Although various spaces in the home can represent design challenges when you're decorating your own dwelling, the living room is likely where you spend the majority of your time and it's probably where you're going to be entertaining most of your guests too. Designing a small living room can therefore be quite a tricky task. You need to figure out exactly how to strike a balance between making the room feel as open as possible, while providing plenty of seating for friends and family. Fortunately,  might be able to help. The following are some tips on how to decorate a small living room.

1. Start by using wallpaper and mirrors

Smaller living rooms can feel a little closed and clustered if they're short on windows. Fortunately, if you use wallpaper to help create a focal point in your room, improve light in the space, and add some depth by introducing a mirror, then you can look as though you've got an extra window. For a particularly good result, try angling the mirror so that it faces the outside.

2. Use hidden storage

Another great way to make the most of a small space when you're figuring out how to decorate a small living room, is to pick furniture that uses built-in storage to limit your clutter. A storage ottoman, trunk, or coffee table can work particularly well in this case. Try to add a small chest of drawers to the scenario, or a small credenza instead of a console table to boost your storage options.

3. Use smaller furniture

There's a lot more to your living room space than bulky armchairs and sofas. You can always get the same amount of comfort and the same aesthetic appeal by adding in different types of furniture, which are often a lot smaller than what you might usually go for. Antique shops are particularly useful in this case because the average room size was generally much smaller about half a century ago. Look for small love seats and chairs that work best for your space.

4. Use the ceiling

If you've got a particularly high living room, then why not take advantage of that space? You can't use high ceilings to throw extra chairs and sofas into the mix, but what you can do is draw the eye upwards and give your visitors the impression that your room is a lot grander than it actually is. Fill in your vertical space with some art or extra shelves.

5. Add in some plant greenery

Similar to other decorative features like wallpaper, mirrors, and even art pieces that you hang around the walls of your room to draw focus for your visitors, plants are a great way to give a smaller room some extra depth. The right amount of lush greenery displayed around your living room space can be great when you're wondering how to decorate a small living room. Plants can soften corners and fool people into believing that there's more to a room than there actually is.