How can you make a small living room look bigger? 14 designer-approved methods to expand your space

If you are wondering 'how to make a small living room look bigger', you are certainly not alone. Though small rooms can present many interior design challenges, there are several benefits to compact living, such as ease of cleaning and organizing.

But it all requires the right small living room ideas, the right design and decor, which comes with knowing what your biggest problems are with the space and what you want to improve. Does your small living room need to look bigger? Is space tight, or is a lack of light making it feel compact?

Whatever the issue, here are 14 sure-fire ways to make a small living room look bigger, lighter, and brighter – and we don’t just mean by going minimalist and painting everything white (though that will often work) the ideas here are stylish, interesting and will add depth to the room as well as 'expand' it.

1. Choose a simple color scheme

The primary thing to remember when designing a small room is to ensure all tones adhere to the same color palette, thus creating a cohesive flow throughout the room. Too many contrasting colors will feel too busy and make your small living room feel overcrowded.

This small open plan living space is a perfect example – a classic color scheme of blue and white with bold pops of yellow gives the room personality and interest without feeling overwhelming. The way the color has been introduced has been kept simple, too, with solid blue walls and white on the floors and ceiling.

It feels calming, and the large expanses of color make the space look far bigger than it really is. The yellow has been introduced through accessories such as throw pillows, artwork, and upholstery.

It creates focal points in different areas of the room, instinctively drawing your eye to each corner. Another effective trick to create the illusion of more space in a small living room.

2. Paint your walls and trim the same color

There are no rules on the colors you should use in a small living room, so you can have fun with brighter colors to make a design statement. The key here is on the approach to application – too many visual divides will instantly create the illusion of even less space.

'I like to paint my walls, ceiling, and trim the same color to make the room appear larger. Not having a focal point where the paint color changes can make a big difference in visually creating a larger space,' says interior designer Liz Potarazu.

Whether you embrace a rich neutral color palette, like in this small living room, or opt for a bolder, color-drenched scheme in vibrant hues, simply choosing a consistent color for your walls and trim will make a huge difference to how large your space feels.

3. Opt for beautiful textures

To make a small living room look bigger, you will want to pare back clutter, but you don’t want to create a sterile scheme with minimalism and all-pale shades – which, we know, creates space-enhancing light spaces but also can lack personality. Instead, keep it cozy with sumptuous textures that don't take up space visually but will make the room feel more inviting while not shrinking the space.

Sheepskin rugs, beautiful grained wood pieces, limed floorboards, velvet cushions, and oh-so-soft tan leather armchairs will all warm up a scheme instantly, particularly when used in otherwise minimalist apartment living room ideas.

4. Distract the eye with pattern

It's tempting to keep things light, minimal, and airy in a small living room, but sometimes, doing the opposite is key to making your space feel larger. One great way to give the illusion of greater space is to introduce a bold pattern.

‘Layering patterns of a similar scale and tone will distract from a room feeling small, and ensure it feels cozy and inviting,' says Mary Graham and Nicole Salvesen, founders of Salvesen Graham.

'Nothing should shout louder than anything else, so that the eye is not drawn to one feature and the space will not feel too busy.’ In this small living room, pattern has been introduced through the seating, rug, throw pillows, and artwork, but because they are all subtle, nothing dominates the room.

5. Use mirrors to bounce light

It's a trick as old as time, but decorating with mirrors can instantly make a small living room look bigger – if you get their placement right.

'I love to incorporate mirrors because of the way they instantly brighten a space and make a room look bigger. Pro tip: Place the mirror directly across from a window to maximize the amount of light it reflects,' advises interior designer Kathy Kuo.

This living room by VSP Interiors is a perfect example of how impactful they can be. This pair of mirrored alcoves immediately bounces the light from the windows and reflects it around the room, instantly creating a brighter, lighter atmosphere. And make sure you go large with your mirrors – there’s no room for small and dainty here.

6. Layer lighting to make a small living room look bigger

Small living room lighting ideas can make your space feel bigger at night, even if the room has oodles of natural light in the daytime. Layered lighting is a huge trend for 2025 and beyond for its style and function, especially in smaller schemes.

Layering the heights of your small living room lighting is key – so ensure you have a pendant light overhead with a dimmable control, lots of lamp light, and wall lights.

Choose shades that can both direct light for tasks like reading and create pools of light for atmosphere. Having wall lights that direct soft shafts of light up and down will also make the space look taller.

7. Lift furniture off the floor

To make a small living room look bigger, you need to remove visually heavy furniture, which will drain the light from your living room, and chunky pieces that are simply too big for the room's footprint.

‘To achieve a light and spacious feel within a living room, it is best to incorporate refined furniture pieces in lighter-toned natural finishes such as soft timber veneers, artisan silver leaf or polished marble,’ explains Louise Bradley, Founder of Louise Bradley Design Studio.

'One of my favorite tricks to make a small living room look bigger is to opt for tables made of Lucite, acrylic, or glass. These transparent materials offer an airy look that gives the illusion of more space in any room,' adds Kathy. Think ‘light’ with tapered legs and thin frame sections; glass is also worth considering.

