While homeowners tend to spend the most money on kitchen and bathroom renovations, they spend the most time in their living rooms. This is a space which caters to many different needs. Whether you like to watch TV, read books, eat dinner, or play with the kids, all you need is somewhere soft and cosy.
You probably entertain guests in this space too, so it’s natural to want it to look beautiful and well put together. The question is, how do you go about decorating a lounge with a seriously short stature? Not everybody is lucky enough to have lots of room to work with, but there are plenty of clever ways to expand the space and make it feel bigger.
Keep reading for advice on how to maximise space in your living room and create a flawless environment for hosting and relaxing.
Use the Right Scale
The truth is that you can incorporate all the same features as those with much larger living spaces. However, you might need to work with different dimensions. You can get hand carved fireplaces in Melbourne, for example, which are made to measure.
This means that they fit the size of the room perfectly and provide the same amount of grandeur, but just on a slightly smaller scale. The same can be said for things like sofas, shelving, area rugs, and cabinets. They are all available in bespoke or more diminutive sizes.
Hide Storage in Seating
The popularity of dual-purpose seating is on the rise in Australian cities.
As more people move into these densely populated areas, space becomes limited and homeowners have to get creative when decorating. For instance, you can get dual purpose furniture with inbuilt storage.
Many modern banquettes, daybeds, and even comfy armchairs now come with hollow bases. You can lift off the seat and use them as little storage boxes. This reduces the need for space-eating cabinets and eliminates clutter, both of which give you more room to work with.
Invest in Swing Lamps
Swing arm lamps are a useful addition to teeny tiny living rooms because they provide plenty of light without taking up any floor space at all. Plus, they have a very classic, almost art deco aesthetic. They are flexible, so you can move the frames outwards into the room for more light.
Or, you could try up lighters as an alternative to floor lamps and low hanging pendants. Partially enclosed shades are ideal for mood lighting, as they direct the light towards the ceiling and prevent it from being too harsh or glaring.
Hang Drapes High Up
One clever way to create the illusion of more space is to hang curtains and drapes a little higher than necessary. If you take them above the top of the window, right to the ceiling, they draw the eye upwards and make the space look taller.
Just try to keep the fabric fairly light, if possible, because heavy drapes have a tendency to box the room in. Stick with pale colours like white, cream, grey, and pastel tones like eggshell blue and soft yellow.
Try Invisible Furniture
When space is very tight but furniture is essential, think about using clear materials like glass, Lucite, or acrylic. They can be manufactured to look completely transparent and this means that they’ll almost look like they’re not there at all.
Transparent coffee tables, for instance, take up no visual space. However, they do need to be laid out with objects of some kind (flowers or books, perhaps) to prevent guests from banging their knees on the edge. Invisible furniture is great until somebody falls right over it.
Why Big Ideas Are Great for Small Spaces
Often, homeowners feel a bit uninspired about small spaces, so they don’t put much time into making improvements. However, this can leave a house feeling curiously disjointed. Don’t shy away from transforming rooms with less to give, because it only takes a little imagination to overcome the obstacles. You’ve just got to be smart about how you consume space and double up on functions (like storage) wherever possible.
