Your living room is one of the most important rooms in your home. Many family memories are formed in the heart of your home, from game nights to winter evenings by the fire, so put thought into the design and decoration of your living room to make it the comfortable and visually appealing backdrop to your family memories and photos.
The Focal Point
Before you begin work on your living room, decide what the focal point of the room will be. A large window or fireplace are two options, with a television being another common choice. It’s important to identify what you want to focal point to be as the arrangement of the furniture will depend on it. Determine also how you want to fill your space: if you have an open, airy room, you can afford to fill it with big sofas, armchairs and coffee tables, but if your living room is small, you may want to opt for slimmer, perhaps more modern furnishings in order to maximise your space. When arranging furniture in the room, ensure that sofas and armchairs are close enough together to allow for conversation without people having to raise their voices or strain to hear.
Painting Your Room With Colourful Furnishings
One design idea suited to living rooms of all shapes and sizes is to have white walls and to use your furnishings and accessories to introduce colour into the room. You could choose two complementary colours, such as purple and green or blue and orange, and pick your furnishings with this colour scheme in mind. A blue sofa paired with orange cushions and perhaps a matching orange armchair with blue cushions will give your living room a bright, design-conscious look. A piece of original art or even an old film poster on one wall can add another burst of colour to the room. The nice thing about this design choice is that you can change the colour scheme and the room’s look regularly without having to repaint it. Coming up to Christmas, you can use rich throws, candles and pinecones to give the room a festive feel, which can then be swapped for pastel coloured accessories come spring.
Let Your Personality Shine Through
Imbue your room with your personality by integrating your hobbies into the design of the room. For the bookworms out there, books with colourful spines can be used to complement a room’s colour scheme, while fans of photography might use old-style cameras as decorative items. Don’t be afraid to experiment! Family, friends and other guests will appreciate and remark upon your distinctive style choices, making your living room the perfect icebreaker.
This article was written by interior designer Joanna Doran on behalf of a leading sofa manufacturers.