The world is getting smaller. We’re constantly dealing with things like struggling to find a parking space, waiting in long lines at the grocery store, on waiting lists to get into a ceramics class and having to battle other renters for prospective apartments.
With all of the struggles of an increasing population, one thing that is positive about it is that house designs are getting smaller. We really don’t need that much space at the end of the day, so I think it’s a positive thing that homes are smaller, energy bills are lower, and we can also keep making more room for the growing population!
With smaller rooms, you have to start approaching the concept of designing them differently. That’s why we’ve created this collection of 15 Splendidly Small Living Room Inspirations to help you with your own quaintly spaced home renovations. Enjoy!
1. The Elevated Lazyboy Living Room
Floors & Walls: We’re starting out this collection of small living room ideas with a beautifully modern and minimal space. Though it may not feel small, it only feels that way, not because it’s large, but because of how the items in the room are distributed.
This fantastic room starts with beautiful, lightly stained wood flooring, accompanied by some clean white walls (which is personally the only shade I’ll ever paint my walls). Black exposed wooden beams in the ceiling add a nice little rustic (but elevated) touch.
Furniture: A very clever way to gain some extra space in a smaller room is to let the walls be more than just walls. Here we see some custom shelving that was built right into the wall, which not only grants you a ton of storage space but it also makes it so that you can have other pieces of furniture closer to it without it feeling strange.
We also have a classic but timelessly stylish Eames chair in black leather, set in front of a lovely low-set black stone coffee table. Though we can’t see it completely, we also have a cushy-looking gray sofa set across from the television (that is also mounted right into the shelving unit!)
Decor: This is my personal favorite way to decorate a room: with plants and books. Books effortlessly add splashes of color just with their covers, while plants provide color, life, and movement to the small living area. Did you know that having plants in your house also improves your air quality? Incredible!
This stunning space has been designed by BAAO Architects, and you can see the rest of the home here.
2. The Fresh & Classic Living Room
Floors & Walls: This interior design is definitely more in a classic and traditional place, but it’s just as inviting as any other smaller living room. This cozy classic starts with some subtly patterned tanned carpeting, which brings us into a neutral color scheme for the walls and fireplace facade.
Furniture: These types of sofas and chairs are just so plush looking you can’t help but want to dive right in. Resembling marshmallows, this soft white furniture set with rounded edges is the perfect choice for a room in which you’re keen to have a cup of cocoa in — darker side tables and a coffee table act as a really nice contrast against the lighter tones.
Decor: I find this room to be really wonderfully decorated, with an incredible collection of super healthy plants of all sizes and an impressively happy white orchid right in the middle. Subtly patterned throw pillows provide that little extra something that a room this simple always benefits from.
3. The Traditional Elegance Living Room
Floors & Walls: Though still classic and traditional, this small living room decor has a different feel to it. Antique wood floors make our foundation, while creamy walls with a beautiful fireplace facade and built-in shelving in the wall help save valuable floor space, but it’s happening in a very elegant way.
Furniture: While in many rooms, the furniture is meant to be the focal point, in this room, I find that the furniture is more acting as a backdrop to let the decor really shine. Rounded sofas in a neutral tone sit across from a glass table with bronze framing. Using a clear glass coffee table in a limited space is a great way to ensure that the room doesn’t feel blocked off by a solid piece of furniture!
Decor: The decoration in this small living room space is really what makes it special. There is cohesion that is so expertly done in the way that the pattern of the area rug matches the vase behind the sofa, which in turn complements the gorgeous collection of dishware on the shelf. The ornate frame of the large mirror also matches the coffee table. I would also like to note how cute that knitted little throw pillow is. Just darling!
4. The Cornflower Blue Living Room 
Floors & Walls: Yet another classic and traditional aesthetic for a living room, but this one is like a combination of the first two. There is such a beautiful cohesion here, and it all starts with a stunning cherry-stained hardwood floor. A gorgeous wallpaper has been used here, which is subtly patterned and a pale yellow color, almost like it were the shade of hand-whipped butter.
Furniture: I just love it when furniture pieces make statements, which is less common with more contemporary minimal designs. Though each piece is different, the furniture is so clearly part of a family. The super comfortable-looking sofa is almost exactly the same shade as the wall, while the plaid upholstery used for the other sofa matches the blue in the accent chair.
Decor: I find it so clever that the upholstery used for each of the pillows is the same upholstery that was used for each piece of furniture. This really allows you to use three completely different pieces, but they all come together since they’re adorned with a family of pillows. This room is simply adorable.
5. The Subtly Elegant Living Room
Floors & Walls: Still in the realm of classic and traditional, but each room has showcased how many different versions of that there can really be. This space is complete with stunning limestone tiling, subtly patterned wallpaper, and a gorgeous stone facade around the fireplace. You also can’t help but admire the surplus of huge windows in the room.
