Living Room Decorating

Upgrade the Look of Your Home with Contemporary Living Room Decorating

The living room is one of the most important rooms in a home. Often times it is the first part of the house seen by visitors and it should reflect the tastes and lifestyle of the people living in it. A living room generally serves more than one function, depending on the formality of the room and of your personal desires. Most living rooms are not only a place for the family to use for a variety of activities, but are also a place to entertain guests. This means that living room decorating must also serve the same two purposes reflecting a level of comfort while also giving guests the impression that the space is a reflection of taste and coordination.

Focus

As with any room, a living room must have a sense of focus. The first thing that most people see upon entering a living room is the TV or couch, which are often the largest and darkest pieces in the room. These two elements are not the best visual attraction on their own and should not be used as the focus. A couch can be used as one part of a focus in combination with other elements such as a coffee table, making the room look more like a living room ‘unit’. When decorating a living room, think of elements that can bring focus into the room and that will minimize the chances of visual confusion.

A fireplace is a great and common focus of a living room. If one is available in your home, you should have other furniture centered around it, which will draw the eye to the area of the hearth. Even if a home does not have a fireplace built in, false ones or free standing ones can be purchased.

Avoid Confusion

The eye is naturally drawn to the darkest parts of a room. Its important to know this when decorating a living room. Heavy curtains, rugs, strewn blankets and large, dark upholstery will draw the eye it around the room rather than to one, specific place and give the space a sense of confusion. Minimize this by choosing one, maybe two, depending on the size of the room, places to have the central focus. If the couch has a heavier print, keep curtains simple with clean lines. Heavy curtains are generally not the best idea when decorating a living room.

Themes

It may be a good idea to think of a theme to pull the room together when living room decorating is being considered. Some may choose to utilizes modernist and more minimal ideas while other may like the heavy floral and color schemes of French Country. Whatever the choice, be consistent and approach the job with the determination to maintaining a sense of fluency. Be careful not to overdo the room with a number of heavier elements. Certain themes require the use of heavier fabrics and colors, so it may be a good idea to combine themes, however be sure to make a sketch or swatch book ahead of time to avoid getting in the middle of a living room decorating project and discovering that nothing is working out they way it was conceived to do.