Ten Simple Tips to Decorate a Living Room in Style

All of us feel comfortable and relaxed in our houses only. It seems like a real castle that protects us from the crowds outside, from the cold and warmth and lets us enjoy moments of peace or family warmth. The most important part of a house is certainly the living room. The living room is the loved area where most of us like to relax, socialize with our family members after a hard working day, watch TV, receive guests, give dinners or organize an event. In some countries, the house has a separate place to dine, socialize and relax. But what to do if your house is not that big and you have to combine all these places into a universal one?

When designing and decorating a living room, take your time to think about every detail. It is not going to be your own bedroom or the place that is not that much visited, but a room which is supposed to be in the centre of attention when one steps into your castle. Below we present ten tips to decorate a living room, that will be both comfortable and stylish…

10. Choose Soft Colours

To start with, think about what colour to choose for the walls. If you do not want to go to extremes, avoid bright colours such as red, dark violet, or black. All these colours visually darken the room, making it look smaller. Besides, you will feel tensed and would not like to spend more than 5 minutes there. Choose colours that are pale. Any colours of white, pale pink, light grey, blue or yellow will be ok. Today’s tendency is to choose 2 colours at a time. You can, for example, pick two close colours or contrasting ones and paint one wall yellow, while the rest leave white. You can use this yellowish area for special reasons, like making it look like a separate corner in the living room.

9. Logically Divide the Room into Main Parts

Once you choose a wall with a different colour than the rest of the room, you can use this area as a dining area, a place where your fireplace could stand or if you have a rich collection of drinks, let it be your bar area. The main concept of decorating a living room is deciding where to place each item of your furniture.

It is acceptable to divide the room into several parts. Make one part of the room the socializing zone, where sofas, armchairs, a small coffee table and the TV can stand. On the other side of the room, place the dining table and make it look like a mini dining room inside a living room. Or give some area to your bookshelves, your business, where you can sit comfortably and work in the evenings (in case you do not have a study).

8. Emphasize the Zone that is Most Attractive to Your Eye

If you think there is a place in the living room that should catch an eye, at first sight, do your best to make it look nice. Choose the best furniture; put some lamps around, so that there is more light in there. Use visual tricks like covering the floor with a fluffy, coloured carpet. Or put armchairs or chairs with vertical stripes that cannot remain without attention.

7. Allow More Light in the Room

Remember your living room is not a cinema hall. Do not darken it with heavy curtains. Choose curtains of lighter colours and textures so that to allow more daylight into the room. This is especially a trick to play when the room is not big enough. The more light in, the larger the room will look.

6. Avoid Monotony, Play with Contrasts

Do not match the colour of furniture with the colour of the walls. It will look tasteless and monotonous. If the entire room is light enough, feel free to choose dark furniture that will contrast with the room. Take the tables of the same colour, while the sofa and the chairs of another one. Match the cushions and the carpet with the curtain, or choose closer colours.

5. Do not over Furnish the Room

Furniture is what fills the house with life. But too much furniture can make it look like a museum or an exhibition hall. Buy those parts of furniture that are mostly used in a living room. Think soft furniture, like sofas and armchairs, a dining or coffee table, several chairs, a TV set holder, several bookshelves or small “china cabinets” in the corner for displaying some of your glass wear, souvenirs, pictures or your bar.

4. Choose the Furniture According to Your Comfort Zone and Not Trends

Do not compare your house with your friend’s house or with what you see on TV. Think about the mobility and efficiency of a given part of the furniture. Suppose something is too fashionable today, you buy it, but you do not know what to do with it when it falls out of fashion after a short time. Keep your money for something more important.

When buying furniture, especially soft ones, check if you feel comfortable in them. They should not be too tough, like wooden chairs. You cannot relax lying on them. Neither should they be too soft. You will fall asleep soon and the living room will soon turn into your bedroom.

3. Do not Mix Styles

If you are fond of living rooms in the classical style, keep the style for every item. Modern accessories will not speak with the classical ones. Choose one of them only, if you do not want to mix 2 different things.

2. Decorate the Room

Once you finish with the furniture, think about accessories that can give extra beauty to your living room. Let candles lamps, glasses or vases show up, add cushions and maybe a soft carpet. Kill the darkness of the sofas with cushions of different colours. Place lamps near the reading or watching zone of the room. Decorate the shelves with candles, pictures or souvenirs that will add liveliness to the room.

1. Leave Some Space

Since a living room is going to be the place for receiving guests or organizing parties, leave some space without any furniture so that there is an empty area for people to stand. Besides, it will be convenient for you to easily move within the room without hitting your leg with something on your way.

Do you have any other tips for decorating a living room? Does your living room style follow any of these tips? Do let us know in the comments below!