How to Furnish Small Spaces: Tips and Top Picks

When your living room and kitchen practically share the same footprint, it can feel like clutter is inevitable or that furniture just takes up too much space. However, with some smart planning and decluttering, I truly believe that small spaces can feel open and stylish too. Small doesn’t have to mean boring. 

I’m on a quest to make the most of my newly moved-into shoebox condo. Calling all urban dwellers struggling to furnish a small space—here are my top furniture picks (plus a few tips) to help you maximize your apartment space without sacrificing style.

How to Furnish a Small Dining Room

Tip: Maximize height using bar stools and a bar table. 

In tighter spaces, furniture can easily feel cramped and too close together. To avoid this, opt for a narrow, bar-height table to visually lift the room (instead of a full-sized dining table). This height draws the eye upward, which helps to balance the room’s sight-lines and keep the space from feeling heavy at eye level. 

Pair the table with low profile bar stools that tuck underneath when they’re not in use.

My Picks: the Seno Bar Table from Article paired with the Luna Bar Stool from King Living.

The Seno’s slim legs and compact table top take up minimal visual space, while its rich wooden tones add warmth to the room.

The Luna Bar Stool features sleek steel legs and offers a wide range of customizable seat covers—proof that minimalism can still be personal. 

How to Furnish a Small Living Room

Tip: Pick a sofa with a clean silhouette.

To me, a clean silhouette means low profile, subtle legs and straight lines throughout. Choosing a more streamlined sofa (without tufting or skirted bottoms), can actually make the living room feel larger, as it doesn’t take up as much visual space. 

And just because your sofa looks simple, doesn’t mean it can’t reflect your style or suit your space.

My Pick: the Zaza Sofa from King Living.

The slender steel legs and adjustable arms in the Zaza Sofa allows for the piece to be customizable without crowding the room. There is also a plethora of fabrics, leather and colours to choose from—making this piece truly feel like your own.  

How to Furnish a Small Bedroom

Tip: Opt for a storage bed to maximize space in other parts of the home. 

Storing items under the bed might be the best home organization tip out there. Instead of cramming another storage cabinet into your 600-square-foot space, keep things out of sight—and under the bed. A lift-up bed is a great option for items you don’t need on a regular basis (like off-season clothes or luggages), and bed frames with built-in drawers are great for the fashion forward folks who have one too many pairs of statement pants. 

My Picks: the Form Bed with Storage from Sundays Furniture and the Delta Coast Storage Bed from King Living.

The Form Bed is Sundays’ newest addition to its storage bed line up. With an all-wood frame, rounded edges and a slim headboard, it brings a modern feel to the bedroom. In addition to the stylish design, the four storage drawers tie in functionality.

The Delta Coast Storage bed features a plush headboard and a lift-up storage solution, great for the bulkier items that you don’t need on an everyday-basis. Like most of King Living’s furniture pieces, this bed frame’s cover fabric and colour are fully customizable, so you can make it uniquely yours.