Small living room storage ideas

Nov 23, 2023

The living room is a central gathering place in the home where we relax, entertain and spend long periods of time with friends and family. In order to make the best out of your small living room, your small living room storage ideas need to be clever and well thought out.

A compact room has to provide a place for your small living room as well as have the same range of items as one with more generous proportions. There is a long list of things to make a home for, books, music, decorative pieces and perhaps kids toys and more - all need to be stored and displayed without creating a crowded and cluttered space or compromising the room’s style.

When planning a compact space, storage ideas should be a top priority. Whether you create built-in solutions or source freestanding designs, to help with your selection, we’ve gathered our top small living room storage ideas and asked the experts to share their insight, too.

These are the very best small living room storage ideas. They will help you to make the most of space in your small living room and help you organize a living room, but still keep it warm, welcoming and elegant.

BY JENNIFER EBERT. CONTRIBUTIONS FROM SARAH WARWICK, ZARA STACEY

Whether you make the most out of alcoves and create custom built-in cabinets for family rooms, or buy free-standing units, using floor to ceiling shelving systems can create a practical storage area that maximizes space.

'By using full height shelving systems instead of multiple cabinets you can free up floor space for seating elements and tables in your living room,' says Homes & Gardens' Editor in Chief Lucy Searle.

Whether you want to use shelving systems to display books, or use designs with doors to conceal objects away, there are an array of options to choose from to suit your small living room space.

Simple but highly effective if you want to get the most out of your small living room, cleverly zoning the space and having designated areas for storage and seating can make the room feel organized, streamlined and more spacious.

In this living space, the cozy seating area is separate to the high shelving units and low storage cabinets, creating a distinct, zoned layout that cleverly embraces the irregular shape of this living room.

Looking to living room layouts and keeping certain storage units and furniture pieces away from your central seat space can create clever zones that make the room feel spacious and relaxed.

If you want to add an element of color and artistic design to your small living room space but have limited areas to hang artwork and wall décor, choosing colorful storage pieces can add both style and practicality to your small living room space.

'Whether you use paint ideas to elevate built in storage designs, or opt for a colorful sideboard or shelving unit, don’t be afraid of embracing color and pattern in your small living room,' says Jennifer Ebert, Homes & Gardens' Digital Editor.

Embracing color and character with your storage designs can effortlessly add personality to your small living room space without it feeling cluttered and overwhelming.

By lifting these alcove storage cabinets off the floor in this small yet formal living room, the narrow proportions of the alcoves are somewhat mitigated. What's more, the proportions of the focal wall itself are corrected – had they been lined up with the top of the fire surround as is traditional, the room would have felt much taller and therefore narrower.

Mid-century modern living room furniture is a design classic and will look stunning whether your home is period or more modern living room. The shape of a mid-century buffet lends itself well to small living room storage – they always have a mixture of drawers and cupboards – and of course the large top can be utilized well too.

What we love about this room is the juxtaposition of the glass and metal coffee table with the sideboard – two different eras and two different looks but they both work so well together.

We often mention utilizing the space each side of your fireplace and this is how you do it when it’s the main feature of a long living room or open plan space, as interior architect and furniture designer, Alison Henry, explains:

‘In this mews project, the idea was to allow you to see the space architecturally – the full length, width and height – and to maximize the natural light living room ideas available. We managed to achieve this with the use of sliding pocket doors to give privacy when required, as well as bespoke shelving and storage either side of the chimney breast. The feature living room fireplace visually divides the space, conceals the AV requirements, and creates enough shelving for personal items such as photos, books, and decorative pieces.’

Bespoke cabinetry is brilliant for creating storage that is specifically tailored to your needs. Think about adding a full wall of large units in your living room.

A living room TV in the middle surrounded by storage is a practical solution and can be softened with the addition of books and favorite pieces. Put some storage, such as DVDs, paperwork and books, behind doors. When planning lighting for a small living room, try lighting open shelves and niches for more decorative items.

'A fitted unit will provide 30 to 40 per cent more storage than a comparable free-standing piece, but the size of the units you choose should depend entirely on the space. Avoid anything too bulky in a small room,’ says Barbara Genda, founder, Barbara Genda Bespoke Furniture.

Clever living room paint ideas are a great way to make a small space feel much larger. Help shelves to recede back into the wall by painting them the same shade as the wall behind. When decorating small spaces, group similar items together in categories or you risk the shelves looking too busy in the room. Only display things that you find attractive to look at.

If your property is old it will no doubt have characterful nooks and crannies for storage. They may be strange spaces with wonky shelving and awkward living room corners inside, but use them nonetheless.

You can give them a new lease of life by covering the panelling in fabric or living room wallpaper, or put in glass so you can see your wares through it.

The design of a classic lamp table is important in a small living room. If you want to create a spacious feel then choose a design that doesn't have a solid body – if you can see through it, it won’t take up space visually and will help to make that corner feel bigger. It’s all about tricking the eye.

Converting an awkward alcove into a storage or reading nooks can transform dead space into a bijou library. Add a door if you are looking for a more streamlined effect or simply enjoy the colorful interest that the spines of the books provide. Any carpenter should be able to fit shelves in this style.

