Living rooms are the most used areas of each home. We use them to relax after work, entertain our guests, or spend quality time with our family. It, therefore, makes sense that for most of us, living rooms are the best decorated and furnished rooms at home.

The line between an incomplete and over-decorated living room, however, is thinner than we think. Afraid of cluttering the space too much, we often end up with awkward empty spaces in the living room we have no idea how to fill.

How to fill the empty space in the living room?

If you are also facing this question, keep reading. We’ve gathered the best tips and tricks to deal with empty living room corners. You can even combine some of them for even better results.

Let’s begin.

Rearrange your furniture

Image source: Indigo Interiors

Always begin with the items you already have. It may as well be that the arrangement was wrong and you don’t need to spend more on additional items. The first furniture pieces to consider are the sitting arrangements. Empty floor space can easily be fulfilled with an additional rocking chair, for instance.

Image source: Susan Manrao Design

A common design mistake is getting furniture on an improper scale. If the room is large but the furniture pieces are small, the look will, either way, be disrupted and there will be no natural flow.

In the same way, large furniture in a small room creates a congested and cluttered look. If this is the case with your living room, consider replacing some of the pieces you have.

Use lighting to your advantage

Image source: Ed Hughey, Architect & Realtor

You can also hide empty living room space by redirecting light sources. If you have both main and accent lighting fixtures, the empty space will be well illuminated and won’t look so dull. Proper lighting can make any area look better, and improve the aesthetic value of any corner.

And yet, the mistake of many homeowners is that they settle for a single lighting fixture in the center of the room. True, there will be enough light around the sitting area, but the living room corner you are trying to fix will not be improved.

To solve this problem, we suggest you place a large standalone lamp in the empty corners or replace the main fixture with recessed lighting.

Enable empty corners for a comfortable retreat

Image source: KUBE architecture

An idea we always encourage is a cozy window seating arrangement. This will work even better if you have a view of the mountains or the sea. Visitors will simply love spending time there, the same as your entire family.

This is the best way to optimize empty corners in the living room and turn them into attractive focal points.

Install decorative shelves

Image source: Stephanie Alegre Interiors

You can also fill an empty living room corner with a beautiful shelving unit. This is a very practical display and storage solution that won’t cost a fortune.

Get a few decorative shelves and mount them in the empty corner area. You can then use them to display any accessories or objects important to you, or store items out of sight in decorative boxes.

Image source: Diane Bishop Interiors

Floating shelves will do the job just as well – they don’t take up too much space, and you don’t have to worry about matching them with the rest of your decor.

Large plants

Image source: Jessica Helgerson Interior Design

What could be better than a private garden right in the empty corner of your living room? Plants solve the problem of empty floor space and wall space, as long as you can provide them with enough natural light and fresh air. The bigger they are the better!

If it still feels that the living room space is empty and uncomfortable, consider placing several tall plants in a kind of indoor garden. Plants will look nice in any area, as long as you take good care of them.

Turn the empty spaces into a home office

Image source: Ashcroft Imports Furniture Co.

A very practical solution for the empty corner space is a dedicated home office. This way, you will have a great place to work from home and you can optimize the use of your living room.

Make sure you have a small desk with drawers, a comfortable office chair, and some shelves to store your office utilities. Working will be more fun!

Optimize the living room for studying

Image source: studiovert environmental + interior design

If you don’t need a home office per se, but you would still appreciate a personalized studying area, there might be just enough living space to do it.

Enhance the living room decor with a smaller desk and a lamp. This way, you make sure children have a private, tucked-away area to finish their homework and concentrate on studying. This way, you will be able to oversee them and check what they are doing, while staying engaged in other household activities.

You can further personalize the space with a memory board and display your children’s drawings.

Divide the room in a creative way

Image source: Mackenzie Collier Interiors

If you have empty living room space and no idea how to use it, break the room up. Create visual distinction with a divider and give the empty spaces an actual function, such as reading nooks or home gyms. The living room will look smaller, but much more comfortable.

If you don’t want floor-to-ceiling dividers, let a few shelves or half-walls finish the job instead. Both look charming and cost way less than conventional walls, and they are perfect to divide a large room into sections.

Use wallpaper

Image source: Natalie Guertler Interiors

Let your creative side take over the job and personalize the living room decor. You can use some abstract wallpaper, an indoor plant, and an accent chair in the corner. Better yet, add a coffee table and read there in the afternoon. The wallpaper will give you the feeling that you are not in the same room anymore.

You can also work with more vibrant wallpaper, such as natural scenery or flowers. It all depends on your design preferences.

Create a play corner for your kids

Image source: Klopf Architecture

Every parent needs a place where children can play and where he can oversee them. What could be better than the forgotten space in the living room?

You can use the empty spaces to store toys and books and let little ones play in a welcoming and safe environment. Bring in soft rugs and bean bag chairs for extra comfort, as well as colorful storage cubes to collect toys when they are not used. Your children will love this place!

