Between entertaining and houseguests, many of us wish we had more living room space, dining room space, or both during the holiday season. There just never seems to be enough space!
But not all is lost; there are ways to your living or dining space feel larger — without undertaking and hardy construction! Check them out!
Maximizing Living Room Space
There are two ways to maximize your living room space. One is to manipulate your furniture and fixtures to increase physical spaciousness. The other is to undertake decorating tricks to provide a feeling and appearance of spaciousness. But we’ll get more in detail as we go along!
1. Remove Unnecessary Furniture
This is very basic, but where every effort to maximize living space should begin. Take a critical look at your living room and consider what isn’t needed for the holidays. For example, you may have a coffee table that gets bumped into constantly during parties or an overstuffed recliner that takes up too much space, given that it seats only one person. If you have any of these, be move them elsewhere for the duration, like the garage!
2. Opt For Scaled-Down Furniture And Accessories
Having removed furniture that’s “in the way,” it’s time to scale down the remaining furnishings to the extent possible. This may involve switching out select items with similar pieces from other rooms, renting a few items for the season, or even buying some new pieces.
Consider trading large sofas for loveseats, overstuffed chairs for low-profile armchairs and accent chairs, larger cocktail and side tables for thin consoles and ottomans, and bulky table lamps for tall floor lamps. If you’ve thought about moving your tabletop television to the wall above the fireplace, this could be a good time to follow through.
3. Use Your Corners
Rather than letting a corner go unused, consider placing a small L-shaped sectional there or create a sectional of your own with armless, upholstered accent chairs. Another good use for corners is a V-shaped bookshelf or curio cabinet to add storage space and interest to an otherwise non-functional area of your living room.
4. Move Furniture Out From The Walls
Rather than positioning larger furniture against the walls and filling up the middle of the room with other stuff, float the furniture further out into the open space. This is a tried-and-true decorator trick to make a room look and feel more spacious.
5. Add Some Live Plants
Adding plants to your living room adds interest and a feeling of coziness. They help crowded rooms seem less cramped and spacious rooms feel less bare.
6. Make Strategic Use Of Mirrors
Mounting an oversized mirror on a wall can reflect natural light and increase the feeling of spaciousness. Placing two mirrors on opposite walls, directly across from each other, will make a room seem longer or wider.
Maximizing Dining Room Space
If your problem is not that you need more party space, but that you need more sit-down dinner space, many of the living room tips apply equally as well to dining room space. In this case, however, there’s an additional trick that can work best of all: switch your dining room with your living room for the season.
In most homes, the living room is significantly larger than the dining room and is located as close, or nearly as close, to the kitchen. By switching out the furnishings, you can easily get the extra dining room space you need while still maintaining a well-arranged living area in which to greet guests.
Depending on the difference in room sizes, you may need to store some of your living room furniture in order not to avoid having an over-filled living area. And you will want to bring additional dining furniture out of storage, or rent a few pieces, to take full advantage of your “new,” large dining room.
We Can Help
Now that you know more about how to maximize the space you got, it’s time to fill it with furniture that you love! Sure, your current stuff works great, but don’t you want a space that feels more like you? If so, don’t hesitate to upgrade; find your new furniture at Alton Refrigeration & Home Furnishings!
Have questions? Give us a call or stop by! Our experts are happy to help you celebrate your dream home!