The living room works harder than any other room in the flat. It’s where you have your morning coffee, where you collapse after work, and where you host friends at the weekend, and in most Hong Kong homes it doubles as the dining room and often a workspace too. So good living room design isn’t about looking pretty; it’s about making one compact space genuinely comfortable to live in and easy to use.
Here we walk through the parts that matter most: how to plan the layout, how to handle the TV wall, how to design cabinetry that actually hides your clutter, and what to weigh up for small rooms and open-plan living-dining spaces.
Start with how you actually use the room
Before anything else, be honest about what the room is really for. A living room built around films and gaming is laid out very differently from one where someone works from home or keeps an eye on young kids.
Many Hong Kong flats run the living and dining areas together, so the sofa, TV and dining table all share one path. When you plan the layout, the priority is easy movement, from the front door to the sofa and from the kitchen to the table, with no detours or turning sideways to squeeze past. Aim for roughly 2.5 to 3 metres between sofa and TV; if the room won’t allow it, a projector or wall-mounted screen buys back the distance.
The TV wall: your living room’s focal point
The TV wall is usually the first thing you see walking in, which makes it both the focal point and the most useful wall to build storage into.
For a look that feels refined rather than flashy, a stone or stone-effect feature wall paired with wood veneer or fluted panelling adds depth; a hidden LED strip or recessed lights completely change the mood for film nights. If storage is tight, turn the whole wall into a floor-to-ceiling unit: an open recess for the TV and a few display pieces, with doored cabinets to the sides or below for everything else. One wall, focal point and storage solved together.
A practical note: run the wiring, network cable and sockets before the wall goes up, and decide early where the set-top box, soundbar and console will sit, so you’re not left with cables you can’t hide.
Storage that looks good: living room cabinetry
When people search for “living room design” in Hong Kong, what they often really want to fix is storage. Combination units, storage cabinets, C-shaped units, TV consoles, display cabinets: with so many options, which do you choose?
Think of it in two jobs. To keep things clean and calm, “hide” clutter behind doored and floor-to-ceiling cabinets. To show off books, ornaments or photos, keep some open shelving or a glass display cabinet for “display”. Most rooms need both. A roughly 70/30 split (mostly concealed, a little on show) reads tidy rather than busy.
Corners are easily wasted, so a corner unit or an L-shaped run puts them to work. Lift base cabinets slightly off the floor (or add a light strip underneath) so a robot vacuum can get through and the piece feels lighter. Don’t cut corners on hardware: hinges, sliding tracks and runners decide how long it lasts and how good it feels to use every day.
Making a small living room feel bigger
A small flat doesn’t mean a cramped living room. A few moves go a long way: keep walls and larger furniture in pale, tonal colours to visually widen the space; choose low, light-legged furniture that shows more floor and feels airier; and place a large mirror opposite the window to bounce daylight around the room.
For layout, if you want a more open feel, divide zones with a glass sliding door or a low cabinet rather than a solid wall. Furniture that earns its keep helps too: a storage ottoman, or an extendable dining table that stays compact day to day and opens up only when guests arrive.
Lighting and materials: layers are everything
A single ceiling light flattens the whole room. The better approach is three layers: a main light for general brightness, indirect lighting (strips, wall washers) for atmosphere, and accent lighting (spots, table lamps) to pick out display pieces and reading corners. At night you rarely need all of them at once; switching one or two on gives the room depth.
On materials, NOON leans towards leather sofas with warm timber and stone: hard-wearing, easy to maintain and lovely to sit on. Pale wood, natural stone and slim metal lines are an easy route to an understated, refined look that won’t tire after a couple of years.
Open-plan living-dining: the upside and the trade-offs
Opening the living, dining and sometimes kitchen areas into one buys you space and light, and lets the family be together while doing their own thing. But open-plan has a cost: cooking smells, grease and noise drift into the living space, and you lose wall length you could have used for storage.
If you love the openness but worry about grease, keep a glass sliding door so the kitchen is “semi-open”: slid back for everyday airiness, closed when you’re cooking something serious. Even in a fully open layout, use flooring, ceiling detail, lighting or a rug to mark where the living area ends and the dining area begins, so the space still feels ordered.
Further reading: The old-flat renovation process · Bedroom design in Hong Kong
FAQ
How much does living room design cost?
It depends mainly on the flat’s size, the scope of work and materials, especially how elaborate the cabinetry and TV wall are, which can move the figure a lot. The most accurate step is a free on-site measurement and quotation based on your actual unit.
How do I make a small living room look bigger?
Pale, tonal colours; low, light-legged furniture; more visible floor; and a large mirror opposite the window to reflect light. Divide zones with glass or a low cabinet instead of a solid wall.
Does the TV wall have to include cabinets?
Not necessarily, but if storage is tight, building the TV wall into a floor-to-ceiling unit is the most efficient move, giving you a focal point and storage in one. For a purely clean look, a feature finish with hidden lighting is enough.
Is an open-plan kitchen right for Hong Kong?
It depends on how you cook. Light cooking suits it well and rewards you with space and light; if you regularly cook heavy Chinese dishes, a glass sliding door for a semi-open kitchen keeps the airiness while holding back the grease.
Thinking about redesigning your living room?
From measuring and layout to materials and construction, NOON Interior Design guides you step by step to turn the living room into the most usable space in your home. Book a free consultation and quotation: call +852 3520 2989 or contact us online.