6 Ideas for Designing a Multipurpose Living Room
With San Francisco’s average rent rising to over $1,700 and Bay Area home prices reaching the highest in the country last year, many of us are downsizing or living with roommates to offset the cost of living… Which unfortunately means we have to get a little more creative with our interior design! If you find yourself needing to turn your living room into a multipurpose room, consider these six ideas:
- Visually divide your space with a room divider, open bookshelf, or other object.
If you’re using your living room for multiple purposes, such as an entertainment space and an office or a family room and a dining area, it may be helpful to define each section of the room with some visual boundaries. Here are a few options:
- Find a room divider to help break up the space. This is an especially good option if you love hunting around flea markets and antique shops for unique items.
- Use open bookshelves, which divide the room without blocking light from passing through.
- Choose a low sofa lifted on legs (such as the Ashbury Sofa or Brooklyn Sofa) to face into your entertainment space. A low back and space under the sofa also allow light to pass through and keep your space feeling open and airy.
- Choose a lift-top coffee table.
When you live with kids or have children over to your home frequently, you may wish you had a separate play room to contain toys and games. A coffee table with a lifting top can get you halfway there! These handy coffee tables allow you to store coloring books, puzzles, Legos, and other small objects right under the tabletop to prevent clutter from filling your room.
Another option is a hollow coffee table, or one with nesting storage bins which can hold even larger toys and games.
- Designate a corner or wall for your office space.
Even if you don’t have a spare room to set up as an office, you can still set up a comfortable workspace in your living room! Slide a desk into the back corner of your living room, or go ahead and designate an entire wall for your work. You can set up shelves across the length of the wall to house your materials, and use cabinet doors or stylish bins to avoid the look of clutter. Insert your desk against the wall between shelves for a built-in look.
- Opt for a sleeper sofa.
If you don’t have a spare bedroom, it might feel impossible to host overnight guests. Fortunately, sleeper sofas offer a comfortable place for loved ones to spend the night, and blend right into your everyday interior design after guests depart.
When you find a Sofa Creations sleeper sofa design you love, you can customize the:
- Length and depth measurements
- Color
- Fabric
- Plus more preferences through a custom quote
Our sleeper sofas also incorporate a sinuous spring and webbing design, instead of the outdated bar supports that dig into a guest’s back through the night. Our design is stronger and offers uniform support for every part of the mattress. We would love to have you stop by one of our showrooms or browse our selection of attractive sleeper sofas online.
- Save storage space by hanging some of your prized possessions on the wall.
Everyday, practical objects can be beautiful, but that’s easy to forget in the hustle and bustle of regular life. You can conserve storage space by using some of these things as artwork on your walls. For example, try hanging items like:
- A vertical garden with herbs
- Musical instruments
- Bikes and sports equipment
- A vinyl record collection
- Find side tables that can also serve as seating, storage, or both.
Just because something isn’t labeled as a side table or end table doesn’t mean it can’t act as one! Make the most of your space by finding multipurpose items that can work double or triple duty. For example, the locally-based design store Acacia in San Francisco has a great selection of wire baskets which can be used as tables, seats, and storage space. Poufs can also be used interchangeably as end tables, ottomans, and seats.