8. Go for neutral pieces as a starting point 

While we've spoken about bringing bolder colors into your small living room via the walls and accessories, it's best to keep the core furniture pieces more neutral. The sofa is going to be the largest piece of furniture in your living room, so it pays to get the color and size right.

‘A neutral sofa can help lighten the space and make it feel bigger; however, it's worth remembering that neutral doesn’t have to mean selecting a plain design. Opting for styles with beautiful details, such as curves, buttons, or fluting, will add character to a small space without overpowering your scheme, advises Suzy McMahon, buying director at Sofology.

‘Additionally, cushions and throws in bolder shades and patterns can keep the look from feeling too pared back. Alternatively, an accent chair is a great way to add a pop of colour and will effortlessly lift a darker space.’

9. Choose light and airy window treatments

What you use on your windows is really important. Dark heavy drapes will block the light and create a moodier feel in your living room – fine for creating a cozy feel if you want to lean into the small dimension of the room, but if the aim is bigger and brighter, going for a lighter fabric in a lighter color will work best.

And how you hang your drapes can allude to more space too. Take your curtain rod above the windows themselves to create more height, and take the drapes themselves all the way to the floor. It will look more elegant as well as make the room look bigger.

10. Invest in good storage

Nothing makes a small living room feel even smaller than mess, clutter, and disorganized shelving. Even a small corner piled with kids' toys, disorganized boxes, or miscellaneous pieces will instantly draw the eye and drag down the whole aesthetic of the room.

This is why ensuring you have invested in the very best small living room storage ideas is key to making a small living space feel bigger. Using vertical space is a key way to maximize storage potential while taking up the smallest of footprints.

11. Use a gloss paint finish on the ceiling

The best way to make a small living room look bigger without really changing much about a current scheme is to pay attention to the fifth wall – and even the sixth. We're talking about ceilings and floors.

White or pale-colored finishes for both will make the room feel lighter, brighter, and bigger. A gloss paint on the ceiling will immediately give the illusion of a grander room, as it helps to bounce light. And take another tip from this beautiful smaller living room, and rather than just paint the ceiling, color-drench the whole space. Taking the same hue across all the walls and ceiling will blur the edges of the room and allude to more space.

12. Choose compact furniture 

In smaller homes, ideally, look for multifunctional pieces to save on space. Ottomans with integrated storage and sofa beds are some of the most widely used.

Living spaces, especially, will really benefit from multifunctional pieces. A living room might be doubling up as a guest room, a home office, or a playroom, so it will need to cater to all of these.

Finding the right living room furniture often has to do with scale and putting the perfect pieces in the right spot. If you need to maximize space, it’s worth having something made or going the extra mile to find an antique with the right proportions.

‘It is worth noting that a pair of armchairs can often take up more space than a small sofa,' adds interior designer Lonika Chande. 'Certainly, a smaller armless sofa, complete with a little side table to put down a drink, and a floor lamp rather than a table lamp, can be a much better use of space.’

13. Color drench your small living room

‘Ceiling ideas can add another layer of interest and make a small living room feel bigger. All too often, they are an afterthought, but we make sure to consider their potential,’ says interior designer Nicola Harding.

Using statement color and paint ideas on the ceiling helped extend the walls in this tiny living room, especially if you opt for a color-drenched look. By painting the ceilings the same color as the walls, you remove the visual divide, instantly giving the illusion of a taller room.

Nicola starts by thinking about how she wants the room to feel, ultimately, and she also takes into consideration the amount of natural light, which, in this living room, comes here from the floor-to-ceiling glazed doors.

14. Draw the eye up

One of the best ways to make a small living room look bigger is to introduce features that draw the eye up. This instantly makes the room feel bigger and taller. And your decorative additions are the best place to achieve this.

'Another foolproof way to make a petite room look larger is to emphasize its height and draw the eye upward. Choose curtains that extend from the floor to the ceiling, install crown molding, or hang art in a way that makes the most of vertical space,' suggests Kathy.

In this design, floor-to-ceiling curtains fill the far wall, while a large, ornate mirror has been cleverly installed as high as possible to draw the eye up. The chandelier is another lovely touch – it creates a focal point and instantly makes the room feel taller than it is.

What colors make a small living room look bigger?

Naturally, using pale or single color palettes will make a small living room look bigger. However, it isn't as simple as painting your walls white.

'We would usually lean towards quieter palette combinations, but darker shades can work really well within smaller spaces,' says James Thurstan Waterworth, founder, Thurstan. 'They create a perception of depth and lend a cocoon-like feel – welcome in every small room. For the walls in a small living room, we suggest a deep midnight blue or a petrol green, then lift this by layering careful accents of color, perhaps a burnt orange or a similar earth-toned hue – ochre, terracotta, or a softer peach.’

What patterns make a small living room look bigger?

Decorating with stripes makes a small living room look bigger. Use them vertically to make a low-ceilinged room look taller or horizontally on the narrowest wall to make a narrow space feel wider.

You do not have to use pronounced stripes – they can be subtle to have an effect. And they do not have to be limited to walls – striped curtains can make windows feel taller.

Whether you take a bold approach to color or rethink your small living room layout, there are so many ways to make a small living room look bigger. And don't feel like you have to take a minimalist approach – there are plenty of ways to do maximalism in a small room that add a sense of style and grandeur.