Just because you live in an apartment doesn’t mean you can’t embrace popular decor trends. You just have to get more creative in how you use them. You also don’t want to copy a picture in a magazine and end up with an apartment that doesn’t feel like your home.
These small apartment living room ideas will inspire you to decorate your apartment living room. Consider the size of your living room and how you plan to use the space. Also, factor in your personal sense of style and budget. Then combine different elements to create a space that reflects who you are.
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Table of Contents
1. Simplicity Meets Style in Apartment Living Room Ideas
We all face the same problem. Over time, we collect items, and they eventually begin to fill our homes. It’s especially problematic when you live in an apartment and have limited storage space. Instead, take a simpler approach. Walk through your living room and get rid of the clutter. Eliminate the bulk of the decor that’s making the living room feel overstuffed and crowded.
Embrace small apartment ideas where less is more. Have nothing on the wall. If you want to hang something, choose one item like a single painting, a lone floating shelf, a mirror, or a singular candle holder. By eliminating the clutter, you’re letting the room breathe, and by extension, you’ll feel less claustrophobic in the space.
2. Creating a Cozy Oasis
Turn the limited square footage and low ceiling of your tiny apartment into an asset. Your small living room is the perfect space to turn into a cozy living room design equivalent to a warm hug. Say no to an all-white living room and choose warm colors or deep hues. Dark blue, burgundy, or charcoal grey are all great paint colors.
A plush sofa gives you a great place to sink into at the end of the day. Consider placing several decorative pillows and a throw blanket to complete the look. Skip the tightly woven rugs and choose a thicker rug with a high pile that you can sink your toes into.
Most people live in a studio for their first apartment. This singular space combines the kitchen, bedroom, living room, and dining area into one. A Murphy bed could be handy because you can fold your “bedroom” out of the living space during the day. A room divider is also useful for separating the space with your dining table from the sitting area. Another option is a loft bed that raises your sleeping area so you can create a living space underneath it.
3. Family-Friendly Living Room Designs
When decorating a living room for a family home, it needs to be a livable space. Think about your family lifestyle and how you plan to use the space in your apartment. It’s most likely where you’ll be entertaining so you’re going to need plenty of seating.
Choose furniture made out of fabrics that are easy to clean. Then look for space-saving furniture. You could have an ottoman that holds several floor poufs. That way, you can tuck them away when not needed or spread them out on the floor when you have guests. Another option is committing to making the space a lounge area. Choose an oversized couch with plenty of sitting area for several people to pile on.
4. Embracing Modernity
Modern living rooms in apartments aren’t afraid of empty space. They balance the room and create a comfortable but not-too-cozy apartment. Look for unique lighting fixtures that use LED lights to give your apartment a modern technological feel. You’ll be able to create your own custom lighting scheme in your apartment. You can play with color temperatures to provide more attractive light than the standard overhead fixtures that come in most apartments.
Another easy way to modernize your apartment is by creating an accent wall using modern materials. You could create a custom pattern with stickers or cover the whole wall with removable wallpaper. There are full murals or scenic designs that realistically mimic wood, brick, and stone. There are other murals that create a beach or forest scene.
5. Space-Saving Solutions
You have limited floor space to work with when you have a small living room. That means you need to get creative with how you decorate. Instead of a traditional couch, you could place a loveseat or two accent chairs. There are even some vintage sofas that are smaller than modern designs. They sit on legs and create the illusion of more room in a small space.
Skip the large and heavy-feeling entertainment center or bookshelf. Try hanging your TV on the wall and mounting floating shelves to hold your books or other decorative items. These ideas will reduce the need for floor space while also utilizing the vertical space in the room.
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6. Adding Charm
Everyone’s definition of cute is different. Just like not everyone finds the same people attractive, not everyone will think the same living room is adorable. So while you can look at pictures to get inspired, you’ll need to stick with your gut when creating your cute living room. You know your tastes and sense of style the best, so the cutest living room for you is one that embodies your personality.
You could have a simple and masculine design of greys with gold accents. Consider creating a sugary sweet confection of pastels and florals. You might also design an artistic and bohemian vibe with vibrant colors and plenty of greenery.
