Small Living Room Decorating: Finding the Right Sofa that Defines the Space

Decorating the small living room is a tricky task at the best of times. You need to find that perfect balance between form and functionality even while ensuring that the style of your choice is not compromised. The idea is not to fill up the space entirely which allows you to add a selective furniture piece or art work down the line. It gives greater decorating flexibility. But at the heart of every great small living room is a sofa around which rest of the room can be comfortably built. The large sofa offers a focal point and a central piece that generally defines the entire living space its predominant ‘aura’. So how do you find the right sofa for the small living room?

Plush and dashing couch in yellow for the modern Scandinavian living room in gray with small gallery wall [From: Lares Design]

The small sofa is the focal point of the modest living room; even if at times it is the backdrop, accent walls and other features that end up stealing the spotlight. Planning for decorating the small living room starts with the sofa and this makes every other choice much easier. The choice of the sofa though depends on style, available space, dimensions of the room and lighting as well. Step in and discover some of the best small living room sofa ideas even as we share some helpful tips that will help in organizing your own living space –

Do Not Shy Away from Color

Conventional decorating wisdom says that you must stay away from too many bright colors in the small living room and we tend to agree with it. But that does not mean your sofa choices should be limited to neutral colors alone. A bright and colorful sofa is a hot decorating trend that many are embracing across the planet and this summer you can join in as well with one in the small living space. Do not worry about overwhelming the room with too much color. As long as you keep rest of the backdrop as uncluttered and neutral as possible, you can easily work with that brilliant red or bold blue couch.

Tiny open living area of the Scandinavian style home with dark green sofa that seats two [From: Cécile Humbert – Design d’intérieur]

Traditional living room with limited space, bold purple couch and drapes in yellow

Tiny light blue sofa for an ultra-small living area inside small studio apartment

As always, lighting is the key in here and you do not want a space where there is limited natural light along with an even layer of artificial illumination. This takes away from any possible sense of congestion in the small living area and you have a cheerful setting that is not all about just neutral colors.

Bright blue sofa is the perfect choice for the small modern living room in white [From: Mariana Martini]

Large sofa combines a bit green with black to create a sense of uniqueness in the living room [From: Heidi Caillier Design]

Tried and Tested Sectionals

We love the many advantages sectionals offer when used right. A poorly placed sectional with the wrong size can be incredibly inconvenient. Yet one that has the right dimensions can neatly utilize that forgotten corner in the living space and do so without taking away from the overall aesthetics. This frees up precious square footage in the middle of the room and also gives you greater design flexibility. Sectionals that open up into beds when needed are even more useful in the small studio apartments where the same area functions as both the bedroom and the living room!

Large sectional can also help delineate space in the open plan living space [From: Savos Interiors]

Minimal and contemporary sofa in blue for the modern minimal living room [From: School Bus]

Sectional in gray adds to the color scheme of the tiny living room with red accents

Fabulous contemporary living room of Paris home with a large blue sectional [From: Source Architecture]

Large contemporary sectional in white sits perfectly in this beautiful and modest living room [From: Loft Interiors]

Keeping it Simple and Neutral

Not a fan of the bright and dashing sofa? A section does not fit in with your living room dimensions? Not to worry as we have a solution that works in pretty much every small living space everywhere – the small sofa in a neutral color. This one is a life-saver and you need not stick to a particular style or theme with this couch. A sofa in white, gray, beige or similar muted hues can work well with a variety of styles and in rooms of various sizes. When you use a sofa in these colors, inevitable it will be the furniture around it or creative wall art additions that make the biggest visual impact. But this is a safe and sturdy bet that saves you from redecorating all too often.