Hello friends, how's your August shaping up? Welcome to another design post all about Small Home Style. I started the design series about Small Home Style, to help inspire & solve those design dilemmas that can crop up when dwelling in a small home. As a small home dweller myself, I've learned some stylish design tricks along the way to help maximize the small rooms in my 1956 rancher. As with most small homes, your living room becomes your everything room: watching TV, hosting friends, family movie nights, home office. Even though your living room maybe on the small side and play double duty, doesn't mean the space can't be a fabulous room to entertain guests in. I've rounded up 6 Stylish Ideas ideas to take your living room from so-so to wow!

ONE: Choose Your Seating Wisely & Consider Placement

When designing my small living room, I opted for two sofas rather one. It seemed when we only had one sofa in our living room & two chairs everyone always gravitated to our sofa and nixed the chairs. Keep in mind when selecting a sofa not to go too big where the sofa takes over the entire room, but also don't go too small. A bunch of tiny furniture in a room can easily make your living room feel smaller. Break out the measuring tape to help visualize the placement of your sofa and chairs and the size. The sofa with a chaise looks so good in this apartment, I love that the chaise adds additional seating = its the perfect spot to stretch out on.

TWO: Go Big on Artwork

Large scale artwork looks fantastic in smaller spaces and creates a huge impact on the wall. Large artwork helps draw the eyes up and out, giving the illusions of larger space.

THREE: Choose the Right Coffee Table

When looking for a coffee table for your living room, consider how much room you have and how it will flow in your room. Need help, select the perfect coffee table style for your living room, click here for the 5 Best Coffee Styles for Small Living Room.

FOUR: Create a Office Area

When you don't have extra room in your home for a dedicated office space, consider adding a small home office right in your living room. Placing a small desk next to your sofa, is perfect to double as a side table for your living room. Or a small desk tucked into a corner also works perfectly.

FIVE: Bring in Bookcases

Adding bookcases to small living rooms are a must! Bookcases create much needed vertical storage. To create hidden storage, layer in woven baskets that also bring in texture.

SIX: Double Duty Furniture

By far the best double duty pieces of furniture for small spaces are dressers turned TV stands and benches used as coffee tables. Dressers are a stylish upgrade from basic TV stands and provide a huge amount of storage.

Ottomans are the perfect double duty pieces for small living room, once you add a tray they become coffee tables and can also be used as additional seating when needed.

I hope you found my six ideas for designing a small stylish living room. If you have any specific small home design delimas, please feel free to contact at Hello@ChicLittleHouse.com. In need of my design solutions for your small spaces? Look no further, hop over for posts sharing Small Home Style

What are your favorite small space design ideas, you've incorporated into your own small living room?

Welcome to another edition of Small Home Style - a blog series dedicated to sharing creative design solutions for small home dwellers. Living with my family of 4 + a new puppy in 1100 SQ, I know firsthand that it can be challenging to design small spaces which are both lovely and practical. I love sharing and passing along the design tricks and ideas I've learned along the way. Every Monday, I'm sharing a solutions for small home dwellers. Designing a small living room for real life is definitely a challenge.

Finding THE perfect coffee table for a small living room can be a huge design challenge. However, I've rounded up my 5 favorite chic coffee table styles for small spaces, plus sharing some shopping tips!

ONE: Round Coffee Table, and TWO: Oval Coffee Table. My top pick for a small living room is going with a round or oval coffee table. Choosing a round or oval coffee table can help break up all the harsh lines in a living room. The living room below is a fantastic example of how the round coffee table creates a nice 'walk flow' in the living room. I adore the Marlton coffee table and Soft Modern round coffee table - both from Target, and under $150, these are great for small spaces.

In my living room (image below), I was on the hunt for an oval coffee table to place between my two sofas. After searching for months in stores, I lucked out and found a heavy glass topped coffee table on Craigslist. I gave the coffee table a quick makeover with black spray paint ( more deets about my coffee table find here). By adding an oval coffee table to sit between my sofas, I was able to soften the harsh lines in my small living room.

THREE: Clear Coffee Table. A clear coffee table is not only a stylish choice for a living room, it also helps open up the living room view and doesn't feel heavy in small spaces. Going clear also gives your living room a stylish modern look. You can easily store books and magazines underneath, or benches to use as extra seating when needed. The acrylic Peekaboo coffee table from cb2 is a good choice; Wayfair also carries a fantastic acrylic coffee table Modway Journal Coffee table.

FOUR: Long Lean Coffee Table. A long and narrow coffee table is an excellent idea when floor space is at a premium. Search Craigslist and local thrift stores for a long lean vintage coffee table that would look fantastic with a makeover. The Slab Marble coffee table from cb2 is also a great coffee table for a small living room; the marble gives a living room an instant sophisticated look.

FIVE: Benches & Garden Stools turned into Coffee Tables. If seating is very limited in your living room, go with benches instead, or 2-3 garden stools instead of a traditional coffee table. And, benches & garden stools can quickly convert from a coffee table to extra seating. You can either use two small benches as a coffee table, or one large bench/ottoman as a coffee table -depending on the size of your living room. Using 2-3 garden stools also make a fun addition to a living room and can easily be used as a coffee table. The fun thing about going with a bench is opting for a fun patterned or colorful bench, or colorful garden stools. Have fun and mix up garden stool styles.

Keep in mind when selecting a coffee table for your space to look at the scale of the coffee table, and measure your space to determine the best style. Break out the blue tape and place on the floor to help visualize the area your coffee table will reside in. Have fun shopping for a coffee table, and hold out until you find the perfect coffee table for your living room; it's much better to wait until you find THE coffee table instead of wasting money on placeholders. If you have any specific Small Home Design dilemmas or questions, please feel free to reach out to me at Hello@chiclittlehouse.com. Visit Overstock for a slew of 'X' bench styles and garden stools.

What's your favorite coffee table?

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