The Ultimate Decorating Guide for Your Living Room
If there is one room that you should place a lot of emphasis on when it comes to creating a perfect design, it’s your living room. The sitting room makes a bold statement about your entire decorating style. The living room is the first room in the house that you want to show your visitors, mostly when they visit. Keeping it inviting, attractive and comfortable therefore becomes increasingly essential.
Since maintaining the balance between glamour and comfort can sometimes be quite a challenge, we have prepared the right living room décor guide just for you. Whether it’s re-decoration or you are starting right from scratch, this ultimate guide will help you transform your living room into the look that you so much desire.
1 Create a good plan
An adage says, failure to plan, is planning to fail. If you don’t have a solid plan, you might get confused along the way and not achieve the perfect living room that you desire. The living room hosts various activities including parties, dining, having family movie time, and more. Also, thanks to technological advancements, the living room acts as the office for the business people working online. Thus, it is only wise to plan for how the room will look thoroughly. You don’t want to have the right things at the wrong places and making your house look like a mixed-up garage. If you have the right plan, then it will help you strategize for things such as what item should go where, how many of certain items like photos should be displayed, what kind of electronics to buy, and more. Planning is the initial step and guideline to how your living room will appear. Prior planning guides you through the most basic decisions before you start. How your living room looks displays your taste, sense of style and also reveals a lot about you. Therefore, getting it right is crucial.
2 Identify a focal point
Your living room has a focal point from where you can approach the whole décor around. The focal point is the first point that catches your visitors’ eyes when they enter the room. Therefore, the focal point should be a point in your living room from where the rest of your décor revolves. This point can be in the form of a television, a fireplace, a central wall, a piece of art or any other location that you may desire. The focal point acts as the center of your living room and a point where your décor seems to stream from. So, you should make it exceptional.
3 Choose the right furniture
Picking the right furniture that fits your living room will save you a lot of time, money and effort. You should choose the right furniture, in terms of size, color, and style. For example, many designers would agree that a great sofa is a start to a great living room. When it comes to the living room décor, the furniture plays a significant role in the overall appearance of the room. Getting the wrong furniture can mess the whole room style. Getting a type of furniture that is multifunctional may be one way to save money. For example, in some instances, especially where the house is small and lacks a guest room, the need to transform that living room into a guest bedroom may be inevitable. Therefore, you can get an excellent multifunctional couch like a marble couch or occidental futon that can serve both as a sofa and a bed. They may be easy to manage and can offer both the comfort of a living room and the desired coziness of a guest room.
Alternatively, if you get a right mattress such as a futon mattress that you can later fold and store away, then you can easily manage to create a guest bedroom out of your living room. So, it’s good to research the top-rated futons to buy the best futons for everyday sleeping.
4 Define your living room with the perfect rugs
The sizes and types of mats you put on your floor also has a considerable effect on how the living room will look like. As Parker says, “I like the rugs to claim the territory”. The carpets, although not always, ought to create a bold statement about your décor style. Thus, you should put in a lot of efforts when buying the perfect rags for your living room. Check from the stores around you or online for the best rugs for sale and pick the one that augments the room color as well as your décorating style. The color of the mats, and how they are distributed in the living room can make the room or spoil the décor altogether. Therefore, you should avoid over-carpeting your living room to help keep it neat, beautiful and also less congested. Ensure that the pattern, color, and texture of your carpet are in line with the whole room décor.
5 Pick the right lighting and fixtures
The beauty of any room is greatly affected by the amount of lighting available. Lighting not only illuminates the room but also affects your mood and emotions. With the right amount of light, combined with the right décor such as dazzling ceiling fixtures, your living room will be just what you desire. When planning for lighting, you should take into consideration both natural and artificial lighting. The size and the number of windows the living room has and how well they let light in determines the level of the natural lighting in that room. If you place too much stuff around the windows, it can affect the amount of light that gets into the room. Also, you have to consider the type of artificial lighting that you have. It’s vital that the room has both low and high lighting. Investing in beautiful and durable lamps will go a long way in ensuring that your room is well-lit and looks perfect. Most bulbs will act as part of the décor if at all you choose the ones that blend in perfectly.
6 Decide on the best the colour combination
The choice of colors to apply to your living room décor determines the overall beauty of the room. When talking about the color choice, we consider both the paint on the wall, as well as the color of the seats, carpet, mats, and other furniture that you have in the house. The colors that you pick largely depend on your personal preference, taste, and choice. Alternatively, different things like whether there are kids or pets involved, among other factors can also influence your choice of color. For example, if you live in a home with kids and pets, you might be best choosing a color that is easy to maintain and clean. If you want a timeless colour palette, neutrals such as white, grey, cream, beige and navy are classic selections. If you want to make a personal statement about your style, then be bold and try brighter colors that reflect your energy. The type of colors you choose will define the touch and feel of your living room.
7 Add your personality
Here is where you express who you are by including accessories and other pieces of art into the entire design of your décor. Some people choose things like books, art, photos, display of gifts, and more to add a personal touch to the room. All these items which have a personal connection with the homeowner will display their character and personality in a big way. For example, the first thing you would notice in a living room of a person who loves art is the number of art pieces that are displayed almost in every corner. You cannot lack a picture of vacation moments or hiking photos in a house whose owner loves adventure. Personality is revealed by including items relating to things you love doing.
Author bio: Lakshmi Lazanas
Lakshmi is an inspired content creator who switched passions from a career in interior design in order to work whilst traveling the world. A co-founder of CopyThat, a bespoke content creation studio, she focuses on putting into words the often complex and colorful thoughts of her interior and design focused clients. As one of Munich’s newest residents, Lakshmi enjoys hunting down culinary revelations whilst trying not to confuse her der/die/das’ in the local tongue.
