Without knowing it, you may be making your living room smaller than it really is. It’s a question of dimensions that can make all the difference.
It’s a detail for you and yet it changes everything. If your living room seems smaller than it actually is, there’s no point blaming your furniture or your walls: according to decorators, the problem often comes elsewhere. A discreet but widespread lack of taste, which weakens the balance of the room without us being aware of it.
No matter how many tips we use to visually enlarge a space – opt for light-colored paint, declutter as much as possible, bring in light – the error in question systematically renders all these efforts in vain. It concerns an element that we generally choose at the end, almost lightly, while it structures everything else: the centerpiece of the visual comfort of the living room.
Decoration professionals notice this at first glance when they enter a client’s home. This detail is obvious, destabilizes the proportions, and unconsciously creates a feeling of narrowness, or even imbalance. It’s a bit as if all the furniture found itself floating in the room, without anchoring. A common mistake, easy to correct, but even easier to make.
But what annoys decorators so much? Choosing a rug that is too small. Placed in the center of the living room without overlapping the furniture, it visually cuts up the space instead of bringing it together. A rug must always extend under the furniture, at least under the front legs of the sofa and armchairs. It is this extension which gives coherence and continuity to the piece.
How to choose it well? You first have to think big. In a spacious living room, it is better to cover almost the entire living area, even if it means leaving 20 to 30 centimeters between the edge of the carpet and the walls. In a small space, a model that extends under the seats unifies the room and makes it appear larger. Decorators also recommend selecting the color and texture of the carpet with those of the furniture: tone on tone for a soft harmony, or bold contrast for a touch of character. Up to you !
