How to Make the Most of a Small Living Room
If you live in a small home or apartment, multi-functional furniture can really help stretch your living space. Our inexpensive living room is a hodgepodge of thrifted items, Facebook Marketplace finds, and odds & ends from family members; but we still managed to incorporate a pull-out bed (traded), lift-top coffee table (DIY’d), and hidden clothes line (DIY’d) to maximize the use of our space! Read on for some budget-friendly ideas on how to get the most out of your small living room.
Seating for (at least) Four
Ideally you want comfortable seating for six, but smaller living rooms often max out at four. In addition to a couch for lounging, add an accent chair for extra seating and a pop of colour / pattern! You can often find great chairs for a steal on sites like Facebook Marketplace, or you can check stores like HomeSense and IKEA for affordable options.
By the way, another good reason to invest in decent desk chairs is so you can roll them over for extra seating when needed! #apartmentlife
TIP: Grounding your living room with a large area rug makes it feel more complete and inviting. The front half of your furniture should sit on top of the rug, so look for a 6’x9’ or 7’x9’. I love overstock.ca, wayfair.ca, liquidation stores and HomeSense for affordable rugs!
The cream chair completes our seating area and helps balance out the dark & heavy couch. It’s not the RIGHT colour cream — see how the yellow undertone of the chair doesn’t coordinate with the pink undertones of everything else? Makes me twitch a little, but hey, it was only $40 on Marketplace so I can’t complain (…too much 😉).
Since our work area borders the living area, we can easily roll our desk chairs over for extra seating when needed.
Pull-Out Couch
Since a 2bd apartment was #outtathebudget, we have a sleeper sectional to accommodate guests. (It’s actually the same couch that used to be in Jake’s parents’ sleeping shed!)
I TRULY fear a crumby, springy hide-a-bed and much prefer a pull-out version. It’s predictably uncomfortable, but when topped with a foam and some proper bedding you can manage a decent sleep! The topper, pillows, and bedding all fit inside the storage chaise, making this sleeper sofa perfect for small apartments.
Pull-out sleeper sofas are a great guest bed solution for small homes. Add a foam topper to make it more comfortable!
Lift-Top Coffee Table
Now for the REAL MVP… our DIY lift-top coffee table! In stereotypical North American fashion, Jake and I eat dinner in front of Netflix every night, and it’s BASICALLY the best part of our day — especially since rigging up this lil beauty. No more crouching over a 17” table and/or constantly spilling on ourselves (well, I’ve stopped spilling, but Jake’s a diehard 😉).
We originally bought a table on Amazon but it didn’t raise up NEARLY high enough. Instead we bought these awesome lift-top hinges and a hobby board, then attached them to our existing table. I painted the board with high-gloss latex paint to keep things wipeable, in a cream with a pink undertone to coordinate with the room (Cascade Beige by Behr). We love it and use it every day — highly recommended for all you other delinquent meal-time TV watchers!
This DIY lift-top coffee table makes for the best TV dinners and casual work sessions!
NOTE: We could have used countertop contact paper to wrap the hobby board, but it doesn’t hold up well over edges and corners so I usually opt for paint.
TIP: Behr paints are PARTICULARLY handy because you can order super small 234ml sample pots online in ANY gloss level, which is an unusual and useful feature!
Hidden(ish) Clothes Line
After enjoying in-suite laundry in our old apartment, we simply could not put that genie back in the bottle. Jake insisted on getting a portable washer — I was skeptical at first, but it works like a charm! It only takes small loads and doesn’t have a drying function, but I’ll definitely take that over hauling laundry up and down stairs. We installed a long, four-line clothesline made from shelving brackets and basic rope. We also put it up and hang a curtain from it when guests are here to create privacy between the sleeping areas.
NOTE: You can buy retractable clotheslines, but they often only come with one line of thin wire which is not ideal IMO!
And a Few More Handy Features…
Two-Tier SideTable
My mom picked up this vintage, two-tier side table from a thrift store and it’s a great little home for our printer and router. It also hides the electrical hub beside the couch, created using these handy wall-mount power bars. A tissue box organizer fits perfectly underneath the top tier where we stash the lighting remotes and essential oils.
IKEA Rodeby Armrest Tray
Since there’s no room for an end table on this side of the couch, this little armrest tray was the perfect solution! If your couch doesn’t have the requisite wide, flat arms, a clamp-on tray might do the trick.
Closed TV Console
This TV console used to be open as NO TV console should be! They’re usually a mess of cords, books, games, and controllers, so closed storage is best. A couple of IKEA Rodeby armrest trays and gold handles totally transformed this unit.
Decor Items You Love
I’m generally not a fan of overpriced decor, but I love how these candle holders cast light onto the table. Pillows, blankets, thoughtful lighting, and other decor touches are what make your space feel like home.
And that covers the highlights! I hope this post gives you some ideas about how to maximize and optimize your little living room on a budget.
Shop the Room
Most of the furniture and decor is second hand, but here are a few items we purchased new!
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