make everything look organized and neat.
18. Place lamps or other decorative items on top of furniture instead of on the floor where they will take up space.
If you really like to place decorative items in your small living room, place them on top of your furniture pieces such as tables, shelves, and cabinets so that they won’t take up much space on your floors. When these are placed on top of your furniture, they can also easily be seen and admired by you and the other people in your house.
19. Use bright colors to add visual interest and energy to the space.
To bring life to your small yet spacious living room, use bright-colored accessories and artwork that will pop. Doing so will give more life to your living room without making your space feel cluttered and cramped.
20. Hang artwork or decorative items on the walls to help fill up empty spaces.
Having too much empty space on your living room’s walls can make your space feel drab and sad. Hanging artworks and photographs are ideal to fill up the empty spaces in your rooms. It is also a way to showcase your personality through these designs and photographs.
21. Use a variety of textures and materials in your decorating scheme to add visual interest.
The color palette suited for small spaces is light and neutral. If these are too plain for your liking, adding textures through your choice of linens, curtains, and other accessories will make your space more interesting and inviting.
22. Add plants or flowers to the room for a touch of natural beauty.
By bringing plants inside your living room, you are bringing the outside in. Bringing greens in your living room designs is healthy because they have a positive effect on the air quality of your home as they produce oxygen and filter airborne toxins and chemicals.
23. Install a ceiling fan or use other means of cooling to avoid using too much air conditioning and crowding the space.
Having a ceiling fan or a wall fan installed on your ceilings or walls is a good way to save space in your living room because they won’t occupy space on your floor, giving you more room to move around. Before installing a ceiling fan, make sure that your ceiling is at least eight feet high and that the blades won’t touch the edges of your walls.
24. Decorate using only a few key pieces to avoid clutter.
When it comes to decorating your space do not go overboard to the point that your small living room will be too cluttered and chaotic. The key to how to design a small living room is choosing a few statement pieces that will draw the eye. You can play with different-sized artworks and decorations but just stick with a handful of decorations.
25. Keep it cohesive.
When creating a living room design for a small house, it would be best to be cohesive to make sure that everything you put in there all fit with one another. For starters, stick with a limited color palette. It doesn’t mean though that you have to use the same colors for your entire home. Instead, you can choose a color personality that includes other colors that give off a similar vibe.
26. Focus on lighting.
Small spaces can feel more cramped when it is not well-lit. If your living room has plenty of windows, then you can just pull your curtains in the morning to allow natural light to enter the room. However, if you do not have windows, you can focus on lighting your living room wall with a minimal chandelier, sconces, table lamps, and other light fixtures to make the space bright and cozy.
27. Take advantage of floating pieces
To have more space to move in your small living room, consider installing floating shelves where you can store different items in your living room while still having the ground clear of obstacles. You can install strips of LED lights on your shelves to make it easier for you to see the items you put on them.
28. Go with floor-to-ceiling storage
If you have plenty of things you need to store, invest in floor-to-ceiling living room storage. You can design a playful bookcase with ladder access. You can add mirrors to the covers of your cabinets at the bottom to break up the solid block of cabinets and give an illusion that your floor runs beyond the furniture.
29. Use transparent or glass-fronted storage units to maintain an open feeling.
Acrylic furniture pieces and clear storage units go with any color and style, they are also perfect when decorating small living rooms because they create an illusion of larger space because don’t crowd up the space with visual weight or clutter. They are also great storage spaces to display your favorite trinkets without them getting dusty. Glass and transparent storage units are also easy to clean.
30. Try out different layouts until you find one that works best for the size and shape of your living room.
Small living room design is on a trial and error-basis. Before deciding on a final layout for your living room, try to have several options and try them out in actuality to see if the arrangement of your living room is comfortable and has a good traffic flow. Do not stop making necessary layout changes until you find the perfect layout that suits your liking.
31. Reorganize every once in a while.
Once or twice a year, go over the items in your living room to declutter. Now if you don’t have anything to get rid of, you can always rearrange the items in our small living room by putting items in different places to keep your space interesting and constantly look fresh to your eyes.
Key Takeaways
There are numerous ways you can make your small living room look more spacious and cozy. Here are some ways to do so:
- Choose your furniture pieces wisely. It is best to go for pieces that are multipurpose, compact, and transformable.
- Add mirrors to your small living room. You may play with the size of the mirrors you will put in your living room but the bigger, the better. To minimize visual clutter, it is best to choose simple frames for your mirrors.
- Arrange your furniture well. When working on your small living room design, lay out your furniture well. Choose a focal point and make sure that your arrangement accommodates walkways and has less traffic flow.
Need help with organizing your beautiful condo? Get in touch with DMCI Communities and contact customer care numbers (632) 8555-770, (+63) 918-918-3456 (Smart), and (+63) 917-811-5268 (Globe).