Cost to Furnish a Small Living Room: Budget & Cost Breakdown

Est. Reading Time: 9 Mins

Furnishing any room in your home can feel stressful. Some of you may look at your blank canvas of a room and go, “Dear lord, where do I start?!”

No need to worry too much! Everyone feels this way when you start with an empty room. The cost of a living room can get quite high, says Michelle MacLellan, an interior designer at La-Z-Boy Hunt Club.

“The idea of creating a livable space in a small living room can feel even more stressful because you don’t have as much room to work with,” she says.

So, how much does it cost to furnish a small living room? What are the main furniture items that you need to create a fully functional space? All of these burning questions and more will be answered in this article!

In This Article…

1. Creating a Small Living Room Budget
2. Breakdown of Small Living Room Cost
   1. Cost of a Sofa
   2. Cost of a Sectional
   3. Cost of an Accent Chair/Recliner
   4. Cost of Occasional Tables/Ottomans
   5. Cost of an Area Rug
   6. Cost of Living Room Lighting
   7. Cost of Home Decor Items & Accessories

Creating a Small Living Room Budget

First thing’s first! When purchasing new furniture and decor items, it is always good practice to create a budget for yourself.

Creating a budget allows you to visually look at all of the things you either need or want in your small living room. Given that you are furnishing a  small living room, you won’t need everything that is necessary for a regular-sized living room.

Michelle mentions buying multipurpose furniture, such as Loveseats with a Console, small sectionals, ottomans, or Coffee Tables with Storage, can be very useful when furnishing a limited space.

Things that might be included in your small living room budget should be…

• Main Seating (Sofa or Sectional)
• Accent Chair or Recliner
• Occasional Tables (Coffee Table and/or Side Table)
• Living Room Lamps or Other Lighting
• Area Rug
• Artwork
• Window Coverings
• Other Home Decor Items & Accessories

What to Start With?

As mentioned before, Michelle is an interior designer, meaning she knows a thing or two about creating an affordable budget for individuals looking to furnish an entire room.

Michelle recommends starting off with what she calls “the skeleton of the room.” This includes your main furniture items that are necessary for the minimum functionality of a living room. 

“Most people prioritize seating as the first thing to look for,” Michelle says. “Eventually they think about a media unit to place a TV, and then they work their way around the room and go ‘hmm… a coffee table would work well here.’ And then they sprinkle things up by placing end tables next to the seating.”

Once all of the important furnishings are set, Michelle says that living room accents are the next thing to worry about. “Home accents are the little things that add the meat to the bones of a living room,” she says.

Regarding home accents, things like area rugs, artwork pieces, window coverings, and accent chairs may come to mind. All of these extra additions will add more layers to your small living room, giving off a more detailed and unique room.

Before anything, however, when furnishing a living room, or any room in your home for that matter, it is always important to measure your space. This is especially important in a small space since you have less space to work with. Make sure you are not overwhelming your room with too much furniture.

What to Invest In?

If you’re planning on furnishing a space that you know will stay in for a long time, it might be worth investing in your small living room furniture. But what should you spend the most money on in your room?

Michelle simply answers this question with four words: “What you’re sitting on.” 

A sofa, sectional, and other main seating arrangements are not cheap, and the expenses for these furniture items can get pricey.

However, spending money on main seating items that are built with high-quality materials can save you a lot of money down the road.

At La-Z-Boy, for example, we recognize that our furniture is more expensive than some other furniture stores on the market. But, we’re also aware that our furniture offers long-lasting comfort and relaxation to families for decades. 

That said, if you’re planning to stay in your small space for a long time, it might be worth spending a little bit extra initially to enjoy your furniture items longer.

Furnishing a Small Living Room: Cost Breakdown

Now that you know how to budget your furniture properly let’s take a look at the cost breakdowns of each possible furniture item that might be in your small living room… 

The next section will go more into detail about the cost of each furniture item and what to expect. 

Cost of a Sofa

When you think of living room furniture, a sofa is what comes to mind for most people. A sofa, according to Michelle, “defines a whole room and what it’s going to look like.” 

The average price of a good sofa is around $1,900 - $2,500. More expensive sofas will have added upgrades and options like leather or specialty fabrics. 

Michelle says that apartment-sized sofas or loveseats might be better for small living rooms, but it is ultimately up to you if you think you have the room for a regular-sized sofa.

If you want to learn more about the Cost of a Sofa, or if you’re looking for Small Sofas from La-Z-Boy, check out these articles.

Cost of a Sectional

Sectionals are another main seating arrangement that people tend to consider when furnishing a living room. Sectionals allow for more versatility in terms of functionality and style. Depending on the configuration, you might have more than just one use for your sectional. 

However, be careful about how big your sectional is because it might be too big if you’re trying to furnish a small living room. Michelle recommends going for the smallest configurations possible and seeing what it looks like in your home.

When looking at the cost of a sectional as opposed to the cost of a sofa, there is a big difference. If you want to learn more about the comparison between Sofas vs. Sectionals, check out this article.

