Small living room TV ideas – 10 ways to style a TV in a compact space

Planning beautiful small living room TV ideas is no easy feat, but worry not, it is certainly not impossible to create a statement scheme around your TV, even in a tiny space. 

We've curated a selection of creative solutions to create a small living room TV scheme that you can be proud of, whether that be alongside statement artwork, disguised within a wall storage, or blending into a dark living room background. 

Small living room TV ideas

For most families, a TV is an essential tool for helping adults unwind, keeping the kids entertained, and facilitating cozy movie nights. The problem is, it’s not the prettiest piece of interior decor – when switched off, it’s essentially a large black box. Here, we showcase our favorite small living room ideas that cater beautifully to TVs.

1. Blend your TV into the background in an apartment

One of the main challenges in a small living room is how to deal with the tech. Don't let a TV spoil your small living room aesthetic. Here, the TV and TV stand blends beautifully into the fireplace-cum-storage of this small apartment living room without interrupting the linear aesthetic. This bespoke option hides all the wires, gives you super storage below and shelves for keepsakes on each side of the TV

2. Design a social hub for the whole family

Turn your family room into a sociable hub for the whole clan with a scheme centered around the TV. While the first reception room may be the place for more formal living TV room ideas aimed at hosting guests, a family room is the part of the house where movie nights reign supreme, and the whole family can relax in each other’s company. 

In this scheme from interior designer Melissa Bolivar, founder, House of Sui Sui, has ensured that this snug-cum-cinema room, which leads off the kitchen, is an immersive experience with the walls, cabinetry, sofa and rug all featuring nuanced hues of teal and aquamarine. Living room furniture ideas and accessories in similar but not quite matching tones create a warming spectrum of sunshine across the space.

'A bespoke chaise-style sofa makes best use of limited space; the richly-hued rug was inspired by the minimalist work of artist Ellsworth Kelly,' says Melissa.

3. Integrate a TV within a wall of storage

Small living room ideas take on myriad of guises: family zones, entertaining spaces, multi-media hubs. Therefore, well-planned storage ideas are transformative in allowing this hard-working room to meet every need.

‘Consider living room furniture ideas that feature both drawers and open shelving,’ says Rachel Galbraith, creative director at Ercol. ‘This versatility allows for bulkier items and unsightly TV remotes to be stowed out of sight, while eye-catching accessories can be styled on surfaces at eye level. If you love to mix up your interiors on a regular basis, free-standing designs are a perfect option and can be moved around the house.’

4. Consider color combinations in a small space

A carefully considered color clashing combination can create a small living room TV scheme that truly sings with joy. This is a space for both socialising and retreat, so you want shades that both enliven and comfort you. ‘Pink and green is one of my favorite color combination in rooms – they play really well off each other and it’s a great way to cheer up a room,’ says Lucy Barlow, founder, Barlow & Barlow. 

A TV surrounded by storage is a practical solution and can be softened with the addition of books and favorite pieces. Paint your living room shelving in a statement color to standout rather than hide it away.

5. Choose the right furnishings

Getting the furniture right within your small living room TV ideas is one of the biggest challenges when thinking about how to design a living room. 

'This needs to be a practical space for watching TV and creating good conversation,' says Mike Fisher, creative director and founder, Studio Indigo. 'What you choose needs to contribute to the personality and harmony of the space. Inevitably, I find people often graduate to the smaller rooms of a house as they are more intimate and cozier, whereas big rooms can make you feel small and uncomfortable. Be bold with your little living room and use large-scale furniture sparingly to give the illusion that the TV room is grander than it actually is.’ 

6. Minimize the presence of your TV

Tone down the presence of a TV by choosing a dark paint color for the surrounding joinery. In this scheme by Neptune, the inky black shelves have the dual effect of allowing the colors of the book spines to stand out while helping to minimize the presence of the screen.

'Where possible, conceal a TV so it isn't the focal point, 'says Sophie Coller, managing director, Kitesgrove. 'Failing that, set it within joinery surrounded by bookshelves to subtly integrate it.' 

7. Create a scheme around the TV

'The best way to camouflage your TV is to blend create a color scheme around the 'black box',' says Jen & Mar, the duo behind Interior Fox. 'Disguising your TV within a black and white space is a great way to ensure that your receiver never becomes an eyesore.'

While monochrome decorating can be tricky to get right, a considered approach will be rewarded by a simple but impactful scheme, especially in a small living room TV scheme. But tone and texture are important – remember that the most successful monochrome interiors combine movement and depth with tactile pieces to create an interesting narrative, as beautifully demonstrated in this space by Ginny Macdonald Design.

8. Center your TV in a small living room

Symmetry in interior design is a trick used to create smart-looking rooms – and it's perfect for your small living room TV ideas. Symmetry is a technique used by interior designers to create a space that looks incredibly tidy and smart – and therefore calming and relaxing. Using a TV as a visual anchor is a good place to start. 

‘We definitely like symmetry in our design work and feature it quite a bit. Symmetry creates a sense of balance and order and is calming to the mind, no matter your requirements of the space. You see lots of examples of symmetry in nature and it is an important principle generally in design,’ says Sophie Burke from Sophie Burke Design. 

Your living room seating ideas are just as important in a symmetrical space. Incorporate a plethora or seating options for the whole family.

9. Let your TV shine as part of the wall décor

Looking for living room art ideas for accent walls to give your small living room TV focus? If you are considering mounting a TV to the wall in a living room, one way to really make it sing out is by painting the wall behind it in a shade that's a total contrast to the color of the TV or surrounding walls. 

Painting or wallpapering your walls – around your living room TV – is an easy way to transform a small room and when you inevitably get bored with your chosen color in years to come, it is an easy refresh job. 

10. Redirect the eye 

Narrow lines play optical illusions. Here the textured media wall by Sigmar London, has the effect of distracting from the fact the TV stands proud of the wall and can also be extended on an arm. 'Stripes bring order and structure to a space and have the ability to redirect the eye,' says Roselind Wilson, founder of Roselind Wilson Design.

David Collinge, managing director, Ian Makin agrees: 'A good stripe isn't only about the color that work together, it's also about the negative space between them that creates a quality pattern.'

How do you fit a TV in a small living room?

With the many of us spending more and more time at home, I can see why you’d want to keep hold of your TV. But I can also see why you want to disguise it – as screens have gotten ever larger they have become big black vacuums, sucking life from the space like they do from the eyes of every teenager I know. There is a way to hide them, however (the TV sets, not the teenagers).

Firstly, start by identifying a different focal point. It could be a fireplace, an amazing view or even an empty wall where you can hang your favorite piece of artwork and arrange your seating around it. Then, in a different corner, you can either commission a purpose-built cupboard in which to hide the TV, recess it into a bookshelf the same size as the screen, or place it against a dark backdrop so that it blends with the decor. 

Can you have a big TV in a small room?

There is nothing to say that you shouldn't place a big TV in a small room. People often assume they should buy small-scale furniture, furnishings and technology for small rooms, but that actually makes a space feel smaller. Don’t be afraid to fill the room.

'Homeowners are looking for dynamic small living room TV ideas that will allow them the time to unwind at the end of a busy day but also one that will really benefit from the additional family time we have all been afforded in recent months, in which case you will want a large TV for the whole family to enjoy,' says Simon Tcherniak, senior furniture designer at Neville Johnson.'