Small Living Room Ideas: Layouts That Work

In a small living room the furniture is rarely the problem on its own. The plan is: a sofa pushed against one wall, a chair squeezed in beside it and a table nobody can get past. Moving the same pieces often frees more space than buying smaller ones. This guide is about the whole room plan: the routes to keep clear, the layouts that work, where the television goes, which coffee table earns its floor and how to keep a small room feeling open. For the armchair itself, its width, shape and colour, see our separate guide to armchairs for small living rooms. Every figure is in centimetres.

How do you lay out a small living room?

Draw the routes first, then place one seating group in the space that is left, with the sofa along the longest clear wall and the other seats facing it.

Mark the doors, windows and radiators on a plan, then draw the paths people actually walk: from the door to the sofa, to the window, to the next room. As a planning guide, keep about 90 cm on any route through the room and at least 60 cm where only the person sitting gets in and out.

What is left is your seating area. A small room has room for one group, not two; tape its outline on the floor before you move anything.

What are the best small living room layouts?

Four layouts cover most small rooms: sofa and armchair facing each other, an L with the armchair at the end of the table, two armchairs instead of a sofa, or a sofa with a chair in the opposite corner.

Facing layouts are the most compact, because the group gets shorter rather than longer. Two armchairs instead of a sofa take the least width: two of our Kent armchairs side by side, 10 to 30 cm apart, take 144 to 164 cm, against around 200 to 230 cm for a typical three-seat sofa.

The chart below sets out when each layout works.

Armchair Kent – stylish black armchair with bouclé cushion and black frame in a minimalist Scandinavian interior design. — Kent angled beside a window, out of the main route.

Small living room layouts and when they work
Layout	How it works	Best for
Sofa and armchair facing	Armchair opposite the sofa, across the coffee table	Long, narrow rooms; keeps the group short
L-shape	Armchair at the end of the coffee table, angled towards the sofa	Square rooms with the door on one side
Two armchairs, no sofa	Two chairs facing each other or angled over a small table	Two-person homes and studios
Sofa and corner chair	Sofa along one wall, armchair angled in the opposite corner	Rooms where the television takes a wall

Will the armchair fit

Full placement guide

Armchair

Width you have80 cm Depth you have, from the wall150 cm

In front of the chair

FitsKent needs 67 × 142 cm

Shop Kent

The rule: the chair’s own footprint plus 60 cm in front where only the person sitting passes, or 90 cm on a route through the room. Kent is 67 × 82 cm, Einar 71 × 81 cm.

Where should the TV go in a small living room?

On the wall opposite the sofa, so the sofa faces it and the armchair can sit at an angle between the screen and the sofa.

As a guide, about 2 to 3 m between the seats and the screen suits most televisions. Mounting the screen on the wall, or on a low, shallow unit, frees floor that a deep cabinet would take.

Avoid a layout where the sofa has to stand in the middle of the room to face the screen; in a small room that cuts the floor in two. Our guide to where to put an armchair has the full set of distances.

Which coffee table works best in a small living room?

A small table, or a nest that closes to one footprint and opens when guests come, with 40 to 45 cm between the sofa and the table.

Our Anton nests fully: the smaller rectangle slides under the larger, so a closed Anton Small set takes the floor of one 70 x 60 cm table. Leo is round and its tops overlap by about 40 percent, so you always see both circles; it suits a room where people walk around the table.

Our guides to coffee tables for small living rooms and nests of tables go into the sizes.

Anton Coffee TableNests to one footprint · Dekton top · from 24.795 krView Anton

Sofa or armchairs in a small living room?

A two-seater sofa and one armchair seat three in little floor; two armchairs instead of a sofa suit two people and are easier to move around.

A sofa wins if you want to stretch out or often sit three together. Armchairs win when the room has to change: a reading chair by the window one day, two chairs at the table for guests the next.

Our guide to two armchairs or a sofa compares the two in detail.

How do you keep floor space free in a small living room?

Choose furniture on legs, put one piece on the wall where you can, and give every piece a job: a table that nests, a chair that is also the reading chair.

Open frames let the floor show through, which makes a room read larger than its square metres. Our Kent armchair is a thin welded steel frame with the cushions inside it, 67 cm wide; a pedestal side table, with one column instead of four legs, stands closer to the arm of a sofa.

For the armchair itself, its width, shape and colour, see our guide to armchairs for small living rooms.

Close-up of the Armchair Kent featuring a soft ivory bouclé cushion and sleek black frame. — Kent's thin steel frame, with the cushion inside it.

How do you make a small living room look bigger?

Keep the floor visible, the colours close to the walls and the light coming from more than one place.

A rug large enough for the front legs of the sofa and chairs makes the floor read as one area; a small rug in the middle cuts it up. Light upholstery such as ivory or greige recedes; one dark piece can work if its frame is slim.

Light at different heights, a lamp, a wall light and candles, pushes the corners back in the evening. A floor candle holder needs only its base: our Thomas stands on a ø20 cm base. Our guide to how to furnish a living room covers light and textiles in more detail.

A small living room in four moves

Routes: first, furniture second.
Facing: the sofa keeps the group short.
Nest: closes to one footprint.

Plan the walkways first, about 90 cm on the main route as a guide, and fit one seating group into what is left. Face the armchair towards the sofa instead of standing it beside it. Choose a coffee table that nests to one footprint, and keep furniture on legs so the floor stays visible. Kent, Einar, Anton and Leo are made in our own factory in Sweden and covered by a 10-year warranty.

Frequently asked questions

How do you arrange furniture in a small living room?

Draw the walkways first, then put the sofa along the longest clear wall and face the other seats towards it. Keep one seating group, not two.

What is the best layout for a small living room?

Usually a sofa with the armchair opposite it across the coffee table: the most compact layout. In a two-person home, two armchairs instead of a sofa take even less width.

How much space do you need between furniture in a small living room?

As a guide, about 90 cm on a main route, 60 cm where only the sitter passes, and 40 to 45 cm between sofa and coffee table.

Is a nest of tables good for a small living room?

Yes, if it closes to one footprint and you pull out the smaller table only when needed. Our Anton nests fully under the larger table.

Where should the TV go in a small living room?

On the wall opposite the sofa, about 2 to 3 m from the seats, with the armchair angled between screen and sofa.

Should a small living room have an armchair?

Yes, one good armchair, usually opposite the sofa. As a guide, choose one under about 75 cm wide, with an open frame and visible legs.