This week I wanted to talk about how to make your living room feel bigger because with many of us opting to purchase new-build properties, space within them are often limited. As one of the most used spaces of the home, it’s important to ensure the living room is equipped appropriately for a retreat at the end of a long, stressful day. Not only this, it’s often used as one of the main entertaining spaces, so making sure the living room feels bigger will help you to entertain in your new home too.

There are many ways you can make your living room feel bigger, some of which are more cost effective than others. I have gathered these below, with the hope that you will find a way to make your living room feel bigger no matter what your budget is.

Are you ready?

Open Up to Other Rooms

If your budget allows, the most effective way of making your living room feel bigger is to connect the room to others. Creating a flow through the space that easily blends into other rooms can make both spaces feel much bigger and have more purpose.

Your living room could be a larger combination of living, dining and even kitchen in some cases if you remove parts of walls. If these sorts of changes aren’t within your budget, simply removing doors to the adjacent spaces can really help.

Hidden Storage / Built-in Furniture

For small rooms (aside from just the living room), using built-in furniture solutions can help to combine storage and have it become a feature to the room. I always suggest to clients and family/friends that built-in furniture is a great investment.

In this case, investing in a TV unit which has a large amount of integrated storage hidden beneath can hide all your DVDs, magazines and even books if you’re unable to fit a bookcase in the room. Even sofas and footstools are available with built-in storage which should be utilised if your space is limited.

Emphasise Sunlight and Strategic Lighting

A really cost effective way of making your living room feel bigger is by emphasising the natural daylight in the room. This makes the room feel brighter and therefore bigger in size. The simplest way to do this is to place a mirror where light can reflect into the room.

Not only do mirrors add more sunlight throughout the room, they create an illusion of depth to the space and add a stylish decorative piece.

If your source of natural light is limited, consider installing track lighting / LED strips. These don’t have to take up much space but can add a great source of light to the room.

Related Post: Learn How to Update Your Living Room for Less!

Tactical Decoration

This may be one of the most obvious points within this post, but it shouldn’t be ignored or skipped! Not only is it relatively cost effective point but so many people often get this one wrong.

Although it may be a relatively traditional trick, painting a room with white paint or pale hues is an accurate point of advice for making any room feel bigger.

If you’re still set on using darker colours; such as charcoal grey or navy blue, offset the dark walls with lighter interior elements such as a white or cream sofa. Continue to layer this with more light-coloured furniture, shiny accessories to bounce light around and a pale rug.

Create a Focal Point

Take advantage of the small sized room and create a design feature on one of the main walls. Often the best feature wall is the one directly behind the sofa. 

Consider using a wall covering with an interesting texture such as grasscloth or add wall decor. You can have a large framed print or painting on this wall which could equally act as a focal point for the space.

Window Treatments

Typically for many new builds, homeowners opt for white shutters. Whilst these are great to look at, they don’t make the room feel any bigger.

Consider hanging long curtains which sweep down to the floor. The ceiling will instantly look higher, thus making the living room feel bigger. IKEA, Dunelm or Next Home often have cost effective and stylish curtains which would look great here.

Style of Furniture

Lastly, you should review the style of furniture you have chosen for your living room. Whilst this may not be the most cost effective exploration, it is important to understand how your choice of furniture can actually influence how big or small a room feels.

Using furniture that almost sits directly on the floor, often with short stubby feet, can make a room feel smaller. Consider purchasing furniture with open-legs as this makes the space feel more open and spacious. Your living room will feel much bigger because you can see beneath or side-ways through the furniture to the floor / rug.

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So there you have it! My top 7 ways of how to make your living room feel bigger.

How have you made your living room feel bigger? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below!

Speak Soon,

Jessica xo