Decorating A Small Living Room Ideas

Every item on this page was curated by an ELLE Decor editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy.

30 Cozy Living Rooms with Bold Design Choices

Small spaces that make a big impact.

small living room ideas

William Abranowicz

If your living room is cramped, there's still no reason to sacrifice style. With a focus on creativity and well-curated furnishings, you can design a space that truly speaks to your design aesthetic. Curious about how to arrange a high-design small living room? See how designers used everything from brilliant layouts and bold colors to double-duty furniture and stylish accessories to craft small living rooms that are big on style.

1 of 30

Scandinavian-Inspired Living Room

Luxury hotels and modern Scandinavian style informed the aesthetic of Swedish it-girl Babba C. Rivera's Brooklyn Heights living room. "I love the mid-century era—a lot of my furniture is mid-century modern—which I balance with contemporary touches so it's not too vintage looking," Rivera says.

2 of 30

Brooklyn Living Room

A living room in a Brooklyn triplex designed by architects Amale Andraos and Dan Wood of WORKac proves that you can still show off your style in a small space. Along with bold blue sofas by Caravane, the space includes a custom cocktail table, and an ottoman from the Vernaison flea market in Paris. Speakers by Audio Physic, a rug from ABC Carpet & Home, and a custom blackened-steel fireplace by CF + D complete the look.

3 of 30

Luxe Miami Living Room

When supermodel Joan Smalls is not traveling around the world, she's unwinding in her luxe Miami aerie. The living room features a sofa and pillows, Milo Baughman armchair, cocktail table, and rug that are all from RH, Restoration Hardware. Smalls also chose a 1950s Vicke Lindstrand vase from Il Gufo Antiques & Design.

4 of 30

Lake House Living Room

Wicker disks serve as a focal point in designer Sabrina Albanese's living room. In addition to a custom sofa by Robert Allen with cushions in a Schumacher fabric, the rug is Miles Redd for Patterson Flynn Martin.

5 of 30

Brooklyn Brownstone Living Room

A Fedele Papagni chandelier from Donzella, which hangs above a custom Vladimir Kagan sofa, completes this living room design by decorator Elizabeth Roberts. Chartreuse-colored curtains in an Elitis's Poeme fabric, and artworks by Olafur Eliasson and Kehinde Wiley enhance the design scheme.

6 of 30

Layered Living Room

In a Marfa, Texas, home, a living room with a layered aesthetic includes a Poul Henningsen light fixture, a Navajo rug, and a cabinet by Robert "Mouseman" Thompson that holds an Ansel Adams photograph. The walls are painted in Benjamin Moore's Cloud White.

7 of 30

Cozy Living Room

The love seat in the living room of a cozy Montana guesthouse is by Cisco Home. The cabinet is 19th-century Moorish and the cocktail table is a custom design. Oly footstools, an antique crystal chandelier, and a wallcovering from Sloan Miyasato complete the space. A buffalo-hide rug is layered on top of a Mark Nelson Designs carpet.

8 of 30

Antique-Filled Living Room

Antique pieces from the 20s, 30s, and 50s, including Dorothy Draper chairs, are one of the main highlights of the living room in the Beverly Hills home of Too Faced Founders Jerrod Blandino and Jeremy Johnson. The Slim Aarons photo hanging in the kitchen are juxtaposed against modern touches like Kate Spade sconces along the stairs and a brass-and-marble dining table designed by Jerrod himself.

9 of 30

Inviting Living Room

In a Netherlands living room, off-white sofas pop against a dark background, adding to its cozy, romantic vibe.

10 of 30

Neutral Living Room

In the living room of Kate and Rem Reynolds's townhouse in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, the sofa from ABC Carpet & Home is upholstered in a fabric by Soraya Shah for Studio Four NYC, the design showroom Kate Reynolds co-owns. The room is outfitted with a Timothy Oulton chaise, a Danish cocktail table, an Akari pendant light by Noguchi, shades of a Rebecca Atwood fabric, and a vintage Moroccan rug. The walls are painted in Benjamin Moore's Huntington White and the trim in Iron Mountain, the photograph is by Claire Nitze, and the cameo portrait is by Doug Meyer.

11 of 30

Romantic Parlor Living Room

In the sitting area of a Parisian apartment, the sofa is upholstered in a cotton damask, the armchair is covered in a silk velvet and the slipper chair is based on a Mongiardino design; the desk is Louis XV, the chandelier is Louis XIV and the 19th-century rug is Persian.

12 of 30

Whimsical Living Room

In the living room of fashion designer Erin Beatty and filmmaker Lex Sidon's West Village duplex, which was designed by Lara Apponyi and Michael Woodcock of Work + Sea, the leather sofa is by Michael Felix, the love seat is by Pinch, and the Marcel Breuer chairs are from Knoll; the marble cocktail table is a custom design, the stool by Reinaldo Sanguino is from the Future Perfect, the floor lamp is by Noir, the rug is by Aelfie, and the paintings are by Jimmy Lee Sudduth, left, and Willie Jinks.

13 of 30

Open-Air Living Room

At the top of the tower of a Florence manor, with 360-degree views of the Apennine Mountains, a living room contains a vintage sofa and custom daybeds covered in fabrics by C&C Milano. The motorized shades are bamboo, and the cocktail and side tables are Miani designs.

