When my husband and I moved into our own apartment after living with my parents, we were kind of taken back as to how small our new space was, compared to my parent’s sprawling home. The living room especially proved to be a challenge, as in the house that I grew up in, it was particularly massive, as my parents love to entertain. In comparison, my very own living room was miniscule, especially since I also had to make it into our entertainment room, another difference from my parent’s home. Armed with a few tips that I gathered from reading different blogs and magazines, as well as advice from my mom, who incidentally decorated my parent’s home by herself, I set out to make my own living room bigger. Here’s some cheats that I incorporated.
- Paint, paint, paint– When my husband and I moved into our apartment, the space was painted in a gray beige that just read dark to us. My husband and I are particularly fond of bright spaces that are just full of light, so the first things that we agreed on was to paint the space a lighter color. Since the budget was also a concern, we settled on pure, plain white. The simple straightforward shade immediately made our living room feel a third bigger than it originally looked.
- Invest in mirrors– Since our living only had one spot where the windows went, we knew we had to employ some tricks to make it appear lighter. We found a huge mirror on sale and decided to hang it on one wall, opposite the window. It does a great job of reflecting the outdoor light, as well as giving the illusion of a bigger space.
- Mount your TV– In my parent’s house, the TV lived in a cabinet, but instant, I knew that any addition of cabinets would just crowd my already limited space. I mounted the TV on the wall instead, and made it seem like an intentional focal point by anchoring it with a few frames. Now, when the TV is on, it looks like one of the frames, with moving artwork to boot!
- Invest in streamlined furniture– My husband and I knew that anything to ornate or bulky would just overwhelm our small space. Luckily, both of us love the lines of mid-century modern furniture. We invested in pieces with straight and clean lines and could not be happier with our decision.
- Work with a monochromatic color scheme– We wanted the eye to flow when it looked through our space which was why we kept with the white theme. Most of our furniture is white, and its great for continuity. For visual interest, we have a few little objects that serve as our pops of color such as a neon pink Buddha head.
In a nutshell, this was how we made our living room bigger. We’re extremely pleased with it and have even gotten compliments from guests. If you’ve ever faced a similar design dilemma, try out these tips and see where they take you! Good luck!
