Living Room Decorating For Comfort and Style

As you undertake your own living room decorating, this article will serve as a useful guide. With a few minor adjustments, you too can make the space of your dreams into a place you love to call home. Living rooms are often one of the neglected spaces in a home; when done right they can be an almost sacred space, the stage where we welcome guests into our homes. If you live in a home with an entryway or lounge area, then you probably have an inviting space that is waiting for you and guests.

Because of their functional placement and design, living rooms tend to suffer from one of two blind spots - either they get too much traffic or they become uninviting to guests. It's important to address both issues in living room decorating, making sure to plan things so guests can access your living spaces without being overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of the rest of your home. The first step to take when doing this is to decide which areas you want to focus on for flow and circulation. We've listed a few ideas below.

Probably the most common living room decorating mistake is putting an entire sofa into a single large room. Seating too many items in one space forces the room to look crowded and cluttered. In order to avoid this, put furniture on the ends of each sofa, creating short and wide spaces that appear orderly and clean. In addition to a few scattered items on the ends of each sofa, consider a hot dog fold or two. A hot dog fold is a piece of furniture that sits at the end of the sofa with the back turned toward you. Using a hot dog fold invites people to sit and get close to you while watching television or reading a book.

Rugs are another common mistake when it comes to living room decorating because they tend to cover up rather than add to the space. When people sit down, they can see the rugs, but they can't get into the "good stuff" on the floor. Put a rug under the coffee table or beside the chair where people can easily see what they're doing. If you don't have a rug, consider using rugs on the floor that match the colors of the furniture or other colors in the room.

Another common mistake is to put furniture in rooms that are too small or with room to spare for their size. Try to picture how you'd like the arrangement to be before you make the move. Keep in mind that living rooms are often smaller than dining rooms or family rooms so plan accordingly. For example, if you have a bar area or a fireplace, make sure you leave ample room to open the doors and operate the controls.

A mistake people often make when working with living rooms is overloading them with furniture. This usually occurs when the living room is small and there's no room for additional seating. When this happens, people end up with an eyesore of a room looking like it was designed for a corporation or has a large office space. To save space, don't put sofas, recliners, armchairs, foot stools, end tables, television stands, and all other sorts of furniture in the living room. If there's a sofa, end table, and side tables, use them.

You may think about getting a sofa and placing it in the middle of the room to maximize floor space, but often this doesn't work out well. A sofa can get bulky if you don't have a place to store it when it's not in use. With sofas and loveseats, make sure you get one that comes with built-in cushioning. Many come with plush blankets which make a great cozy blanket for curling up with a good book.

Remember that you don't always have to follow the trends when it comes to living room decorating. It can be fun to mix and match things, and sometimes a plain rug can add a nice touch of warmth to a living room that can make it look more inviting. Having a rug over the front door for some extra insulation is a nice touch if the rug is very thin.