A one-bedroom apartment in the inner suburbs often holds a living room, a dining corner, and a home office inside one small area, which means every piece of furniture has to work harder than it would in a house. Choosing furniture for small apartments in Melbourne can feel like solving a puzzle with too many pieces and too little space. This guide from Furn House walks through the furniture categories that matter most for a small Melbourne apartment, along with the clearance numbers that keep a compact room comfortable to move through.
Furnishing a small apartment differs from furnishing a house, since a house allows extra furniture and a spare room for anything that does not fit elsewhere. An apartment offers no such flexibility, so each piece needs to serve more than one purpose. Furn House organises its range into seven main categories, each suited to a different part of a small apartment.
The categories covered in this guide include the following.
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Bedroom furniture, including bed frames and chests of drawers
- Mattresses, sized for every bed frame
- Living Room Furniture, including coffee tables and television units
- Lounge and sofa pieces, including arm chairs and sofa beds
- Dining and kitchen furniture, including dining tables and chairs
- Occasional furniture, such as side tables and occasional chairs
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Home décor, including rugs, cushions, and mirrors
Key Takeaways
- A storage bed frame can remove the need for a separate chest of drawers in a small bedroom.
- Positioning furniture away from the wall, rather than pushed flat against it, is a technique recommended by the design platform Houzz to make a small room feel larger.
- Furniture placed low to the floor, rather than tall and bulky, makes a small apartment feel larger than it is.
- A single arm chair often works better than a full sofa in a room with limited wall space.
- Furn House stocks each of these categories with pieces measured for apartment scale.
What Furniture Works Best in a Small Apartment in Melbourne?
Furniture that serves more than one purpose and sits close to the floor works best in a small apartment in Melbourne. New apartments across Australian capital cities now average close to 135 square metres, based on data reported by the Housing Industry Association, which leaves little room for furniture that only does one job. A storage bed frame, a compact coffee table, and a low television unit all help a small living space carry more function without adding bulk.
How Should You Furnish a Small Apartment Bedroom?
A bedroom in a small apartment works best with a bed frame that includes drawers or a gas lift base, paired with a mattress sized to match. This combination removes the need for a separate chest of drawers in a room with no built-in wardrobe.
- Holds folded clothes, spare bedding, or shoes
- Removes the need for a separate chest of drawers
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Keeps the floor around the bed clear for walking
A range of bedroom furniture in Dandenong shows how drawers and gas lift bases work across different bed sizes, from a single bed through to a queen-size frame, alongside a matching mattress.
What Living Room Furniture Suits a Small Melbourne Apartment?
A round or oval coffee table, paired with a low television unit, suits a small living room better than large, boxy pieces, since rounded corners are easier to walk around in a tight space. A hall table near the entry and a lamp table beside a chair round out the room without adding bulk, while a rug, a cushion, or a mirror from the home décor range can finish the space without taking up floor area.
A range of living room furniture in Melbourne locations including Dandenong, Hoppers Crossing and Thomastown shows how a coffee table, a television unit, and smaller occasional pieces can be scaled to fit a compact floor plan.
How Do You Choose a Sofa or Lounge for a Small Living Room?
A single armchair, or a compact lounge, usually suits a small living room better than a full-sized sofa, since it takes up less wall space while still offering comfortable seating. A storage ottoman can double as a coffee table and a footrest, and a sofa bed handles overnight guests without needing a spare room. The lounge and sofas in Melbourne furniture shops include arm chairs, ottomans, and sofa beds sized for apartment living rooms rather than larger family homes.
What About Dining, Kitchen, and Other Apartment Essentials?
A small apartment still needs a place to eat and a few extra pieces to tie the space together, even when floor space is limited. A round dining table with four dining chairs from the dining and kitchen range fits most apartment dining corners without overwhelming the room. An occasional chair or a narrow side table from the occasional range fills a spare corner, while home décor pieces such as a rug or a mirror help a small room read as finished rather than empty.
How Much Space Should Be Left Around Furniture in a Small Apartment?
A main walkway through a small apartment living room should measure at least 76 centimetres, a figure widely used across interior design guidance. Positioning a chair or a sofa slightly away from the wall, rather than pushing it flush against it, is a technique recommended by the design platform Houzz to help a small room feel more open.
- Main walkway through the room:76-91 centimetres
- Sofa or arm chair to coffee table: 36-46 centimetres
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Doorway approach on either side: at least 91 centimetres
Measuring the room before buying, then comparing those measurements against the listed product dimensions, prevents most sizing mistakes that show up after delivery.
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Furniture Category |
Space Saving Benefit |
Best Placement in a Small Apartment |
|
Bedroom furniture |
A storage bed frame holds bedding without a separate chest of drawers |
Bedroom with no built-in wardrobe |
|
Living Room Furniture |
A round coffee table and low television unit keep sightlines open |
Centre of the main seating group |
|
Lounge and sofa |
A single arm chair or storage ottoman replaces a full-sized sofa |
Corner of the living area |
|
Occasional pieces |
A narrow side table fills a gap without adding bulk |
Beside a chair or in a spare corner |
|
Home décor |
A mirror or rug finishes a room without using floor space |
Entryway or living area wall |
Where Can You See This Furniture in Melbourne?
Photographs only carry a piece of furniture so far, since scale and finish are easier to judge in person. Furn House operates furniture showrooms across Melbourne, including locations in Dandenong, Hoppers Crossing, and Thomastown, where a visitor can compare a bed frame, a coffee table, or an arm chair before deciding.
Furn House stocks each category covered in this guide at a scale suited to apartment living, which makes any of these four locations a practical stop before committing to a final furniture list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the best furniture for a small apartment in Melbourne?
A: A storage bed frame, a compact coffee table, and a low television unit tend to offer the best value in a small Melbourne apartment, since each piece does more than one job within a limited floor space.
Q: How much clearance should be left around a sofa or arm chair?
A: A main walkway of at least seventy-six centimetres should be left around a sofa or arm chair, with a slightly smaller gap of thirty-six to forty-six centimetres allowed between seating and a coffee table.
Q: Is a storage bed frame worth buying for a small bedroom?
A: A storage bed frame is worth buying for a small bedroom that lacks a built-in wardrobe or a separate chest of drawers, since the drawers or gas lift base can hold clothes and bedding without adding another piece of furniture.
Q: Should I choose an arm chair or a full sofa for a small living room?
A: A single armchair often suits a small living room better than a full sofa, since it takes up less wall space while still offering a comfortable second seat.
Q: Where can I see apartment-sized furniture in person in Melbourne?
A: Furn House showrooms in Dandenong, Hoppers Crossing, Thomastown, and Oakleigh allow a visitor to see apartment-sized furniture in person before buying.
Final Thoughts
Furnishing a small apartment in Melbourne comes down to choosing pieces that serve more than one purpose and leaving enough space to move around them comfortably. Bedroom furniture, living room furniture, and a well-chosen lounge or sofa each solve a specific space problem, while mattresses, dining and kitchen pieces, occasional furniture, and home décor round out the rest of the apartment.
Keeping a main walkway of at least 76 centimetres and choosing furniture that sits low to the floor helps a small apartment feel open rather than crowded. Furn House offers each of these furniture categories at a scale built for apartment living, which gives a shopper a practical starting point before furnishing any small space in Melbourne.