When decorating your space, keep the basics in mind. You want to balance the room with furniture scaled for the space. Leave enough room to be able to navigate through the room. Create the same level of visual weight on either side of the couch. Choose a focal point and color scheme for the room and center your decorating efforts around them.
7. Contemporary Elegance in Apartments
You’ll find that contemporary decor ideas work perfectly in an apartment space. They embrace a black-and-white or neutral color scheme. This palette keeps the living room feeling light and bright, which also helps it feel bigger. Try to use black or your chosen dark color as the grounding color in the room.
Once you have the living room furniture and basic pieces in your living room, you can add punches of brighter accent colors. Place some royal blue, magenta, or canary yellow throw pillows on the couch. You might also consider using a bold color for the window treatment.
Skip the vintage pieces and stick with modern furniture that has a simple design and clean lines. Your furniture shouldn’t have a ton of detail. Look for furniture with a Scandinavian feel to put yourself on the right track.
8. Stylish Brown Tones
The color brown tends to get overlooked all too often when talking about living room decorating ideas. It’s the color that gets taken for granted as a neutral color for furniture pieces. But you could use it as one of the primary colors in your color palette.
You could have a dark chocolate brown couch, leather accent chairs, or a patterned area rug. Darker browns will give your living room a sense of warmth and sophistication. You can then pair this with darker woods for the coffee table, floor lamp, or mantel. You could mount a mantel on the wall and create a faux fireplace for a cozy vibe.
If you go with an all-dark color scheme, your living room can look too gloomy. You can either embrace the moodiness or add additional lighting to brighten the small room up. Another option is to pair your dark brown with lighter colors to create a brighter space that’s also grounded.
9. Designing on a Budget
You don’t need to spend a lot of money to decorate your apartment living room. You could buy a set of frames and hang pictures of your family, friends, pets, or adventures to create a gallery wall. If you’re creative, you could paint your own decor, weave unique wall hangings, or sew original accent pillows.
Another budget living room decorating approach is the strategic use of plants. If you’re going for a more bohemian, artistic, or even farmhouse appeal, then plants are an affordable decorating idea. Skip the large nurseries and hardware stores, though. Look for local places or private sellers who offer discounts. Buy plants with light requirements that your apartment can meet. Some need lots of direct sunlight, while others can happily survive with very little light.
10. Contemporary Flair
If you live in a classic high-ceiling flat, then you’ll want to embrace the traditional architectural structure of your apartment. Go for a traditional decor design with ceiling-to-floor drapes, a large sofa, a coffee table, and an area rug.
With taller ceilings, you can use darker colors and create a sophisticated and slightly moody living room. This works well if you want to create a more masculine feel. Accent the darker colors with modern textures and materials. You could have a coffee table that uses concrete for the base or a bookshelf made from glass and metal pipe.
11. Urban Chic
You don’t have to live in a million-dollar apartment to have a living room that feels like a million bucks. Say goodbye to the traditional living room design trends and get bold with your decor choices. Mimic the look of upscale apartments by using double-sided tape to attach crown molding and ceiling trim temporarily. You can create a central design on the ceiling around your light fixture.
Hang an oversized piece of art or sculpture on the wall. It could be something made of metal and abstract or just something that you love. While the rich might hang an entire motorcycle from the ceiling, you could mount small, uniquely painted gas tanks or handlebars on your wall.
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Apartment Living Room FAQs
How can I decorate my new apartment?
Start the decorating process by hanging window treatments. They’ll provide privacy and make the space feel more like a home. Then access the lighting and add the fixtures necessary to create the ideal mood you’re going for. Finally, choose furniture that fits the space.
How can I decorate my apartment without damaging it?
You could apply a faux or temporary wallpaper that you can remove when you move out. If the wallpaper is too much, some decals can decorate the wall without completely covering it. You can use adhesive strips or hooks to hang pictures or fabric on the wall.
How can I decorate without walls?
Some apartments have an open floor plan, which makes the space feel bigger. However, it limits the number of walls you have to decorate. Try placing an easel in the corner to display your favorite art.
