12 Things You Need to Finish Decorating Your Small Family Room

Raise your hand if your current family room or living room space still only has a sofa, tv, maybe some artwork, maybe a few pillows that you don’t quite know if the combination is right or not and maybe some curtains, that again you’re unsure of. Oftentimes we move into a home, and we get the basics: the sofa, can’t forget the TV, and possibly window treatments for privacy. But even making a decision on the basics is hard enough, especially if you live in a small space. We can find ourselves stuck on choosing the right size sofa, or the right mix of furniture pieces, and don’t get me started with other decorative objects like pillows, vases and rugs. Even as a designer my brain explodes with considering all those fine details. In this post, I will discuss the 12 things you need to finish off your small living room/family room space and the one place you can find everything: Homedepot.com/decor. 

Mirrors

So your space is smaller than the average family room, but you want it to feel bigger, and blowing out your walls to add an addition is not an option. Here’s tip #1 ADD MIRRORS! Mirrors give off the illusion that a space is larger than what it is because it reflects the room. It adds dimension, without literally adding dimensions. You can do one large focal mirror or multiple mirrors like I did. Here are some similar mirror options from The Home Depot.

Glass Pieces

Since your seating will take up a majority of your small space, opt for glass furniture with your sofa tables, coffee tables and side tables. Too many solid pieces in a small space can make the room feel very heavy. Furniture with glass tricks the eye into believing that there’s more space even though there’s really not. In my family room, I chose two narrow glass sofa tables, and a square glass coffee table paired with a square glass side table to add more surface space and dimension to that area.

Lighting

I can’t stress how important lighting is in a space. I know the ceiling is way above our heads, but let’s not forget to dress it up. Get rid of the builder grade light fixture and add something more sculptural, something with a little more personality. I have 8ft ceilings, so a chandelier was not an option. I went with a brass semi-flush mount fixture. And boy is it beautiful. It took the space from boring to spectacular instantly!! The other type of lighting to add to your space is secondary lighting: your floor lamps and table lamps. Every space should have secondary lighting…I repeat…EVERY SPACE SHOULD HAVE SECONDARY LIGHTING. I found this amazing vintage lamp at the thrift store. I love the ballhead at the top and the massive size. However, it didn’t come with a lamp shade, so I found this beautiful kraft paper mushroom shaped shade on Home Depot.com and it’s the perfect finishing touch. When you don’t want the brightness of an overhead light, table lamps and floor lamps give off the perfect amount of light to set the tone for the evening. 

Area Rugs

Area rugs are important to space. It defines an area, it’s comfortable on your feet, and it adds more texture and personality to your room. It can take a cold space and make it feel warm and cozy. I chose a charcoal gray rug that contrasts with my cream sofa. 

Artwork

I think this goes without saying, but you need wall art. We’re surrounded by walls that need dressing up. But consider all the pieces that will go into the space first. In my family room I have lots of framed mirrors, so instead of adding framed art pieces, consider adding sculptural art to your wall. I then dressed up one of the sofa tables with a framed art piece. Not all art belongs on the wall.

Decorative Accents

Decor accents are the key to adding soul to your space. It makes a functional space come alive. I was so very surprised at the number of accent pieces I was able to find online at homedepot.com. There’s so many that I will list them all at the end of this post. But here are a few pictures of all my amazing finds.

Something Personal

Now having decor accents are important, but it needs to be mixed in with something personal, that says “This is MY space”. So you can do that with picture frames, books, heirlooms, or pieces you’ve collected. I used books to personalize my space. 

Something unexpected

I love a well curated room, but sometimes spaces that are too on theme can run flat. So add something unexpected: a conversational piece, a color totally different from the rest of the palette. I did that with this beautiful tomato red (that’s what I keep calling it) velvet pouf. It’s functional but it also makes the room feel not too serious, and adds an element of fun.

Something from Nature

Whether you go real or faux, add something from nature: flowers, plants, or pampas grass. It makes a space feel breathable and fresh. I mixed up my nature accents with these faux olive branches, pampas grass, and fresh flowers. 

Design Your TV Area

Your flat screen TV shouldn’t be the only thing in your entertainment area. Whether your TV sits on a mantle, or on a TV console, dress it up. I added this hand painted black and white pattern wall treatment to distract away from the TV especially since the mirrors are on the opposite side, and of course, decorative accents on top of the console table. Here’s an extra bonus tip, this TV console is actually a Home Decorators Collection Sideboard. Expand your furniture options by mixing pieces that “belong” in other rooms.  

A good mix of throw pillows

What’s a sofa without pillows? Boring!! But you have to do the pillows right. A good mix of throw pillows takes into consideration various sizes, shapes, colors, patterns, and textures. The sizes really really really matter. Bigger pillows make for a more grand professional impression. So look for 24in’’, 22in’’, 20in’’, 18in’’, and lumbar size pillows. You want a good mixture of sizes in order to layer them. I like a more eclectic mix, but you can opt for something more curated and uniformed as long as you have different sizes. Also, don’t forget to add a throw blanket! 

Window Treatments

Drapery and curtain panels are one of the elements in a space that can make a space feel expensive or cheap. Doesn’t matter if your sofa is $10,000, if your drapery is done wrong, it cheapens the entire room. So here are a few tips, hang your rod as high to the ceiling as it can go. And hang the rod wide: I like to give 12in’’ on both sides of the window (if possible). Pay attention to the dimensions of curtain panels. Mine are 54in X 96in. In order to fill up the curtain rod properly with pleats, I needed 2 – 3 panels per side. Most people make the mistake and do just one panel per side. Unless your panels are 100ins in width you’ll have to double or triple up in order to make them look good. Also, use curtain rings. It gives your drapery a higher end look.

I hope these 12 tips help you finish up your living space. Let me know in the comments what you’re adding to complete your decor. And while you’re at it, check out Homedepot.com/decor to grab all those finishing touches.  

Here’s a before of the Unstyled space with just foundational furniture

Total transformation!!

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