Suppose you just made a big move into a new home and have an empty living room.
In that case, you’ll want to know how to fill empty floor space in a living room effectively to make the most of the space.
Why It’s Important to Fill Empty Floor Space
Aside from just wanting to add more stuff to your living room for the sake of adding stuff, a living room is one of the rooms in any house that tends to have the most amount of things.
If you like to have guests over, the living room is also the place where you’ll likely spend most of your time, so the last thing you want is for it to feel empty and boring.
Filling Empty Floor Space in a Living Room
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Filling empty floor space is a deceptively challenging task, regardless of what room you’re trying to do it in.
However, a living room is even more daunting than other rooms because of the possibilities and the number of questions you’ll undoubtedly ask yourself:
- What atmosphere do you want to create?
- What is your desired room aesthetic?
- What materials will you use?
- Do you prefer having larger items or smaller items?
- Do you want to inject your personality into the space or keep it plain and simple?
These are just a few of many more that could come to mind, and you may or may not have answers for them yet, but don’t worry!
In this article, we’ll cover as many of them as we can, and we’ll also go over some general tips to help you make it through this process as smoothly as possible.
1. Have a Vision
The first step in filling the empty floor space in a living room involves having a vision. It’s a bit difficult to fill a room with stuff you like if you don’t already have some working idea of the end goal.
Sure, you can go out, buy a bunch of stuff that looks good, and put it all in your living room, but that approach can prove very hit or miss.
Think of it like baking a cake. If you know all the basic ingredients but don’t take the time to accurately measure all of them for the correct amounts, the end result will probably turn out pretty bad.
Similarly, buying a bunch of individual items you like for your living room may not result in a combined look that you like. In this case, the whole matters as much as the sum of its parts, so keep that in mind.
2. Narrow Down What Furniture You’ll Use to Create Your Aesthetic
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Once you have some idea of how you want to fill out the empty floor space in your living room, the next step is to decide what types of furniture you want to use to create your aesthetic.
For example, suppose you want to go with a more upscale look and have space for furniture.
In that case, you might want to focus on leather pieces of furniture instead of material. Of course, you might not have a massive preference for one particular type of furniture.
But the more you can narrow your options down, the less time you’ll have to spend shopping for the right pieces. And getting the furniture is the easy part, as once you acquire it, it’s time to start seeing what kind of seating arrangements best suit your space.
Do you want all the seating closer to the center of the room, along the walls, or a mixture of both? No one option is objectively the best, so you’ll have to rely on your personal likes and dislikes to find a layout that fits the bill.
It’s also best to do lots of experimentation during this part of the process, as being able to see the layouts is much more helpful than only visualizing them in your head.
3. Rugs, Mats, and Floor Coverings
If you are not looking to use furniture to fill the empty floor space in your living room, rugs, mats, floor coverings, and other similar items are excellent for achieving a similar effect.
Having plain-looking carpet, tiles, or a wooden floor is sometimes nice. However, they don’t always add a lot of character to a room.
More importantly, they make the room look less full. The effect that putting a simple rug over a section of carpet can have on a room’s feel in terms of space might surprise you quite a lot. So, don’t underestimate it as an option.
4. Add Tables
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This next tip might seem like a no-brainer, but adding tables is one of the easiest and most effective means for filling space in a living room.
The main reason for this is because of the sheer variety of tables that you can choose from. If you want a table at the center of the room where it’ll receive the most use, a coffee table will work wonders.
In contrast, if you prefer something a little more out of the way, you can get a smaller table, put it in a corner or on the end of a sofa, and fill it with whatever items you like. Be it flowers, cool little knickknacks, a snack bowl, or something else. Once again, experimentation is key here.
5. Fill Out Some Bookcases or Cabinets
In the event that tables aren’t enough to get the job done, you can also turn to bookcases and cabinets. They offer similar flexibility to tables but tend to take up more space.
Taking up more space also means that you can fit more stuff into them, and they pair exceptionally well with most items. In fact, you will more than likely already have things in your house that you can put on display, though if not, finding things to buy is easy.
If you need some ideas, consider getting some pottery or Fine China dinnerware sets. It does not need to be anything crazy expensive because these items will act as complementary pieces to the whole room. Instead, try to keep it simple and close to your style.
6. Bring on the Greenery
Throwing some greenery into the mix is another great way to fill up some spaces in your living room and could also potentially help a little with improving air quality.
Since plants come in all shapes and sizes, it is fair to say that there are practically no limits to what you can do with them.
They can go anywhere in the room and automatically bring a completely new element to the space, so you don’t have to do too much when it comes to positioning them.
All you need to do is pick a spot that looks good to you and let them do the rest. The only requirement is that if they aren’t artificial plants, you will want to put them in a spot that gets reasonable amounts of sunlight throughout the day. Also, don’t forget to water them!
Things to Consider
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Now that you have some ideas that will hopefully help you begin filling up those empty spaces, here are a few more general things to keep in mind.
- Take your time surveying your options. Don’t rush out and buy the first thing that looks good to you.
- Rather than rely on one or two things to fill space, use a wide variety of items of varying sizes.
- Find a balance between small and large items. That way, you won’t lean too heavily either way.
- Don’t be afraid to take inspiration from other design ideas if they contain things you like.
- Don’t limit yourself to things that you typically think of when you think of items that go into a living room just to be safe. Branch out if you feel adventurous and do some thinking outside of the box.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some answers to a few questions you may still have:
How Do You Fill Awkward Room Space?
Filling awkward room space is difficult, depending on the layout of the room. However, the best way to do this is by using smaller items rather than larger ones.
Smaller items are more flexible and can fit into those tight, awkward, out-of-way spaces that some rooms have. This is especially the case for rooms that already have lots of stuff in them.
How Do You Fill a Dark Corner Space in a Living Room?
With dark corner spaces in living rooms, you have two main options to fill them. First, you can use a light or lamp. That way, you both brighten the space and fill it with an object simultaneously.
Second, you can put something in the area with a bright color, like a table or chair, though this depends on the room’s overall darkness. If it’s a very dark corner, just put a nice light there and call it a day.
How Do You Fill a Large Living Room?
To fill a large living room, you want to start with large items like sofas, chairs, ottomans, and coffee tables before moving down to the more minor things.
Doing this will allow you to use the more oversized items to take up big chunks of space, and then the little stuff can fill out the sections that the large items can’t quite reach.
What to Do With Dead Corner Space?
Having dead corner space might seem like a troubling predicament, but you should look at that quiet corner as a blank canvas. The only limit on your imagination is the space itself, so don’t be afraid to experiment.
You can turn it into a spot for a minibar, a reading space, a play area if you have young children, and all types of other possibilities.
Where Do You Put a TV In a Living Room With a Fireplace?
Living rooms with fireplaces can make it tricky to decide where a TV should go. The TV can go on the wall above the fireplace if there is enough space, but sometimes the fireplace mantle will get in the way.
If you find this is the case, it’s also okay for the TV to go on either wall adjacent to the fireplace.
Take Your Time Exploring and Don’t Rush the Process
So there you have it—how to fill empty floor space in a living room. Doing so is a process that requires patience, proper planning, and a surprising amount of practice.
You almost certainly won’t get your ideal setup on a first, second, or even third attempt, so don’t let that discourage you.
Follow the tips and suggestions above and use your creativity to flesh out your living room as much as you desire, and you’ll have those empty spaces full in no time at all!