Furniture Ideas for a Small Living Room

A small living room does not mean that you cannot have a nice-looking living room.  The secret is in knowing what furniture to have.   

Having furniture that is visually light in weight is one of the best ways to make a small living room look bigger.   This means that furniture is light and airy.  Choose furniture that has legs instead of the boxed type. 

Furniture with legs permits you to have visible space making the room to look bigger that it is.  You can have a glass coffee table top or accent chairs to establish a look of more space.  Select furniture that allows light to pass through the room as much as possible.

Colors also have a big effect on how small or big the room looks.  It can even make a small room look bigger while making a big room look smaller.  To give a breezy feel to a small room, choose pastel colors or neutral palettes of beige and taupe.  You can similarly use lighter colors to make things appear bigger.   

Do not choose stripe, big prints and plaids for upholstery but instead have the textured ones.  With textured upholstery, you get to have the look of a design without the room looking overcrowded.

Use the vertical space in your small living room to an advantage.  Opt to have a taller and narrower bookshelf. 

Have tall floor lamps to direct the eyes upward. 

When you shop for furniture, select those whose size are suitable in your space.  It should always be a rule of thumb to get the dimension of your space.  What seems to be a small piece may not be the same once you bring it home.  Always choose the sofa first followed by the other pieces.

Select your accessories cautiously.  You do not need to have a lot of display items in a small room.  This will only create clutter.   Display only a few striking pieces than complements the other décor.   

Re-furbishing Your Man's Living Room

If you plan to redesign your man’s living room, you had better be equipped with the right information. What I mean by right information is you need to know him well like choice of color and the style that he wanted. Your choice may not be agreeable to him. It may be that he wants his living room that way.



Therefore, before you start on this project, it is better to let him know about it. Then discuss how he wanted this room to look like. It will also be nice if you can persuade him to join in refurbishing his living room. Just like you, your man wants his living room to be inviting and relaxing. However, it must have a manly yet caring appeal.



To get you started with decorating his room, here are some steps to make your task easier.



Let us start with the walls. Men would normally choose dark colors. Try to suggest neutral colors for the walls. If he still prefers dark shades, then mix dark and light shades of the said hue. The floors must blend well with the walls. They can adopt the same color but select the tone. Do not combine dark-colored walls and floors. Mix the dark, medium and light tones of his chosen color.



Accentuate the wall colors with well-designed and brawny furniture. Leather will suit any man. Black, brown, tan, beige, chocolate brown are color furniture that appeals to men.



Add throw pillows that are of vibrant colors but not too bright. Brown complements teal or green. Check the color chart to make sure you are blending the hues correctly.



Lights are important fixtures as it plays an important role in the setting of the room. You can use dug lights instead of the usual fluorescent lamps. Use the proper bulb though to illuminate the whole room. Make use of floor lamps and table lamps for reading. Wall sconces are good to spotlight works of art.



Since I mentioned art, have some art pieces such as sculpture or paintings. If he is not an arty person, then display photographs on the wall. Photos that display his achievements in his chosen sports will surely elate him as well as pictures of his work triumphs.



Men love watching movies, sports, music. Provide a good entertainment center where he can have his gadgets organized in one place. Choose one with drawers and shelves. This way, he can also put his books and magazine on one shelf while DVDs, CDs, etc. in the other.



Men do not want a living room that is frilly or filled with too much decoration. Practical is how they want it to be. If you want to add some decorations, make sure that they are essential to have in the room and that it will not look like a big clutter.



Try putting blinds instead of curtains and drapes for a change. Blend them with the theme and furniture of the living room.



Once your man sees the changes you have started, he will be more than willing to give his ideas to fit what he likes for his living room. Again, the key is to maintain the manliness of his room and giving the impression of his compassionate nature.

Safeguarding your Living Room – Making it Safe for your Children to Play Around

The living room also doubles as a playroom for your children. Not every family can afford to have a playroom; so with no specific room for playing kids have to stay in the living room.
With kids around, it is an accepted fact that they will create a lot of mess and at times will have tiny accidents. The common accidents that happen when children are playing are falls, slips, trips, blisters, poisoning as well as drowning especially those belonging to the below 6 years old bracket. These can be caused by the furniture and the children’s toys left on the floor or spills on the floor. Hence, it is a must that the living room is kept safe for them.

To assure and lessen accidents, try the following tips to make your living room a safe place for your children to play in:

• Designate a particular area in the living room as their playroom. Make him understood that he cannot go out of that perimeter when playing.



• Inculcate in him cleanliness and organization. Provide him with cabinets and shelves so he can sort his playthings and arranged them accordingly.



• Assign a section of that playroom for projects that he has to continue. For example, an unfinished artwork, puzzle or craft.

• Educate him to pick up bits and pieces of toys, puzzles, art items that have fallen off the floor. A child must learn how to make his own space clean and the earlier you teach him, the better. You can motivate him by giving small prizes for a task completed. It can also be a fun and learning activity. Let your child pick pieces by color or by groups, say two items first then move on to the next.



• Ensure that the toys you are buying are appropriate for your child’s age. Likewise, remember not to give tiny stuff to your toddlers as these can choke them.

• Have an area rug in the designated area. This will prevent your kid from banging his head or knees directly on the floor.



• Always make sure that the furniture in the area will not cause any damage to your child. A glass coffee table is a no-no in the kid’s playroom space.

Your child can still enjoy playing in the living room and you also will not worry of any danger once you follow the above tips. Children will always be children and naturally playing is an activity they love.