5 Ways to Maximize a Small Living Room

Many beautiful things came out of the ’90s: our living room was not one of them. One of the reasons I loved our house when we toured it back in 2018 was its renovation potential (for my husband, the man-cave potential). Rather than doing it all right away, we lived in the space for a while, saving our pennies and taking note of how it was and wasn’t working for us.

In this post, I will share how we maximized our living room renovation budget to get the most bang for our buck. It wasn’t just about “making things pretty”—we wanted durable materials that could stand up to the wear and tear of two kids and a dog.

This may seem obvious, but dark walls and floors will make your room feel like a cave. The same goes for heavy window treatments. The very first thing I did was remove our dated, dusty blinds and replace them with custom plantation shutters. We only needed coverage on the lower half of our windows where there was a direct line of sight from our neighbors’ garage. The other windows got a custom curtain treatment (thanks, Mom!), giving us the freedom to keep them unobstructed 99-percent of the time.

Next, I painted the walls a bright, neutral color. Chantilly Lace is a creamy white that picks up the tones around it and works well in any room regardless of sunlight direction. As for the flooring, we opted for Home Depot’s Lifeproof luxury vinyl plank in a light pine color (Boulder Pass Hickory). LVP is waterproof and scratch-resistant, making it the perfect choice for a main-level living space. We added a light, neutral area rug to the flooring to bring back a bit of the comfort associated with carpeting.

For our layout, it made sense to mount it. Because our living room opens to our kitchen and eating area, we only have three walls to work with. One is entirely made of windows and the other is a fireplace. Initially the third wall was occupied by an ugly entertainment unit; we were missing a huge opportunity for precious square footage by having the TV there!

To remedy this problem, we had an electrician install an electrical outlet and ethernet cable above our fireplace. We upgraded to a 65" TV and placed it on a fully rotating mount to eliminate concerns of neck strain.

We had a plumber move the gas line next to our fireplace so that I could rebuild the surround three inches wider on either side.

Now the third wall houses a chaise lounge and floor lamp with overflow space for a Christmas tree when needed. I installed wallpaper above the chair rail to cover up the drywall damage left behind by the old TV unit.

My pregnant sister came over one day and decided to pull apart one of the sectional pieces. (I helped.) It was like a lightbulb going off in my brain. I played around with the layout in Sketchup to see what would make sense. There are many free interior-design apps that will allow you to plug in the dimensions of your room. Use them to your advantage!

Our nine-foot ceilings feel even taller thanks to the coffered ceiling. The baseboards were upgraded to one-by-eight medium-density fiberboard from their three-inch builder-grade predecessors. Every piece of trim was painted the same shade, Cameo White, to make the room feel cohesive. Rather than feeling oppressive, all the custom woodwork makes the room feel taller and wider.

When it comes to trim, more is more—NOT less.

As for storage, I added cute green bins under the coffee table for kids’ toys. The rest of their toys have been permanently relocated to a playroom area next to the kitchen. I added a canvas basket next to the fireplace for extra blankets.

Whenever possible, try to designate “zones” in your living area. Your furniture and design elements should serve a specific purpose. Not only did we gain additional seating where the entertainment center used to be, but we added a bar-height console table and upholstered chairs behind the couch.

One might think adding furniture would make the space feel more cramped, but again it seems to have accomplished the opposite effect by providing moments of rest and conversation.

If you struggle with designing and renovating an open-concept space like we did, start with the basics. Don’t be afraid to keep it simple—a renovation is stressful enough! Refine your list of “must-haves” to keep the project on track. We are extremely happy with our new living room and grateful to The Home Depot for making it possible by selecting our project as an Orange Tank winner at Haven Conference.

For more specifics on the projects completed during this renovation head on over to Top Shelf DIY!