It’s a place to relax, spread out, keep overnight guests, and create memories. As its name suggests, your living room is where life happens. And for this noble usage, size is completely irrelevant. So why not create a living room as versatile as you? Forgo the traditional trinity of couch, coffee table and entertainment center; instead, prioritize activity and space over the traditional must-haves of living room furniture.

Tucked Away Storage

There is nothing worse than cramming a small living space with too many shelves and storage areas. Take the first big step and purge all of the non-essentials, like endless bric-a-brac trinkets from your travels and DVDs, which can easily be stored on hard drives and played digitally. Save space for the things you truly value, like photo albums or family board games, and let the rest of the mess evaporate.

Once you’ve downsized to the main essentials, you can begin to design storage that’s both stylish and useful. Install a wall-mounted shelf above each window, like a little brim to the window frame. These single-story high shelves are a great place to keep books, art pieces, and other items you don’t need to reach for every day.

Hollow ottomans or a rustic hope chest can double as linen storage for a guest bed as well as seating for all kinds of gatherings. Install some shelving under a loft ladder or staircase to keep a vertical triangle of space from being wasted.

Change it Up

If you live in a small space like a park model, chances are your living room bleeds into other spaces in the house, like the dining room, kitchen, or even guest bedroom. As its functions change, you might want the constellation of furniture to rotate as well. Or, perhaps you just need to make changes to keep your brain active!

Lightweight pieces and furniture wheels can keep the space constantly in tune with its current use. Dining chairs on wheels can easily accommodation more guests in the living room. A bookshelf can quickly change from a room divider to an open doorway when pushed against the wall. Not to mention, wheels make cleaning and vacuuming a little easier. too.

The Magic of Sectionals

Sectional couches have always been popular for organizing small sitting spaces. Consider a couch with detachable squares of the same height that can function as coffee table, ottoman, or footstool. Separate the layer of squares for extra seating, or put them together to form a guest bed.

The traditional L-shaped sectional, with pieces that can be put against a wall or pulled out to face each other, also keep the game of musical chairs going. Consider something flat, like a hope chest or low wooden table with pillows, as both a coffee table and extra sitting area.

Entertainment Station

While more and more people are moving away from using a television as the focal point of a living room, it is still an important element of the living room for many. Consider mounting a computer screen or flat screen TV attached to a Roku, Apple TV, or another internet-connected device to combine the web and the tube into one convenient entertainment package.

And, if your furniture is on wheels and easy to move around, you can mount the television on a sidewall or in the back of the room and simply re-adjust your sitting area when you want to use it, rather than design the layout of the space around the television. There’s no harm in moving the television into the background so you can instead foreground your friends.