Dear Danica, How Should I Style My Tiny & Narrow Living Room?

I thrive on small spaces. Chris and I have said it time and time again – we’d much rather have a quaint and charming home than a giant house. A large room can easily lack what a small space inherently has – the cozy factor.

As for how I’d style the room, I have a few ideas.

STARTING WITH THE WOOD WALLS
I don’t dislike the wood and I’m not against keeping them. In fact, the design I came up with compliments the wood exactly as it is. But you could also look into restaining them so they’re not quite as orange. If you want a rustic vibe, keeping the wood would be the route to go. However, if you’re not a fan of the wood, I would paint it the same color as your white walls. This will simplify the space visually and make it brighter, but you still have that coveted wood texture and dimension.

The photo above gives me a better idea of the available space so I came up with a game plan –

With the size of your living room, we need to be super intentional about the furniture that goes in. Every piece has to be functional.

SOFA
Let’s start with your sofa. Love the color, love the style, but it is quite large for the space. Without downgrading in size, consider a sofa with less bulky cushions, arm rests, and softer corners. A couch with attached cushions and a curved silhouette, even if it’s the same size as your current sofa, will appear lighter/smaller in the space. I also noticed that the corner of your wall is rounded so mirroring that shape in your sofa would be fitting.

This will be your statement piece, your showstopper. So I’d have fun with the fabric color and if you save a little elsewhere, I’d splurge on the sofa.

BOOKSHELF
In the Dear Danica submission, you included inspiration photos with lower cabinets and bookshelves. While I don’t think you have the space for cabinets, I do think you have the space for a beautiful wood bookshelf! I’d love to see books in the shelf, but this could also double as storage for the un-pretty things like remotes, cable box, etc.

The one layout change I would make to your living room is where the TV goes. I would put this bookshelf in the corner where the TV currently is as to not be a visual block of the room.

MEDIA CONSOLE
With all the wood in the room, I’d introduce a new material – acrylic. When you have such a small space, it can easily feel cluttered. The benefit of acrylic furniture is that it doesn’t add visual clutter. I would place this next to the bookshelf with the TV mounted above it.

OTTOMANS
Because you don’t have space for a coffee table, a pair of ottomans tucked under the media console can doubles as a foot rest on movie nights. The ribbed, dusty rose fabric compliments the green sofa so well.

RUG
My design plan needs a little pattern, and this rug with rusty reds and sage green ties the whole room together.

SIDE TABLE
The last thing I’d add is a metal side table tucked next to the sofa. Having a place to set your coffee in the morning is important. And with the slender candlestick base, it doesn’t feel bulky in the room.

As for the layout, I’d make just a few adjustments (as shown below). Your little rustic modern living room is so charming and I hope this plan gives you a direction moving forward!