Living Room Corner Ideas: 14 Things to Put in an Empty Corner

The classic answer for a corner with a meter or more each way. Angle a rounded armchair so its back points into the corner, add an ottoman or pouf in front and a small round table at the side for a cup. A low bookcase along one wall and a lamp on top complete it, as in the photo at the top of the page. Curved chairs suit corners because they have no sharp back edges to line up with the walls.

In a tighter corner, a small tub chair takes about 70 cm. Fix two short shelves on the wall above, one higher than the other, with a framed print, a vase of branches and a candle, and stand a slim tree in a pot beside the chair. A strip light under each shelf turns the corner into the lamp for that end of the room.

A neutral living room can put all its color in one corner. A mustard armchair with a teal throw, an arched floor lamp with a woven shade reaching over it, three shelves of books and a patterned rug underneath make a corner that looks planned from the doorway. Keep the rest of the room quiet so it reads as a feature.

If a chair will not fit, or you do not want another seat, put a large floor cushion or a knitted pouf in the corner with a low lamp and a basket of books. It is extra seating when friends come, it moves in one hand, and children use it more than any chair.

The quickest way to fill a corner is a single plant tall enough to reach at least shoulder height: a monstera, a fiddle-leaf fig, a bird of paradise or a kentia palm. Raise the pot on a low wooden stand so the leaves start above the arm of the sofa. One large plant looks calmer than five small ones. It needs a corner with real daylight; beside a window is ideal.

Where a large plant would cost too much or grow too wide, use height from furniture. A slim stand about a meter tall with a pothos trailing down gives the same vertical line from a small, cheap plant. A second, bushier plant in a basket on the floor beside it fills the base.

Corners far from a window are too dim for most plants. A good faux olive or ficus tree in a real basket or ceramic pot is the honest solution. Dust it now and then, and set it slightly forward from the walls so it has a shadow.

L-shaped shelves that wrap the corner use space that no cabinet reaches. Run five or six up the wall and mix books, small plants, baskets and one or two framed prints, leaving gaps. Trailing plants on the upper shelves soften the lines. A floor plant below finishes the column. In a rental, a freestanding unit does the same without drilling.

A quarter-round or ladder-style corner shelf is the freestanding version: about 35 to 40 cm along each wall, as tall as a door. It suits the gap between a sofa and a window. Fill it loosely, with something green on top, books lower down and the heaviest things at the bottom. Fix it to the wall with the strap or bracket supplied.

The corner at the end of a sofa is usually half a meter of nothing. A round side table with a small lamp, and a large woven basket of throws tucked between the table and the sofa arm, turns it into the most used spot in the room. Nothing is fixed to the wall and everything has a purpose.

A narrow trolley with glasses and bottles, or a small cabinet with a record player and a crate of records below, gives a corner an activity. Hang one print above it. Trolleys suit rentals and small rooms because they roll out of the way.

A dark corner makes the whole room look smaller. An arc or tripod floor lamp with a warm bulb, standing alone, is a complete answer and takes a hand's width of floor. Uplighters wash the two walls and the ceiling; shaded lamps make a pool for reading. Our lighting ideas for apartments without ceiling lights cover plug-in options.

Paint a tall arch that wraps both walls of the corner in terracotta, clay or olive, and the corner becomes a feature before any furniture arrives. Inside it, a slim floor lamp, a two-tier side table and two small framed prints are enough. It costs a sample pot or two of paint. Mark the curve with a pencil on a string pinned at the center of the arch.

A tall mirror leaned in or beside a corner doubles the light from the nearest window and makes a narrow room look wider. Angle it to reflect the window or a lamp, not the television. Stand a plant or a basket next to the base so it looks placed. Secure the top to the wall with an anti-tip fixing, especially with children at home.