How to Design a Multipurpose Tiny Living Room

My friend Kaitlynn recently reached out for a multipurpose tiny living room design! I was thrilled to get to work, especially after seeing the cute doorways (what can I say, I love doorways?!) and easy to work with space!

Before I dive in however, I must add a sweet preface. Kaitlynn and I grew up together from tiny kindergartners, running the neighborhood in our princess dresses, to high school graduates! We also both have little, crazy, cute boys around the same age.

So I totally understand her need for a functional multipurpose living room design.

To begin our design process, I gave Kaitlynn my multipurpose room checklist. The goal is to assess what your room needs to do to properly fulfill your lifestyle.

Kaitlyn’s living room needed to do the following:

Hosting
Playing
Relaxing
Exercising
TV watching
Folding laundry

When asked what is currently missing in her living room she answered:

Cohesive style
Visual space
Brightness
Storage
Natural flow

After taking the style portion of my survey I found Kaitlynn liked a mix of these styles:

Modern bohemian
Minimal shabby chic
Rustic beach house

Now that we had all the necessary information it was time to start designing this multipurpose tiny living room!

Step one: Gather inspiration!

My first stop is always Wayfair for the biggest selection and ideas.

Derryaghy Armchair // More Accent Chairs	Romanza Tripod Floor Lamp // More Floor Lamps	Flower Hill Flush Mount // More Flush Mounts
Open-Top Wood Storage Bench // More Benches	Hardwick Chunky Throw // More Blankets & Throws	Stoughton Sofa // More Sofas
Rancho Cordova Flush Mount // More Rustic Flush Mounts	Liam Barrel Chair // More Barrel Chairs	Deacon Wicker/Rattan Basket // More Storage Container
Maja End Table // More End & Side Tables	Mahn Tribal Blue Area Rug // More Area Rugs	Peoples Blue/Beige Area Rug // More Area Rugs
Witham Coffee Table // More Coffee Tables	Coastal Wall Clock // More Home Decor	Bluxome End Table // More End & Side Tables
Modern Kids Writing Table // More Kids Table & Chair Sets	Flatiron Hall Tree // More Hall Trees	Warwickshire Wood Storage Bench // More Wooden Benches

Step two: Sketch out a floor plan.

The living room currently has a large sectional against one long wall. In order to make it a multipurpose space I worked off a few ideas and came up with this!

The Living Room Plan:

Break the room into three areas: A cozy TV area, a small play or yoga area, and an entry nook. You can see a similar idea in one of our past houses that had an awkwardly long living room space.

Anchor the television area with a rug and coffee table.

Use a sofa and two small arm chairs to provide flexibility for hosting and add interest to the space. If they chose a sleeper sofa, this room could transform into last minute guest quarters too!

Add one to two floor lamps on either side of the TV stand for atmosphere. The rest of the room has two large windows and opens into the kitchen via a large open doorway which provide great natural light.

For the TV stand, guess what I have proposed? You know it! My favorite DIY Ikea floating sideboard! It would add much needed visual space for this small room and make the space look modern and fancy!

Create obvious flow and more visual space by leaving the kitchen side of the room open with only picture frames on the wall. This allows a perfect flow from the front door, past the kitchen, and into the back bedrooms without hindrance.

Simulate higher ceilings by adding floor to ceiling floating shelves and high mounted white curtains on the large bay windows.

Create an entryway with a shoe bench, coat rack, and catch all right next to the front door.

Step three: Create three mood boards to narrow down style preferences.

*** You can find all the links to furnishings below on this Wayfair Idea Board! ***

My first board was neutral with a pop of mint. Are you more relaxed in a neutral room? This is a good example of mixing shabby chic with a bit of the beach house vibe.

Next I presented a rich room with mid century modern furnishings and industrial elements. The color scheme is still very neutral, but the warm wood tones draw the eyes from piece to piece.

On another note, I’m a firm believer in the Ikea Kallax as an amazing, inexpensive storage solution! Literally– my son has two in his room!

Lastly I made them a more colorful rustic beach house color scheme with navy accents.

Kaitlynn got back to me with her selection of favorite pieces and I’ve combined them below! I love how you can take three different styles and make a room that fits your personality all the while maintaining a cohesive look!

A highlight during my design process is when my clients start finding their style in other people’s homes and share it with me. Kaitlynn and her husband noted that they really loved the look of a gray couch with a pop of color.

Finding an accent color you love will bring life to a room! Coral is always one of my favorites!