Furniture: In this small living room we have a gorgeous set of sofa twins that are pieces of art. Rounded backs with elegantly patterned upholstery and tasseled ends all come together to create a gorgeous set of couches. In betwixt those, we have a low set coffee table in an antique look, with darker framing to provide a welcome contrast against the lighter tones in the room.
Decor: Though not my personal style, I can appreciate how the home decor in this room matches a series of candle holders hanging on the walls and set on the coffee table. To prevent the room from becoming too stuffy, we have a couple of healthy trees in the corners and a collection of varying throw pillows. Cute!
6. The Southwestern Warmth Living Room
Floors & Walls: This home reminds me a lot of the houses I used to visit for an afternoon snack in elementary school. They always felt so warm and welcoming. This space starts with some lovely limestone tiling that’s decorated with a patterned brown rug and a very pale yellow paint color for the walls.
Furniture: This living room set is meant for comfort. With super big plush pillows and rounded edges, this is a great space for a Friday night movie. Simple wooden side tables contribute that rustic feel to this Southwestern vibe living room.
Decor: The decoration in this small space is really from the early 90s, with big rounded ironwork furniture framing, dining chairs, and wall decorations, accompanied by huge candlesticks, brown ceramics, and patterned throw pillows.
7. The Scandinavian Serenity Living Room
Floors & Walls: Moving more into the modern styles, this room starts with some shining dark hardwood floors, which are met with walls that are made with a matte, lighter-stained hardwood. This contrast in wood choices prevents the room from feeling like a sauna and more like each feature is individualized.
Furniture: Very simple furniture is found in this room, starting with a very generously sized L-shaped sofa in a very soothing, light gray upholstery. A simple coffee table made from very light hardwood is beautiful but also utile, as the center is hollowed out and can be used as storage.
Decor: Simple from start to finish, this room is decorated with three different colors of throw pillows, the blue ones wonderfully matching some of the hardwood on the wall. I particularly appreciate the choice of area rug in this space, not only because of the texture but because the rounded shape is a great way to offset all of the more squared pieces in the room.
Related: Small Foyer Ideas | Small Dining Room Ideas | Small Kitchen Ideas | Small Primary Bathroom Ideas | Medium Living Room Ideas | Large Living Room Ideas
8. The Western Flare Living Room
Floors & Walls: This small space is a great representation of successfully blending something rustic with something chic. And this all starts with super dark and rich hardwood floors that are met with a beautiful shade of ivory for the walls and fireplace facade. The black marble around the fireplace is a particularly elegant touch.
Furniture: Simple furniture is featured in this small living room, which kind of tells you this is less of a lounging area and more of an afternoon tea and productive conversation area because of the upright backs and firm edges.
Decor: There are beautiful decorating ideas in this room, and I love how the pieces are alternating from softer, white decorations and more robust brown decorations. I also really appreciate that since the fireplace isn’t in service anymore, they filled it with some super tall candles to keep the fire alive!
9. The Sunset View Living Room
Floors & Walls: This gorgeous room seems simple at first glance, but once you start to really pay attention to each aspect of the room, it’s really rather magnificent and detailed. Starting with the floors, we have a beautiful pattern created from alternating stone tiles and hardwood slats. The walls are a standard cream color, but they are elevated by amazing arched windows with olive green trim.
Furniture: The furniture display starts with a lovely sofa with a warm leather back but a cream-colored sofa cushion – a combination which I find particularly fetching. Then we move to a gorgeous and large coffee table made from copper-colored stone, set with a couple of wooden stools for extra seating. Then we have a gorgeous live edge bench to place some extra decorations.
Decor: This space is very minimally decorated because the furniture pieces themselves really deserve the spotlight. All we see are happy potted plants, some tall taupe curtains (having curtains from the floor to ceiling really makes a small room seem taller), and some leather and faux fur throw pillows.
10. The Pastel Lounge Living Room
Floors & Walls: This modern and bright living space starts funnily enough with black tiling, though the darkness of the floor really isn’t felt in the room. White walls are elevated thanks to gorgeous sheer light blue curtains around the windows.
Furniture: This furniture set has to be one of my favorites in the collection. A white leather sofa and armchair may seem standard, but because the sofa is so deep and the pillows are so large, it really becomes an incredibly inviting place to relax. Though I don’t particularly like this coffee table, having a glass coffee table in a smaller room is a great way to make sure that it doesn’t feel too cramped.
Decor: This room is so minimally decorated that it doesn’t seem decorated at all, but you can’t deny that these beautiful blush pink pillows contribute wonderfully to the space (and really go well with the baby blue curtains) and that the huge green plant provides a really fresh contrast to the rest of the room.
