Wondering how to organize and design your living room? Whether you need more space for lounging and activities, storage ideas, or advice on how to make a small space look bigger, check out our living room decor and organization advice below.
Declutter & Organize Your Living Room
Getting rid of unnecessary clutter and rearranging your remaining items are the first steps to organizing a living room. Start decluttering using methods like the Four-Box Technique to decide what to keep and what you don’t need. You can then donate your excess items or utilize resale apps. Next, focus on living room organization for any remaining clutter. Keep stylish storage totes on open shelves or at the end of your living room couch for easy access, and use woven baskets to conceal everyday items like blankets and remotes. For items you don’t use regularly, place them in storage bins, a storage closet, or garage. Stay diligent with weekly cleaning times to keep your living room tidy!
Turn to Living Room Minimalism
Embracing minimalism means considering what furniture and items serve a purpose and removing items that aren’t useful to reduce clutter. Having a minimalist space can make the room feel larger and will make any clutter stand out so you can clear it immediately. If you’re worried about your living space becoming too sterile, try cozy minimalism, which uses soft, comfortable materials for blankets and furniture while still only keeping what’s essential.
Consider Your Color Scheme
Your living room’s color scheme can have a big impact on how the space feels. Dark paint colors on the walls can make a space feel cozier, while lighter colors tend to open up a room. Similarly, using a dark color on just one wall creates visual contrast that can make a space feel larger. Painting the walls and trim in similar tones helps reduce visual barriers to further enlarge the appearance of a small living space, while opting for shelving and furniture that matches your wall color can help create a cohesive living room design. If you want more visual interest, consider choosing a contrasting color for furniture and decor, or try contrasting colors for your fifth wall and sixth wall (aka your floor and ceiling).
Find Furniture that Fits
If you need ideas for how to design your living room to maximize space, start with your furniture! Living room furniture pieces with high backs or large rolled arms occupy extra space, shrinking your area and disrupting the flow of traffic in your living room. Select living room furniture like couches and chairs with narrow arms, small backs, and exposed legs to make your living space look bigger. Take a look at Modern furniture or Mid-Century Modern furniture with hairpin legs and sleek, minimal design to give the illusion of space. With exposed leg furniture, you may even be able to use the gap underneath as more living room storage space!
Switch to Space-Saving Furniture
In addition to finding appropriately-sized furniture, you may want to consider space-saving options like Murphy furniture and nesting furniture, particularly if you’re designing a small space! Some small living room organization ideas include pulling out nesting tables when you have more guests than usual, folding a Murphy desk into the wall when it’s not in use, or bringing folding chairs out of storage as needed for more living room seating. This also eliminates surplus living room furniture to save space when things aren’t in use.
Create Designated Storage Spaces
Having a clear storage system can help you avoid future clutter by designating specific places for all your items. Common clutter items include kids’ toys, pet toys, board games, DVDs, and more. Consider living room storage solutions like cabinets for video games and board games, chests for blankets, and cubbies or shelves to hold storage baskets for toys and other small items. Make it a habit to put your belongings back into these places after using them so you can keep an organized living space!
Invest in Furniture with Built-In Storage
If you’re short on places to put things, you can find plenty of living room furniture options with convenient, built-in storage! Couches and ottomans can have removable cushions with hidden storage underneath. Side table storage or coffee table storage is another way to keep items organized and accessible. These living room organization ideas are easy to implement since you just have to find furniture that fits your decor style and has built-in storage alternatives, making this a great living room organization tip for quick results.
Make the Most of Vertical Storage Space
Vertical storage is a great way to maximize space while organizing a living room. Tall built-in shelving or floor-to-ceiling bookcases will provide extra living room storage options without taking up too much valuable floor space. If you’re renting or simply don’t have the option of adding built-in shelving, some great alternatives include freestanding bookcases and wall-mounted ladder shelves, both of which offer similar living room storage solutions and an uncluttered look without the need to renovate your space. Or, try installing floating shelves for a simple and affordable DIY storage option!
Try a Round Coffee Table
Increasing the amount of space in your living room can be as simple as changing a few shapes. Switching to a round coffee table rather than a square or rectangular shape can improve the visual flow of your living room, and you can usually fit more people around it. Plus, round coffee tables typically occupy less space than their cornered counterparts, which gives your living room a less cluttered appearance, especially if you’re working with a small space.
Decorate with Glass & Clear Furnishings
See-through furniture and decor takes up less visual space than more solid counterparts, making these items perfect additions if you want to create a more spacious feel in your living room. Additionally, compared to tables made of porous materials like wood, glass coffee tables are less likely to be damaged by spills while still offering much-needed function and a modern, minimalistic style. For a cheaper alternative, you can find clear acrylic coffee tables or side tables that’ll hold up to wear, tear, and dings even better than glass.
Choose the Right Lighting
Overhead, space-saving lighting solutions like string lights, chandeliers, and pendant lighting can help diffuse light to your entire living room without taking up essential floor space. But if there are still corners not reached by overhead lighting, or if you simply want more options for mood lighting, you can utilize wall, floor, and table lamps to fill these gaps. This can also help create a layered lighting effect to add ambiance to your living room design and allow your living space to easily transition from day to night. Be sure to practice good cord management and try to hide your lamp cords so they don’t clutter your space.
Embrace Natural Light
Natural light can brighten up any living room to bring more energy to the space, and a clear view outside can make a small living room look bigger! Add to the effect by using light-colored blinds or sheer curtains to let in more soft light. You can also paint your window trim the same color as your walls, or choose a similar pale or neutral shade to make your living space look larger.
Hang Floor-to-Ceiling Curtains
If your windows are lower than your ceiling height, consider hanging floor-to-ceiling curtains for your living room or long blinds to elongate their appearance. This trick not only increases the perceived size of the windows but also creates the illusion of taller ceilings and an overall bigger living room. Buy sheer curtains or make light-colored DIY curtains to let in more light and create a spacious feel, since dark, heavy curtains can have the negative effect of absorbing light and making a room appear smaller.
Add Mirrors
Wall mirrors reflect light to brighten a room and create the illusion of a larger space. Hang large statement mirrors as a focal point above your mantle, position one on the wall near the entrance to your living room area, or stand a full-length mirror up in a corner to maximize the reflective effect. However, be careful how you position your mirrors to be sure they’re not reflecting cluttered spaces or cramped corners, which could make your living feel more crowded. Try to hang or place mirrors to reflect the most spacious and organized areas of your living room, or have them reflect your windows to double their impact! Look in the mirror from all angles to determine if it’s reflecting a view you like.
***
Need somewhere to store items while you’re organizing or redecorating your living room? Life Storage has storage facilities across the country that can help. Find a storage unit near you!
