No matter the shape or size of your living room, there are ways to turn it into something stylish, sophisticated, and comfortable. A good living room isn’t just physically cozy but also pleasing to the eyes. Putting an emphasis on convenience also makes it more likely you spend time relaxing in this room, whether alone or with others.
Aim for Symmetry
When playing around with your residential remodeling estimating, consider a symmetrical layout to the living room. A balanced layout immediately makes the room feel orderly and calm to a certain degree.
Just don’t overdo it, because going too far can actually make things boring. While the room design furniture layout should follow some semblance of symmetry, your actual furniture pieces, and decorative items should break the flow of lines using curves and a variety of textures to give the room visual interest.
One way to create symmetry is to choose a focal point for the room to work around, and that should usually be the room’s best feature. That might be an elegant fireplace on one wall, but it could also be your prized sofa or couch.
Expand the Room Naturally
You might already know the trick of using mirrors to expand a room visually. The reflections make the room feel bigger than it is, and more light is reflected around for an expansive and airy vibe.
If you want to take that a step further, then Homes and Gardens suggests incorporating nature into the room. Mirrors can reflect greenery from the outside. However, you can also include houseplants and even botanical fabrics against a light-colored background for a refreshing spring-like atmosphere.
Changing out your wall art and sofa pillows every few months is an easy opportunity to keep up with the particular season going on where you live.
Mix and Match Furniture
The Spruce suggests one idea when you’re looking to maximize style and space at the same time. A furniture combination of a sectional sofa, a three-piece nesting coffee set, and a standalone chair form a social square in one corner of the room.
The sofa can seat three people comfortably while a fourth enjoys the chair. Two of the shorter pieces of the nesting coffee set can be pulled out as serving space or tucked away neatly so everyone has room to stretch their legs.
This is a wonderful opportunity to go hit up some vintage or consignment furniture stores and get creative with pieces many people wouldn’t assume belong together.
Get Smart About Lighting
House Beautiful points out that space is at a premium in many living rooms. Rather than a waste floor or even table space on lamps, hanging, or mounted lights.
Your living room doesn’t have to have a central light hanging from the middle of the room, but it certainly goes a long way towards centering your space visually. Complement it with wall-mounted lamps or sconces in corners that need some illumination, or place them around the room for a balanced perspective.
Smart lamps can brighten or dim based on the available natural light, and you can also program them to dim slowly in the evening to create the right atmosphere at any time of day.
Zone Out
You can set apart spaces in the room visually by delineating functions with the right rugs. Architectural Digest suggests using a rug just bigger than your couch and chairs to set the sitting area.
Leave space between this rug and the walls for tables, shelves, and a desk along the walls. You might even want to put a second rug on top of the center one but under the coffee table for more visual emphasis.
Key Takeaways
Making the most of your living room is important for function, comfort, and style. It’s often the first room visitors see, and sometimes it’s the only one. Show off your home and hard work with these ideas:
- Symmetrical layouts can make a room feel bigger.
- Feelings of nature broaden the atmosphere.
- Furniture doesn’t have to all match to work well together.
- Be smart about where you put your lighting.
- Zone out specific spaces using rugs.
Whether your living room gets busy with a big family or you’re just trying to make the most of your apartment or smaller home, each of these five ideas gives you something to work with. Try each one you can to see what’s possible in your home.
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