However, the average cost of a good quality sectional is about $3,000 for a small configuration.

If you want to learn more about the Cost of a Sectional, check out this article.

Cost of an Accent Chair/Recliner

Accent chairs and recliners can offer an extra place to sit if your space allows for it. Further, an accent chair or recliner can add some style to the room with a contrasting splash of colour to your living room palette.

At La-Z-Boy, select recliners can be just as stylish as a stationary accent chair. If you want to learn more, check out our  Secret Recliners or recliners from the Duo Collection.

When it comes to selecting a recliner for a small living room, Michelle recommends wall recliners before rocking recliners since they don’t need as much room to function. If you want to learn more about the comparison between Rocker vs. Wall Recliners, check out this article.

All being said, the average cost of an accent chair is $1,200 - $1,400, while a recliner is $1,300 - $1,500.

If you want to learn more about the Cost of an Accent Chair or the Cost of a Recliner, check out these articles. 

Cost of Occasional Tables/Ottomans

Occasional tables are also important for any living room. I mean, where else will you rest your drink?

Occasional tables can come in many different shapes and sizes, all with different purposes. The main occasional tables offered anywhere are coffee tables, end tables, and media units. 

Instead of an occasional table, some homeowners like to use an ottoman as a coffee table. This way, it duals as either an extra seating area or something to kick your feet up.

Coffee tables, ottomans and end tables have an average price of $600, with media units having an average cost of $1,000. 

If you want to learn more about the Cost of a Coffee Table or want to learn more about La-Z-Boy’s Best-Selling Ottomans, check out these articles.

Cost of an Area Rug

Area rugs are a little bit of a game changer when considering your living room budget. Though not necessary to bring a room together, area rugs can bring your budget either higher than expected or relatively on track.

Michelle says, “the quality of the area rug or the build of them can determine how expensive it is.” This means if an area rug is handmade instead of machine-made, it will be much more expensive.

If you want to learn more about How Area Rugs Are Made, check out this article.

The average size for an area rug is around 5’ x 8’ and 8’ x 10’. In a small living room, Michelle recommends using smaller area rugs, such as 5’ x 8’.

That said, the average cost of an affordable and small area rug is $400 - $600.

If you want to learn more about the Cost of an Area Rug, check out this article.

Cost of Living Room Lighting

Living room lighting is very important when considering additional accents for a living room. Natural light might be important to some. However, natural light only lasts so long throughout the day. 

Michelle says that a floor light or two table lamps are usually the main focus for people. “Make sure you’re buying twin table lamps so that they match,” she says.

That being said, floor lamps have an average cost of $400 while table lamps are $220 each.

If you want to learn more about Lamps for Your Living Room, check out this article.

Cost of Home Decor Items & Accessories

Lastly, home decor items, such as artwork and other accessories, bring your home design to life and accentuate your personal taste in your room.

“It doesn’t matter where you get your decor items, as long as they work with your living layout, everything will balance itself out,” Michelle says.

Home decor items & accessories can include wall paintings, shelf knick-knacks, window coverings, picture frames, and much more.

Artwork does not have a fixed price. Michelle recommends budgeting at least $1,000 for home decor items. “That way, you can spend some money to make your room less bland and more exciting,” she says.

Cost of Small Living Room Furniture at La-Z-Boy

Before we let you go, you might wonder what it’s like to furnish a small living room using La-Z-Boy furniture. Here is a cost breakdown of what to expect from La-Z-Boy.

At first glance, you might already tell that these items are more expensive than the average cost. However, do not let this frighten you. Shopping at La-Z-Boy for your small living room can still be affordable, depending on the furniture items you look at.

Michelle recounts a time when she was furnishing a small living room for a younger couple using mostly La-Z-Boy furniture. “It was an 18th-century home in Brockville. The room was small–10 x 11.5 ft. so not a lot of wiggle room. They were also on a budget, so we had to think strategically with how things were going to play out.”

Once all of the furnishings were complete, the project cost around $8,000 for everything. Michelle emphasizes that this is why it is important to talk to design consultants and interior designers since they know how to help save you extra pennies when on a budget at La-Z-Boy.

If you want to learn more about How Much a La-Z-Boy Living Room Costs, check out this article.

What's Next?

Now that you know everything you need to know about the cost of furnishing a living room, you should have more of a confident plan when tackling what might have been a daunting blank canvas.

If you are still experiencing uncertainty, La-Z-Boy has you covered! You can start shopping by visiting one of our local showrooms located in Ottawa or Kingston. You can also schedule a visit online before coming in.

Our design consultants are always eager to lend a helping hand. Take advantage of our interior design services for extra assistance in furnishing a small living room that fits your budget

If you’re also wondering about the cost of other rooms in your home like your Bedroom, Basement, or Your House as a whole, check out these helpful articles.

Related Articles:

Ideas for Decorating Your Living Room

La-Z-Boy Furniture for Military Housing

How to Furnish a Theatre Room with La-Z-Boy Furniture