15 of 30

Intimate Living Room

In designer Paul Mathieu's Udaipur townhouse, the sitting room's settee and side table are both by the designer; the shutters are rosewood.

16 of 30

Glitzy And Glam Living Room

17 of 30

Unconventional Living Room

In the smaller living area of a São Paulo home, the sofa was found at a local auction, the Jean Prouvé chair is by Vitra, the hexagonal table and Berber rug are Moroccan, and the walls are painted in a custom color.

18 of 30

Deep Blue Living Room

In the living room of Michael Carey's home in Claverack, New York, a George Smith sofa and a corner chair purchased in London are upholstered in an Osborne & Little linen, the Georgian leather library chair and English mahogany coaching table are from Lee Stanton Antiques, the Craftsman armoire is a family heirloom, and the light fixture is by Restoration Hardware. The kilim is from West Elm, and the French faux-bois table and vintage subway signs were found in nearby Hudson.

19 of 30

Playful Living Room

In a vacation home on Martha's Vineyard, the family room's sectional sofa by Restoration Hardware is upholstered in a Perennials fabric, the leather oval chair is by Garza Marfa, the Harry Bertoia chairs are by Knoll, and the cocktail table by Pinch is from the Future Perfect; the lamp is by Artemide, the rug is an antique Beni Ourain, the carved giraffe is by New Mexican folk artist Felipe Benito Archuleta, and the framed sea urchin artwork is from Natural Curiosities

20 of 30

Minimalist Living Room

In the living room of Jeffrey Kalinsky's West Village townhouse, which was designed by DD Allen of Pierce Allen, the leather sofas are by Annabelle Selldorf, and the 1959 Helge Vestergaard Jensen chairs from Wyeth are upholstered in a Missoni fabric; the cabinetry is custom, the circa-1970 floor lamp is by Stilnovo, and the rug is cashmere.

21 of 30

Vivid, Patterned Living Room

In an eclectic NYC home, the 1940s club chair is covered in a chintz from the same decade, the sofa is by Maison Jansen, and the wallpaper is by Doug & Gene Meyer; the circular rug is by Niba Collections, the carpet is by Holland & Sherry, the cocktail tables are by Fredrikson Stallard, and the central artwork is an Indian sign painting.

22 of 30

Bright Living Room

The sofa in the den of this New York apartment is from DDC, the Hans Wegner lounge chair is from Wyeth, and the vintage cocktail table is by Milo Baughman; the painting is by Park Ito and the rug is an early-20th-century Turkish kilim.

23 of 30

Maximalist Living Room

In the library of a Connecticut cottage, the sofa by Restoration Hardware is covered in a Perennials fabric, the vintage club chairs, upholstered in a Great Plains linen, are from Duane, the cocktail table is Chinese, the circa-1960 chair is by Milo Baughman, and the stool came from the former Manhattan nightclub Moomba; the 18th-century English portrait is a family heirloom, the zebra skin is antique, the blinds are by Hunter Douglas, and the walls are painted in Dragon's Breath by Benjamin Moore.

24 of 30

Midcentury-Inspired Living Room

In the West Village pied-à-terre of Los Angeles–based designers Waldo Fernandez and Tommy Clements, the daybed is by Rick Owens, armchairs by Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann are upholstered in an alpaca by Perrine Rousseau, and the side chairs are by Jean Prouvé; the Venetian mirror once belonged to Helena Rubinstein, the 1950s light fixture is by Alberto Giacometti, the sculpture is Cambodian, and the dhurrie and striped kilim are from Lawrence of La Brea.

25 of 30

Accent Wall Living Room

In a colorful Houston home, the walls are painted in Fine Paints of Europe's #WC-48, and the club chairs are covered in a Brunschwig & Fils print.

26 of 30

Cushioned Corner Living Room

In a modern Pacific Palisades home, the custom sectional is upholstered in a Pindler fabric, the ottomans are covered in a Dualoy leather, and the shades are of a Rogers & Goffigon fabric.

27 of 30

Narrow Living Room

A gouache by McIntosh and a custom-made banquette outfit the sitting area of this Moroccan riad; the cushions's cotton-canvas fabric was found in a souk, as was the painted side table; the pendant and sconces are by maisonLAB, the walls are painted in Farrow & Ball's Lamp Room Gray, and black-painted cement tiles line the floor.

28 of 30

Cozy Shiplap Living Room

In a California family home, the living room's custom-made daybed by Charles H. Beckley has a cushion covered in a Twill Textiles stripe, the 19th-century armchair, in a Holland & Sherry tweed, is from Alexander von Westenholz, and the floor is painted in Farrow & Ball's Pavilion Gray.

29 of 30

Shades Of Orange Living Room

The custom-made daybed and Art Deco armchair in the sitting room of this Park Avenue apartment are covered in a Pierre Frey fabric, the 1960s Italian chandelier is from John Salibello, and the carpet is by Stark; the photograph is by Tim Davis, and the print is by Damien Hirst.

30 of 30

Light-Flooded Living Room

In a San Francisco townhouse, the family room's 18th-century armoire and midcentury wing chairs are Italian, the sofa is covered in a Great Plains linen, and the side table is Moroccan; the walls and ceiling are paneled in English oak, and the rug is from Stark.

Monique Valeris Senior Home Editor, Good Housekeeping Monique Valeris is the senior home editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers decorating ideas, home tours, gift guides and more.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io