living room
10. Ditch the containers. Give an entirely new look to houseplants by replacing their pots with free-form balls made of moss and string. You’ve probably seen kokedama, plants with wrapped root balls that form container-free hanging gardens — a Japanese art. While they resemble works of art, hung like floating islands in a window or resting on a sill, kokedama are surprisingly easy to make and care for.To water, dunk the root ball in water, allowing it to soak for a few minutes. Squeeze gently to release excess water. Repeat every few days or weekly, depending on root ball size, climate and plant variety.Learn how to make your own kokedama string garden
6. Use a hanging plant rack. Another way to bring houseplants to bare walls is to rig up a hanging planter. Systems like this usually don’t come with drainage holes (it would make a mess indoors), so you’ll drop plants in their nursery pots into the containers in the hanging system. This has the advantage of keeping the arrangement flexible, allowing you to easily swap out plants. You can find these hanging systems through specialty nurseries or online, or put together your own using dowel rods to support multiple potted plant hangers.Find hanging planters
4. Go vertical. You don’t need to invest in a complicated planting system to create a vertical garden. A metal trellis attached to the wall can provide a place for hanging potted plants or for indoor vines to climb. In this loft in Barcelona, Spain, the architects added a metal trellis to the wall spanning floors and hung potted rhipsalis (Rhipsalis sp.) and staghorn fern (Platycerium sp.). As a result, the bare white wall has been transformed into a dynamic, leafy feature.
5. Entry CabinetsA small cabinet or console like this one, situated in a hallway or entry, can be a great place to drop your devices when you come home.If you’ve got modern wireless headphones with a chargeable battery, this is also a great place to charge those so they’re right by the door next time you head out. A small hole cut into the back of the cabinet can allow access to an outlet so you can tuck items away in open shelves or compartments with doors.
6. Make use of your refrigerator end panel. This clever organizing station puts to work an end panel that would otherwise be empty space; the end of a tall cabinet would work just as well. Here, matching the containers to the cabinet color keeps things more streamlined.This setup fits: People with limited wall space and moderate storage needs. Tip: Does your refrigerator have an exposed side? Leverage its magnetism and add organizing elements with magnetic backing. Or, glue magnets to the back of existing containers so you can mount them to the fridge. Find more magnetic organizers
5. Install a charging station in an empty drawer. The proliferation of personal electronics never ceases, making cords the new clutter. With a drawer charging system available with USB ports, you can charge multiple devices, out of sight, and even get rid of those bulky adapters. This setup fits: Anyone with a cell phone, smartphone, tablet, e-reader, laptop, exercise monitor, smart watch … and whatever “they” come up with next. Tip: Don’t install just any old outlet; there are products designed specifically to be safe within the confines of a cabinet as well as the open-and-close motion of the drawer.
1. Hang baskets and buckets on rails. Vertical organizing space might go on a wall in the kitchen, hallway, pantry or mudroom. Make it flexible by hanging items from rails or a pegboard; you can change the layout and type of storage as your needs change. This setup fits: Those of us who can’t stand a stack of mail and catalogs on the counter or wasting kitchen drawer space to hold junk.Tip: If your organizing station is in the kitchen, consider hanging non-kitchen items like the tape measure or your random collection of pens in your wall buckets. That way, you’ll gain back the kitchen junk drawer for cooking items.
14. Try an “invisible” piece. Acrylic, Lucite and glass are wonderful materials to use in a small living room, because they take up zero visual space. Try a coffee table or nesting side tables with a waterfall edge in one of these clear materials.15. Put low seats in front of the fireplace. Put a pair of small, backless seats — stools, X-benches, ottomans — in front of the fireplace in a small living room to sneak in some extra seating without blocking the room’s focal point. In fact, far from blocking the fireplace, a pair of cute, low seats can actually make the fireplace area look more inviting … and if they come with concealed storage, so much the better!The layout: Put a pair of armchairs in front of a bay window and a long chesterfield sofa against the wall opposite the fireplace; add a slim, clear coffee table. Set a pair of small upholstered storage ottomans in front of the fireplace. Seats: seven.Tell us: We’d love to see your great small living room. Please share a photo and tell us about it in the Comments!More: How to Get Your Furniture Arrangement Right
13. Skip the sofa. Who says a living room has to have a sofa at all? If space is tight, try circling two, three or four armchairs around a coffee table instead. For added flexibility, make the coffee table a tray-topped ottoman that can be used as a seat, or add a pouf or stool to the arrangement.The layout: Set a low, round coffee table in the center of the room with three armchairs around it.Could Your Living Room Be Better Without a Sofa?
7. Try a backless sofa. In an open-plan space, sometimes the best position for the sofa is not on the wall but in the middle of the room. But unless your sofa is quite small (see previous photo), a couch in the middle of a small room can really gobble up space. A backless sofa is a very chic alternative and can be used from both sides — quite a bonus when seating options are limited. And if you want to use it in a larger room someday, it can act as a divider between two seating area.8. Add plants. Like wallpaper and mirrors, plants are a wonderful way to add depth to a small living room. Lush greenery softens corners and fools the eye into thinking there is more to the room than there really is. Plants are especially effective in corners and beside or behind chairs and sofas.The layout: A backless sofa floats in the center of this open-plan space. A pair of upholstered armchairs with a small table between sits beneath a bank of windows opposite the sofa. A small side table that can double as an extra seat sits beside the sofa — and during a party, the backless sofa can handle two people perching on each side. Seats: four to seven.Find interior designers to help create your dream li...
6. Downsize the sofa. In some spaces a full-size sofa just won’t do. Try a slimmed-down love seat or a petite sofa on for size instead. Choose one with clean lines and exposed legs for the airiest look. The layout: A small sofa floats in the middle of this open-plan space, facing a media center on the wall. One armchair and an upholstered ottoman (that can double as an extra seat) round out the group. Seats: three or four.6 Reasons to Float a Sofa
3. Happily Hidden TVThis home’s living room is decorated in a sophisticated neutral palette. A floor-to-ceiling stone chimney commands attention and creates a warm mood. Designer Shelly Lindstrom says she’s delighted with the gas fireplace they found because it looks very close to the real thing. White built-ins hide the chaos of life. A swivel-mounted TV is tucked inside the tall white cabinet.
4. Fantastic Fireplace Wall The stunning fireplace wall in this Calgary, Canada, living room looks to be carved out of concrete, but it’s actually covered in concrete-look porcelain tiles. It features a large central nook for storing firewood and a built-in bench with overhead lighting. The wall adds an edgy industrial touch to the farmhouse-inspired space.Find concrete-look porcelain tiles
8. Swinging StyleFor this living room in Mumbai, India, designer Shabnam Gupta added a very traditional jhoola (a swing that’s a staple in many Indian homes, especially in courtyards and gardens) almost right in the middle of the space. “This two-seater swing was created from a plank of wood and hung from teal-blue ropes,” Gupta says.
1. Proportion: It’s all about scale. Take in the size of your room before you head to the nursery. Choose a plant that fits not only the size of the room but where it’s being placed. An excessively large plant can overwhelm a space, while a tiny plant can appear insignificant if placed out of context. The bird-of-paradise in this image appears at home in the room, with its high ceiling and large windows.Tip: Choose a plant that relates to any plants growing just outside the windows for a cohesive look that helps create a connection to the outdoors.
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