Designing a small living room is perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of a new decorating project with first time homeowners, or empty nester as they’re often referred to, and one of the most searched for online queries in interior design as many people look for living room design ideas and inspiration.

One of the best tips is to keep the design minimalist, so as it doesn’t look overly cluttered. Choosing only a small number of color tones and ones which are a more subtle shade – like greys, beiges, black and white – will also help keep the look simple and not too busy.

For the seating consider how many people will be living in the house or apartment, and limit the chairs and sofa accordingly. There’s no point trying to cram in a large three-seater sofa and two armchairs if there’s only two living in the home.

Choose from smaller more compact coffee tables and instead of buying a larger media cabinet a smaller more simple piece of furniture is adequate, even for holding larger TVs.

Below are thirty stunning examples of small living room ideas which make the most of a limited amount of space and bring the very best out of the small area made available to the designer.