How to Furnish a Small Living Room: Sizes, Layout and 8 Space-Saving Choices

Short answer: the secret to furnishing a small living room is not less furniture but furniture of the right size in the right place. Three rules solve everything: leave at least 70 cm on the walkways, choose pieces with visible legs and low backs, and make every piece do at least two jobs. In a 15-18 m² room, a three-seater plus armchair, or a compact corner set of around 240×240 cm, works comfortably; what really eats the space is not the sofa but a badly placed coffee table or cabinet.

Measurements first: what can go where?

Five minutes with a pen and paper prevents months of regret. Take these measurements:

• The clear length of every wall (skirting board to skirting board)
• Where the doors and windows are, and which way the door opens
• Radiator, socket, TV cable and air-conditioning positions
• Ceiling height

Then set aside these clearances:

↔ Scroll the table sideways to see all of it.

Leave at least 40 cm between the wall length and the sofa width; otherwise the sofa looks jammed against the wall. You can find the dimensions of the pieces in our articles on sofa set dimensions and coffee table dimensions.

We drew the layouts that combine these clearances by room shape in how to plan a living room layout.

Eight choices that make a small living room look bigger

• Furniture with visible legs. Seeing the floor continue underneath convinces the eye that the space is larger. Bodies with a closed skirt sitting on the floor weigh the room down.
• Low-backed sofas. Models with a low back do not cut the sight line, so the room does not look divided.
• Tones close to the wall. Choose large surfaces from the same colour family as the wall and leave the contrast to small pieces.
• Vertical storage. Use shelving that goes upwards rather than a wide cabinet spreading horizontally.
• The right mirror. A mirror opposite the window or on a side wall doubles the light. Do not put it opposite the television — the reflection is distracting.
• Hang curtains close to the ceiling. Mounting the rail near the ceiling rather than just above the window makes the ceiling look higher.
• Fewer, larger pieces. One large picture instead of five small objects, three vases instead of ten. A crowded look shrinks a space.
• Layered lighting. A single ceiling light darkens the corners and makes the room smaller; add a floor lamp and a table lamp.

The seating group in a small living room: which arrangement?

• 14-16 m²: a three-seater plus an armchair, or a compact corner set of around 240×240 cm. Do not force in a two-seater.
• 17-20 m²: a three-seater + two-seater + armchair arrangement, or a corner set with one long wing (about 300 cm).
• If the room is also the dining area: shrink the seating group, not the table. The dining table is used every day; the second armchair goes unused in most homes.

Modular corner sets are a small living room's best friend, because you set the size. In the Arinna corner sofa the wing length can be adjusted by choosing a 90 cm intermediate module with 117 and 132 cm arm units; its low armrests also stop the seating group visually dividing the room. For alternatives see the corner sofa category.

If you are torn between a corner and a classic set, our comparison in corner sofa or sofa set lets you decide in five questions.

We covered whether the chaise module at the end of a corner set is useful in a narrow room in what is a chaise longue.

Make every piece do two jobs

In a small room, dual-purpose furniture is the biggest source of space saved:

• A storage pouffe: it rests your feet, becomes a seat for guests, and takes a blanket inside.
• A nesting table set: normally it stands like a single table, and separates and spreads when guests come. In the Arinna coffee table set, tops of 100×80, 100×60 and 45×45 cm nest together and go to either end of the sofa when needed.
• A TV unit with storage: a lower block with doors, rather than open shelving, removes the visual clutter.
• An extending dining table: small day to day, larger for guests. For the calculation see how many people an extending dining table seats.
• A console: a console 35-40 cm deep gives both storage and display space on a narrow wall.

Six common mistakes in a small living room

• Pushing all the furniture against the walls. A room empty in the middle and full at the edges feels smaller. Even pulling the sofa a few centimetres off the wall makes a difference.
• A rug that is far too large or far too small. The right answer: the rug should take in the front legs of the sofa.
• Choosing too large a coffee table. The table length should be about two thirds of the sofa in front of it.
• Blocking the walkway. There should be nothing on the line from the door to the balcony.
• Relying on a single light. A room whose corners are unlit looks small.
• Choosing a deep cabinet. A unit 60 cm deep kills the walkway in a narrow room; 35-40 cm meets most needs.