Using symmetry in interior design is guaranteed to create a feeling of balance and harmony. Embracing symmetrical storage designs in your small living room can enhance the feeling of space and make the room feel organized and tidy.

The two shelving units in this living room elegantly frame the beautiful bay window and create a practical storage and display area for books and ornaments. The units are further complemented by the matching side tables and table lamp designs either side of the sofa, creating a sophisticated and cohesive look.

Bespoke bookshelves and cupboards neatly fill the space around a chimney. But custom furniture can also work around more awkward architectural features such as sloping ceilings, says Philipp Nagel, director of Neatsmith. ‘Choosing bespoke not only creates furniture that completely fits the space in your home but it also maximizes all the available storage opportunities,’ he explains.

This neutral living room color scheme has been brought to life by the display of books, while the concealed storage at the lower level is practical.

A free-standing unit doubles as a room divider, creating a discreet office in this living area – its open design allows light to flow freely through the space. The beauty of this type of small living room storage idea is that it offers a tailor-made solution without the price tag of a bespoke design. Not only can it be put together to fit any size of room, but a statement piece can also act as a work of art.

Small living rooms need not shy away from bold colors. Dark living rooms and shades add flair and provide instant impact. Opting for wall-to-wall shelving in a strong color will provide a focal point for the whole room. Use a soft backdrop of taupe to keep the scheme understated while allowing furniture to sing out.

Make use of the width of a whole wall with bespoke shelves, which mixes display shelves with closed cubbies, so you can show off decorative items and hide away everyday mess, too.

Plus, with a bespoke design, it’s easy to coordinate it to the style of the room with small details such as wood coving or trims, or help it blend into the wall by using a uniform color.

If living room floor space is at a premium, a wall-hung shelf could be the answer. Utilize the space above the couch to hang a single floating shelf or a gallery wall. This is a great option for displaying your favorite artwork or objects, and it is a real feature in itself.

Window seats are a brilliant small living room storage solution.

Tara Benet, a New York-based interior designer, explains their best asset: 'Window seats are an attractive way to integrate hidden storage. This is especially true for certain spaces that double up as playrooms or home offices, where there is lots of clutter that needs to be stowed away.'

For quick, regular access, have doors built into the front of the window seat; for storage that's hidden, design in a lift-up lid beneath cushions. In both cases, dividers or shelves within the window seat will help make the storage truly versatile.

With the doors shut on this home office unit it looks like a normal cabinet, perfectly at home in a living space; open them and you have a fully-functioning home office.

Hidden desks and secret home offices are perfect for home working.

If your living space is open-plan and compact, it's really important to keep a theme running between the spaces. The easiest way to do this is to pick the best living room color schemes, materials or even furniture eras with which to furnish your space, as in the room above.

Doing so will create cohesion and blur the divisions between the zones, creating the feeling of an overall, much larger space.

In a home with young kids, it’s imperative that small living room storage include solutions that suit their belongings. Shelves that accommodate boxes and baskets can be a sound option, allowing you to take these containers down to tidy what’s strewn across the floor and furniture when little ones have gone to bed then slide their belongings back out of the way over night.

Emma Deterding, founder and creative director of Kelling Designs, recommends custom floor-to-ceiling storage for any compact living room. ‘It will add a sense of grandeur and height, whilst allowing you to display personal touches, decorative items and even plants,’ she says.

You could also opt for a stylish storage basket to hold their toys, and no one would even know that they're there once cleared away from the floor.

Pay attention to the design of freestanding storage furniture for a small living room. On legs, this sideboard allows views from wall to wall, helping to keep the family room feeling open and airy. Its curvaceous design has a further benefit, creating welcome additional space for passage through a small room.

If you’re opting for tall cabinets instead of a buffet, think glass-fronted versions to make the room visually wider; furniture with open shelving has the same benefit.

While a coffee table with a shelf below will provide storage for a small living room, to size up stash space, go for a trunk. With lots of room inside, it can swallow up a whole lot of living room essentials, while its top offers an area for display as well as setting down glasses and cups.

‘Be mindful that one of these is a better option for storing items you don’t need access to daily – for example, you might keep summer pillows there during the winter months,’ says Lucy Searle, Global Editor in Chief of Homes & Gardens. ‘For frequently used pieces, a coffee table with a shelf is more convenient.’

For most of us, small living room storage ideas should include cabinets and open options such as shelves and cubbyholes.

‘Think carefully about what you want to store or display and the ease of access,’ when planning suggests Rachal Hutcheson, national retail manager of Sharps. ‘For instance, if you wanted to build a cupboard for book storage or music it would be prudent to think about the heights of the objects and if you need to create pull-outs in order to access each layer.’

Bear in mind the temporary storage needs as well as the permanent ones when planning small living room storage. A coffee table usually fills some of this role, providing a place to conveniently set down glasses, cups, books, tablets, and cell phones, for example, but it can prove difficult to fit into a small living room, reducing circulation space.

Instead, why not go for a nest of tables? It will have a smaller footprint and individual tables can be moved alongside seating as required.

Be inspired by small living room storage ideas that clear clutter and keep the look elegant