Apartment Decor: How to Decorate a Small Dark Living Room
In this post: Looking to decorate a tiny apartment? These tips will help you brighten a small dark living room on a budget.⇒
Last week I revealed the transformation of my daughter’s tiny dark bedroom in her city apartment into a light feminine space to call home. I promised to come back and share with you more of the apartment and this week I have the next installment, addressing how to decorate a small dark living room. You can see the before photo above and note that the windows face a brick wall, blocking out most of the natural light. You can also see how very tiny the space is.
This room was trickier than the bedroom for several reasons, not the least of which was the need to please both my daughter and her roommate, so the room utilizes more black than we would have otherwise gone with. It also needed to be practical as it’s the one space where they do their entertaining and it was done on a *very* tight budget. The plan above reflects their choices.
The focal point in the room is along the wall with the windows… (well, actually, that’s pretty much the entire room!) so that is where we placed their charcoal slipcovered sofa. We used decorative pillows to break up the dark colors and add a sense of intention to the use of black and white.
A lush mongolian lamb pillow softens the look and the edgy coasters celebrate the neighborhood they live in. No matter how small the space, it’s nice to have a comfortable place to relax with a glass of wine.
Clear white walls and overhead lighting keep things from getting too dark, even with all the dark furniture.
The modern coffee table was something the girls picked out, with several levels providing a place to store some of their things. The oatmeal shag rug is another key item that helps lighten up this tight space, while also offering a bit of comfortable coziness.
With limited storage, it’s always great to utilize every opportunity for a place to keep things. The metal wine rack serves as both a decorative wall hanging and a practical spot to hold their bottles.
Tucked into a corner is a small bistro table with two barstools for additional seating.
We also added a ladder bookshelf which can be dressed up with decorative items or used for storage. It fit perfectly against a small slice of wall between the two bedrooms and is currently adorned with some temporary items. We’ll be adding candles, some mercury glass pieces for a touch of bling, as well as a few ‘fashion and style’ coffee table books.
We were able to fit a small sideboard opposite the sofa, another spot for potential storage.
Next up is to add some sheer curtain panels behind the sofa, more for softness than to block anything out, as the brick wall provides enough privacy.
If you missed the reveal of the apartment bedroom, you can read that post at THIS LINK.
Apartment Decor Resource Guide
To get the look, click on the items below for direct links to the products. Where actual items were no longer available, I’ve provided similar options. If an item is out of stock but may be restocked, I left it on the list.
(This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.)
- Charcoal Sofa
- Mongolian Lamb Pillow
- Houndstooth Pillow
- French Pillow
- Coffee Table
- Sideboard
- Ladder Bookshelf
- Barstools
- Bistro Table
- Hanging Wine Rack
- Oatmeal Shag Rug
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Lory, your daughter’s apartment is coming along beautifully. I noticed that we are using similar items in my daughter’s new place, as well. Great minds!
Thanks so much, Shenita! Would love to see your daughter’s place too… 🙂
Lory: Lol! You are trying so hard to like that color couch! Well, you’ve made the best of it to be sure. That herringbone pillow will class up just about any decorating style, and I love the soft lambswool. Actually, I love all three pillows. Truly a great job!
Ha ha… actually, it’s not the couch so much as all the black furniture… 😉 But my job is to make other people’s choices work, so that’s what I was going for. Thanks for the vote of confidence!
Looks great! Love the champagne pillow for just a touch of femininity!
Thanks, Jenna!!
First apartments are always so fun~even if they’re small! I’m sure you’re wanting to add some bling and florals, Lory, but you are doing a beautiful job and keeping their style! It’s very stylish and sophisticated.
love and blessings~
Lynda @ Gates of Crystal
Ha ha, yep, definitely wanting to add a little bling and maybe some fresh *modern” flowers… 😉 It is a whole lot of fun to work on…
Great job! The wine/art metal piece was a smart idea as storing many bottles just takes up so much cabinet space….wish I’d of thought that up when I helped with my daughters apt. And the tiered piece did work so perfectly between the two openings. Know the girls are going to have a ball entertaining in their divine place. Hugs!
Thanks, Bobbi! In the interest of full disclosure, the girls picked the wine rack… 😉
Very interesting to follow the whole process of how you come up with these useful and elegant solutions….and yes, it’s very inviting for a glass of wine:-))
Thanks, Kate!! So glad it resonated with you… 🙂
The living room looks fab even with the black furniture…it looks like you hit good middle ground for both gals.
Thanks so much, Donna!!
It’s positively perfect! Such a cute space for your daughter and her roommate! I’m going now to check out the bedroom post!
Thanks for sharing!
Blessings from Chippy White Cottage,
Rebecca
Love the “Cork” box on the tiered stand! Do you know where it’s from please?
Thanks Helen
Hi Helen, This isn’t the exact one but very similar. Try this affiliate link: http://rstyle.me/n/cg5rksb63g7
I love how you’ve used a touch of mercury glass or similar material throughout the spaces that you’ve shown. They work well with the age/period of the building and brighten things up, without looking too new and shiny. It’s clear a lot of thought was put into this decor and it WORKS! I wish I had the eye for it, I could settle right in there and be perfectly happy!
Thank you so much, Colleen!