11. The Coastal Lounge Living Room
Floors & Walls: This stunning seaside lounge feels bright and airy not just because of the huge sliding door leading to an outdoor veranda but because of the heavenly color scheme that starts with shining cream-colored tiles. These are matched with crisp white walls and a sweet little peep door that peeks into the next room.
Furniture: Very simple but very lovely furniture is featured in this small living room. Starting with a white leather sofa with rounded edges that matches armchairs with similar cushions, but instead, they’re held together with some beautiful wood craftsmanship frames. A matching wooden coffee table and a side table tie everything together.
Decor: This small living space is decorated simply but wonderfully, starting with a gorgeous blue area rug, some bright red and orange throw pillows, and some warm ceramic table lamps. The space feels extra luxurious thanks to some sheer white curtains framing the big glass sliding door.
12. The Sunny in Plaid Living Room
Floors & Walls: There’s something about this small space that really reminds me of Easter. Rich, dark brown hardwood floors are softened up with a beige area rug, which then goes into some superbly light yellow wallpaper with a subtle pattern. This is the base of our small easter inspired living room.
Furniture: Next, we move on to a wonderfully low-set sofa in cream-colored upholstery that is made superior thanks to its super deep seating and plush back pillows. A corresponding lounge chair that is also low set pairs perfectly with the also low set wooden coffee table that is more modern in design.
Decor: Now we get into the decoration, which is where I think the easter theme is coming from. Two big throw pillows in pastel colors can be used for extra seating, while plaid throw pillows on the sofa really match the plaid curtains that become illuminated by the happy daylight. The wooden bowl of rocks on the coffee table also just happens to look like a basket of eggs if you ask me.
13. The Modern Midcentury Modern Living Room
Floors & Walls: I love just how different each of these rooms is. This room clearly has a modern execution, but it’s taking inspiration from design aesthetics from times passed. Dark hardwood floors with a beautiful grain pattern are met with wallpaper with an extremely subtle striped pattern, and dark brown curtains framing the big windows help make the room feel tall.
Furniture: I personally love this furniture set. Though I do tend to prefer my own couches more deep and rounded, you can’t help but admire the beautiful construction of this sofa with an upright back and shallow seats. Gorgeous texture upholstery in a soft green color has been used for both the sofa and armchair. Dark wood tables match the hardwood floors flawlessly.
Decor: This room features next to no decoration, mainly because the furniture pieces themselves act as decoration (which is part of what makes it feel midcentury modern inspired). Though I adore this rug that is both textured and patterned, providing just the right amount of fun, comfort, and interest.
14. The White Craftsman Living Room
Floors & Walls: This open-concept living room though small in size, doesn’t really feel that way thanks to the fact that only light tones have been used in this space. This concept starts with gorgeous wood floors that have been sanded to a matte texture and stained to give the appearance of beechwood — white walls and white window framing help to make the room feel expansive.
Furniture: From here, we have a lovely L-shaped sofa that comes in a very light gray leather upholstery, which is accompanied by a low-set, white coffee table. The only bit of color we see in the living room design is in that electric blue lounge chair with a matching ottoman, which I find to be a rather fun contribution.
Decor: This space is decorated in one of my favorite manners: with personal effects. Deciding to have shelving built right into the wall gains storage space, and setting it up with your best trinkets, sculptures, and books, is a great way to add both personality and color!
15. The Country Chic Living Room
Floors & Walls: We’re finishing off this collection in a delicate and lovely way with this room. I like to call it country chic because it’s not exactly shabby chic, but a happy medium where country meets shabby, meets chic.
This all starts with an antique wood floor that has been painted white but left a little bit distressed. From here, we have cream-colored walls but a white ceiling, which is a great way to really get you to notice the incredible craftsmanship in the ceiling. Floor-to-ceiling windows are always special, but they become even more so with stained glass on the uppermost windows. Just stunning.
Furniture: I love how this room is a combined living room and little breakfast nook, featuring an adorable country dining set, a low set sofa with some seriously cloud-soft-looking cushions, and a distressed coffee table to match the floors. To mention the cutest little cream-colored hutch I’ve ever seen!
Decor: The room is also very minimally decorated, but simply because each individual aspect of the room is just so simply gorgeous that it would be a shame to cover it up. From the stunning shade of lilac used for the upholstery of the chairs, the collection of beautiful ceramics set on top of the hutch, the vase of fresh pink tulips, all the way to the shockingly elegant and luxurious chandelier found on the ceiling.
This space is perfectly executed in every way. It’s inviting, classy, understated, beautifully crafted, pristinely kept, and cleverly designed. If I lived in this home, I would probably wake up happy every day of my life And just look at that enticing green garden on the other side of that gorgeous set of windows!
