Planning a small living room without it feeling cramped

Compact living rooms are the norm in most city flats, and the instinct is often to fill them with smaller versions of everything. In practice, a few well-scaled pieces make a room feel larger than many small ones.

We start with circulation: a clear walking line from the door to the window and to the dining area. Furniture is then placed to protect that line rather than interrupt it.

Next comes storage that disappears — a wall-hung TV unit, closed cabinets in the same tone as the wall, and lighting built into the ceiling instead of floor lamps that take up space.

Finally, we keep the palette calm. Two or three tones carried across walls, upholstery and curtains let the eye travel further, and the room reads as one continuous space.