How to Decorate a Long Living Room Like a Pro
Create more space without the need for a home renovation!
Long, narrow living spaces may seem tricky to decorate, but they actually give you more opportunities to play with decor and furniture layouts compared to traditional square rooms. Learn how to decorate a long living room to create a functional and lounge-worthy space with these comprehensive steps!
1. Use Area Rugs to Create Zones
Area rugs are the go-to method when decorating a long, narrow living room. This is because area rugs can visually break up the length of the space and establish 'zones' for furnishings or activities. Not to mention, they instantly add color and style to your space without taking up any extra room. Use an area rug to separate the conversation pit from the reading nook or the TV-watching spot in a long, narrow living room.
Tip!
Get more large living room ideas with our guide on How to Decorate a Large Living Room With 10 Simple Tips
2. Hang Wall Mirrors to Trick the Eye
Mirrors are a great tool when decorating a long living room. Hang up mirrors on one of the long walls on either side of your living room to instantly create the illusion of a wider, more light-filled space. Avoid placing mirrors on the short (end) walls because they might make your living room appear even more narrow by reflecting how long your space is.
The way you arrange furniture and decor in your living room will determine the visual flow of the space, so it’s important to choose the right layout for a long narrow room. We recommend creating an S-Shape layout, meaning you could technically draw an imaginary 'S' in the empty space in between your furniture or decor. This layout provides ample space to move around while also preventing the room from looking one-sided (and therefore narrower). The living room above creates an 'S' starting from the faux tree, rounding the chaise lounge portion of the sectional, and curving around the circular coffee table toward the accent chair.
Living rooms with two long walls parallel to each other and two short walls at each end of the room create a rectangular shape that can cause the room to appear narrow and claustrophobic. The right wall colors and placement techniques can help visually widen your living room to counteract this effect! Stick to white, cream, beige, soft gray, or pastel colors for the two long walls to help create a more open feel. For the two shorter walls at each end of the room, you can go bold, dark, patterned, or all three. The combination of darker-colored walls at each end of the room and bright, light-colored walls on each side wall makes the room appear wider than it actually is because the dark shades at each end of the room visually press inward while the light shades of the side walls open and brighten.
You can relax and open a narrow living room layout by creating the illusion of a high ceiling or by accentuating an existing high ceiling. Do this by hanging curtains higher than the level of the windows, hanging art prints higher on the walls than traditional eye-level, and by installing a dramatic chandelier or pendant light that rests close to the ceiling. Opt for a chandelier with an adjustable chain length to accommodate your ceiling height. These three techniques help to draw the eyes upward and make the ceiling the focus, instead of the narrow walls on either side.
Wall art has the ability to influence how open or closed the space looks. Stick to a few large pieces of artwork on the longer walls instead of a bunch of small or medium-sized prints to keep the room from looking overcrowded while still adding color and personal style to your living room. If you do decide to create a gallery wall of smaller art prints, we recommend using one of the short walls for this. A gallery wall might make the longer walls appear more narrow or cluttered, when we want them to feel open and airy.
Tip!
Check out our guide on How-To Decorate a Large Wall.
7. Relax the Length of the Room With Curves
Rounded shapes and relaxing curves are a must when furnishing a long living room. Square and rectangular shapes reflect the sharp corners and rigidness of your space, while circular shapes, designs, and patterns help to balance and calm. Choose smooth round coffee tables, throw pillows, wall mirrors,
round area rugs or options with scalloped edges. You can also incorporate a curved sofa or round end tables.
Rely on horizontal stripes to visually widen the room without the need for a home renovation. Start with a simple striped area rug and make sure that the stripe pattern is parallel to the short (end) walls and perpendicular to the long walls. The same goes for other stripe patterns in your living room. Stretch faux wood beams from one long wall to the other to rest parallel with the end walls and to create a more subtle stripe pattern, or apply horizontal stripe wallpaper to the end walls to help make them appear wider.
Appropriate lighting creates a warm ambience in long living rooms to make them feel more cozy and approachable. Depending on the length of the living room, you may need more than one ceiling fixture to provide adequate overhead light. We suggest designating a table lamp or floor lamp for each corner of the room for accent lighting. You may need to add a couple more lamps in the middle section of the room if you notice any dark spots. Wall sconces are a great alternative if you want to save table or floor space.
Keep narrow living rooms from becoming cluttered with decorative storage methods. Drum-style coffee tables or end tables with hidden storage serve as the perfect tool for adding round shapes to the room while keeping clutter at bay. You can't go wrong with woven decorative baskets to add cozy texture while hiding clutter. Incorporating these savvy methods will keep your narrow space more open by providing covert storage for extra blankets, pillows, electronics, or reading materials that would otherwise crowd the space.
We recommend adding floor-to-ceiling bookcases on one or both of the shorter end walls to maximize space to display decor, potted plants, go-to reads, and decorative light fixtures. If you want to install wall shelves on the longer walls, consider installing short-width wall shelves above the sofa or fireplace to create storage and display space without taking over the walls completely. This will keep narrow living rooms looking open and spacious.
Tip!
Inspired by these narrow living room ideas? Check out How to Decorate a Small Living Room With 7 Design Tricks and How to Arrange a Small Living Room for more creative ways to make the most of your space.