Display an arched floor lamp

Image source: Create Design & Co.

When we think of living rooms, we focus on the sofa, coffee table, and TV unit. To complete this comfy seating unit, designers recommend a standalone lighting unit.

Floor lamps fit in perfectly in any area, such as empty spaces in the corner or right next to the couch table. You can move them around upon need, and they look great in any design setting.

Floor lamps are perfect for a large living room, as they take up both horizontal and vertical space.

Personalize the empty spaces in your living room

Image source: Golden Fish Interiors llc

The living room is not only an entertaining area but also your place to be for relaxing after work or during lazy Sundays. This means, that all awkward spaces in the living room can be repurposed for your needs only.

For instance, you can have the small reading nook with a mini library, or the makeup area you always wanted. If the large living room allows for it, you can even design your first home gym.

Quite exciting, isn’t it?

Consider throw pillows

Image source: Rikki Snyder

It doesn’t always matter what the awkward corners serve for, but rather how they look. You can make them very comfortable and welcoming with throw pillows, kind of your private lounging zone.

You can lay there and read your magazines, or maybe do some yoga in a detached boho backdrop. The choices are unlimited!

Bring in some side tables

Image source: Haven Design and Construction

If most of the awkward space you are trying to fill in between the furniture and the wall, get some side tables. This solution will work just as fine as nightstands do in bedroom layouts, and the side table designs are just unlimited.

Plus, you can decorate the side tables any way you want – with vases, books, or additional lamps. If there are additional layers and tiers below the table, use them to store your throw blankets.

Design your mini-bar

Image source: J. Healey Interiors

Get ready to host all of your friends’ get-togethers! Everyone loves a home mini-bar, and the empty space in your dining room is the perfect spot to make this happen. You can always drink your morning coffee there, or invite a friend for a glass of wine after work.

Take the mini-bar design to the next level, and build a permanent bar out of wood or concrete. Note, however, that this is not the most affordable way to enhance the empty space in your living room.

Cover empty space with an area rug

Image source: Amy Kartheiser Design

Just to remind you, the empty floor space doesn’t always need a function! You can simply defocus attention from it with a couple of nice area rugs so that visitors don’t find it awkward and feel more welcome in your living room.

It is always a good idea to work with colors and patterns that are already there so that you don’t need to reinvent your decorations.

Display your art collections

Image source: Francesca Owings Interior Design

Perhaps, the empty narrow space in the living room is the perfect area to display your favorite art piece. Get creative, and turn corner walls into galleries, vintage nooks, or focal points for collectors. The rule is simple – everything goes!

Place a console table

Image source: BIG ISLAND BUILDERS

If none of the abovementioned solutions works for you, get a console table for the living room. You can store all sorts of everyday items on its hidden shelves, or display that breathtaking ceramic vase you purchased on your last trip.

Image source: Zin Home

For a more effective look, gather your favorite art pieces and hang them on the adjacent wall. The results will surprise you.

Reconsider the mini-library idea

Image source: tesa SE – International

The larger the awkward corner, the more it will benefit from a private reading nook. You can accommodate a large rocking chair, a tiny table next to it, and a standalone lamp, and the look will be completed. If you want to keep your favorite reads by hand, mount a few shelves on the wall and bring in your books.

For a more comfortable look, make sure there is a fuzzy large pillow and a throw blanket on the chair on all occasions. We guarantee you that you will start reading more!

Revisit the gallery corner idea

Image source: Leclair Decor

If a single art piece looks so amazing in the corner, imagine what the entire collection could do. Fill in the dull space with sculptures, paintings, ceramic collections, or even wood carvings. Make sure they are placed strategically and in line with the room so that they can trigger conversations with your friends.

Stick to personalized artwork, perhaps a collection you got on a very special trip. This will invoke positive feelings each time you go inside the bedroom.

Use the empty space for more seating capacity

Image source: Urbanology Designs

If you have a large family or simply like to entertain guests, let the empty space solve your sitting problem. You can use it to install a comfy bench, or simply bring in extra chairs and stools.

Conclusion

Well, those were our ideas on how to fill the empty space in the living room.

What we expect from you is that you got inspired and found even better solutions for your living room.

The most important takeaway is, that there are endless possibilities to improve your living room decor. Just let your style and your preferences guide you to the best solution.

Before you begin, measure the space you have available and move furniture around. Perhaps, all it takes is a small rearrangement to come up with the perfect living room.

If you enjoyed reading this article about how to fill the empty space in the living room, you should check out these on how to decorate a living room with wood paneling, how to hide the office in a living room, or how to hide exercise equipment in the living room.

We have plenty of other living room-related articles, such as how to create a foyer in an open living room, how to hide a pillar in the living room, how to arrange plants in the living room, how to store blankets in the living room, and how to decorate living room shelves.

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