6 Ideas to Make Your Living Room Look Bigger

Whoever said that a small space was a limitation? If you know how to use elements properly and apply a little creativity, you can make a small space into an enjoyable and versatile one.
6 Ideas to Make Your Living Room Look Bigger

Last update: 15 December, 2022

Have you ever wondered how can you make your living room look bigger?

To make the most of small spaces like a living room, the best thing to do is to use decorative elements to make your living room look bigger.

Houses aren’t generally as big these days as they were 70 or 80 years ago. As a result, many rooms tend to be smaller. However, this doesn’t need to be seen as a limitation.

It’s always possible to find a way to make the most of a space. It just requires you do look at things from a less conventional standpoint to find some cool alternatives. That’s how to create some truly dreamy spaces.

With a few tricks, you can really create a feeling of size and depth. You need to know how to create the illusion that you’ve gained additional space. In this article, we’ll share some of these tricks.

1. Use Light Colors

A very light coloured living room

The colors you use when you paint the walls are extremely important if you want to make your living room look bigger. If your living room is small, you should always use light colors.

Pastel, cream, and white shades make a space look much better and really brighten it up. Strong and dark colors, on the other hand, shrink the space. We don’t recommend painting the ceiling a strong color, either.

You should paint the ceiling a touch lighter than the walls. This will make the room even brighter and make it look a little more refined.

  • Lilac
  • Beige
  • Sky blue
  • Salmon
  • Light Green
  • Light Pink
  • Faint colors in general, like a watercolor
  • White (and its different shades like ivory, chalk, etc.)

2. Leave an Empty Space in the Living Room

One brilliant trick is to leave an empty space in front of a window. This allows more light to get in and provides the room with more depth. It also directs you to look outside.

Try it out and see how this simple step can really make your living room look bigger and brighter, without having to make any big changes.

An empty space in front of a window which is one way to make your living room look bigger

3. Use Mirrors to Make Your Living Room Look Bigger

Decorate your bathroom with mirrors

This is a typical decorator’s trick. If you hang a large mirror on a wall that doesn’t have too many decorations on it, it’ll really give an impression of space.

Just one mirror is enough. If you use too many you’ll overload the space and the effect will be lost.

  • Use just one big mirror.
  • Put it at a right-angle to the entrance to the room.
  • Try and put it as close as possible to either a door or a window.
  • Try not to decorate that wall too much.
  • A floor-to-ceiling mirror will add a lot of depth.

4. Living Room Furniture

Furniture

When you choose your furniture and decorations for a small space, try to consider these tips to make the space look larger.

The brain perceives far away objects as being simpler and with fewer details. Below, you’ll find a list of furniture and how to use them to make your living room look bigger.

  • First, choose light furniture.
  • Look for accessories in warm or neutral colors.
  • It’s better to use furniture with fewer details.
  • Less is more. One large piece of furniture is better than lots of little ones.
  • Don’t use too many decorations and the room will seem more spacious.

5. Choose Small Furniture

Moving a couch

If you use short furniture, you gain depth, since you can see the whole room without obstacles. Stools and pouffes work really well for this.

You can also give this furniture a double function to optimize space. For example, the pouffe could open up into a storage space.

6. Order and Organisation

Like all things in life, order and organisation bring more space and comfort. We recommend that you put the largest piece of furniture at the back of the room, as far away from the door as you can. Organize the rest of the furniture in a balanced way to identify areas of the room.

A large looking living room with few decorations
  • Use a horizontal bookshelf for your decorations. It’ll take up less space than a tall vertical one.
  • Don’t let a piece of furniture obscure your view. Empty space promotes a feeling of distance.
  • Dark thick curtains don’t help to create a bright space. Leave windows uncovered or use curtains using a light fabric.
  • Don’t collect unnecessary items. To make your living room look bigger, it’s better to have a little than a lot.
  • However you do it, try to keep everything in its place. Disorder will make the room close in and you’ll feel like everything is on top of you.
  • Try and work out which space if best kept empty or should just contain one item. This can be the “visual relief area.”
  • We don’t recommend you use large paintings or artwork as they take a lot of space.
  • Try to go for a minimalist style or something similar. The idea is to be practical, elegant, and space-conscious.

All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.


  • Aragonés, Juan Ignacio, and Carlos Rodríguez. “Percepción del self a través de la decoración de la vivienda.” Medio ambiente y comportamiento humano 6.1 (2005): 89-100.
  • Margalef, José Bayo. Percepción, desarrollo cognitivo y artes visuales. Vol. 5. Anthropos Editorial, 1987.
  • Ramírez, Milagro Azacón. “200 Trucos en decoración, almacenaje.” DeSigno: diseño integral, donde convergen arte, ciencia y tecnología 1: 108-111.

This text is provided for informational purposes only and does not replace consultation with a professional. If in doubt, consult your specialist.