We’ve learned a lot in the past couple of years, but if there is one thing we learned to appreciate most is the privilege of having a home where we love to spend our time. Small or large, cozy or majestic, our home is a reflection of our personality and style. From floors to ceilings, we always strive to imbue our home with a personal touch to make it stand out…as our own.
The living room is often the centerpiece of a home, the place where the family gathers for reunions or where you spend your evenings cuddling with your dog or cat. Whether you prefer a more formal living room, suitable for celebrating events and hosting dinners, or you are happy with a living room design that invites daydreaming and relaxation, you’ll find that the secret to creating the perfect sitting room is a handful of well-chosen design ideas and a drop or two of quirkiness.
Here are our 5 living room decor tricks to help you design your dream living room:
1. Be creative with the color palette
It all starts with the shades you decide to use for your living room walls. The living room paint color plays an important part in the design process, so take your time when you choose the primary colors for your living room. The colors should reflect the atmosphere you want to create and match the destination of your living room. The living room scheme can include neutral colors as long as you mix lights and dark colors and contrast your neutral tones. An all-white living space may sound tempting as it exudes elegance, but it does tend to get a bit boring after a while and maybe even unapproachable. On the other side, if you choose a dark living room color scheme, you need to find a way to avoid that cold “cave” feeling. Play with colors and mix the light and dark for a dynamic living room space with depth and balance. You can never go wrong with a little bit of white and a little bit of black. This is one classic combination that never fails!
2. Upholster the walls
Well, that’s a bold design idea, but one that can truly reinvent your living room space. Upholstered walls are a splendid idea, especially if you want to create a cozy living room that exudes charm and warmth. You say cozy, we say bring out the vast collection of soft fabrics. Coziness goes hand in hand with all things soft, so why not add it to your walls too, or at least to your accent wall. Avoid upholstering your walls in the same color as your furniture. Matching upholstery works best for a mature living room where the accent falls on order and tradition. For coziness, have fun with your upholstered pieces and mix and match as your heart desires. A fabric-covered ottoman, a fun armchair, and your upholstered walls create a welcoming space where everyone will feel pampered without feeling the need to lift their pinky when drinking their tea.
3. Explore beyond the sectional
Remarkable living rooms have remarkable sofas. Or, at least, the right ones. Usually, the right sofa is the sofa that never steals anything from the look of a living room: space, elegance, personality. If you have a small living room, skip the sectional, and choose sofas with legs that create the illusion of more space simply because you can see the floor. Less is more in small living rooms, but this doesn’t mean you can’t get creative. Don’t fill your usable floor with furniture and choose a couch with creative details, such as buttons, curves, or fluting. You will add character to your beautiful living room while keeping the space light and airy. You can even use two smaller sofas across from each and throw in a coffee table between them. And do have fun with throw pillows! A decorative pillow or a dozen never hurt anyone, especially if your goal is to create a relaxing space. Use the pillows for pops of color if you have a living room in neutral shades or to add light or a bold shade to a living room in a dark color.
4. Make room for wood
Natural materials add class and warmth to any space just as natural light creates an inviting and relaxing environment when it floods a room. If you’re going for a one-of-a-kind living room, don’t hesitate to play with textures and always work in some wood. Textures are essential for any living room, even though many tend to ignore them in their decorating process. Whenever you want your living room to feel like something in particular – cozy, warm, relaxing, etc. – pay attention to the textures you use and always add a touch of wood. For example, if you’re going for a cozy living room where all everyone wants to do is snuggle up and read a book, bet all you have on plush textures for the touch, and add wood furniture pieces or artwork for contrast. Yes, this is the moment to bring in that lush blue velvet accent chair or royal red fabric-covered ottoman. They will look wonderful when matched with wood side tables, sofa legs, or a carved piece of art. You can also include leather, metal, stone, or glass pieces if they resonate with the space and your design ideas.
5. Greatness hides in the details
Don’t overlook any detail. Details add personality to your living room and can be the easiest way to reinvent a space. Every piece of furniture matters and nothing should be left to chance. Each piece of furniture, every material, and every pop of color can add or take away from the aspect of your entire living room. Don’t be afraid to mix periods and styles if you have a vast collection of eclectic pieces of furniture and decorative items. Yes, you can use antique pieces even if you live in a contemporary home, and you can add a modern floor lamp in an interior with traditional crown molding. Embrace your inner quirkiness. Think outside the box and have fun with various living room items. Your creativity might take the shape of a bulky coffee table that defies everything you thought you knew about design and invites uniqueness to your traditional living room or ottomans that take the role of both footrests and coffee tables. Use rugs to create different zones within your living room space and invest in exquisite accent seating. Of course, you need to make sure your living room doesn’t turn into a flea market but don’t hesitate to give a voice to your creativity.
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