Along with our kitchens, our living rooms are the rooms we spend most of our time in our homes. Between entertaining, relaxing, reading and watching TV, your living room needs to be comfortable. But it’s not always easy to maintain that level of comfort as well as a high level of style. Try some of these tips for getting a stylish and functional living room space!
1) Choose the right floor
Before you make the final decision on the type of floor you want for your space, consider what your space is used for and choose your floor accordingly. Carpet is great for almost all living rooms and adds another level of comfort. Hardwood can be a focal point of your room, but might not be best for homes with lots of animals.
2) Get a rug that fits the size of your space
If you’re choosing a harder floor for your living room, or if you want to make a flooring update without replacing your floors, rugs are your best option. For living rooms, choose a large rug that takes up most of the room. A good rule of thumb is to choose a rug that is big enough that each main piece of furniture’s front legs should sit on the rug. You can also layer rugs to get the same effect.
3) Choose unexpected lighting
Most of our living rooms have ceiling lights, floor and table lamps. But if you want to make your living room stand out, consider hanging a pendant light in the middle of the room or above the main sitting area in your living room. Pendant lights are perfect statement pieces, and they free up floor space for more furniture or accents!
4) Switch up your couch
If you’ve had the same couch for longer than you can remember, it might be time for an upgrade. When choosing a new couch, always consider what kind of look you are going for and then decide on a shape. Structured couches are perfect for formal living rooms, whereas lower couches with more padding are more informal. Modular couches are a fun option and offer the ability to move them around for movie nights or parties. If you don’t want to splash out on a new couch, consider re-covering it with a fun new colour for a new look.
5) Focus your colour palette
To make your living room look really well put together and intentionally designed, try defining your colour palette. To do this, choose a neutral background colour, one feature colour and an accent colour. From there, you can take any pieces of furniture or decor that don’t fit within the colour scheme.
6) Texture is key
With any kind of decorating, it’s important to have a wide range of textures to make your room look finished. Layering textures is as simple as adding throw pillows and blankets to your couch, adding a wicker chair to the corner of the room, or incorporating some glass vases or metallics into the space.
7) Make a focal point – and not your TV
Many of us love watching TV and movies in the evenings and on weekends, but that doesn’t mean your TV has to be the main focus of your living room. Choose a statement piece like your fireplace or a large antique armoire and build around it.
Check out more decor tips from Bigelow Flooring in Guelph!
