Tips to Improve Your Living Room
A living room, it has been said, is a reflection of our own personalities, and as human beings, we sometimes have a tendency to fall into set patterns. To some degree, this provides some certainty and comfort in our lives; but every so often, it does us good to take stock and make changes.
Take a look around your current living room; have you really changed things very much over the years? Whilst familiarity can be comforting, sometimes a change can bring a renewed enthusiasm for life, and where better to start than by improving your living room.
Furniture
Furniture is usually the centrepiece of our living room, so you should take time deciding on the types that appeal, ensuring it is also practical. Keep in mind the look you are intending to create, if you are going for a Victorian period feel, then a stylish ornate sofa would be in order. However, the current trend is towards contemporary design, so a better option would be a plain coloured sofa, in a clean yet elegant style.
It is best to keep to the simple colours of black, white or possibly a dark brown. Keep in mind that you may make smaller changes to your room in the future, and these colours will make it easier to adapt. Leather is an excellent material for your sofa as it is hard-wearing, whilst also looking elegant and sophisticated top brands include Natuzzi, Parker Knoll and many manufacturers are able to make bespoke pieces.
Colour Scheme
The colour of a room’s walls can entirely change the feel of a living room. Colours such as deep reds give the room a warm feel, but may also make a room appear smaller. Equally, lighter, pastel shades of greens and blues can give a room a relaxing feel and also make the space appear larger. The drawback of these colours, however, is that they can also feel quite ‘cold’. A good solution is to choose a patterned colour scheme, such as floral. Having a floral design allows you to choose from a wide range of designs, ranging from traditional to contemporary floral designs made popular by designers such as Cath Kidston.
External Lighting
External lighting is often overlooked when it comes to living room design. If you have a large window that overlooks your garden, for example; a well placed and attractive light can add to the ambience of your room, bringing an element of the outdoors, indoors.
Internal Lighting
Whilst the main overhead light provides the practical lighting for your living room; there are times when you will want to have subdued lighting, especially whilst relaxing. A dimmer switch is a simple and effective method of reducing a glaring light, however, well placed uplighters or downlighters can change the feel of a room whilst also emphasising certain areas of it. For example, you may have a painting that you are especially proud of; strategically placed wall lighting can help to draw attention to this feature.
Storage
One of the most important things you can do to improve the look of a living room, is to de-clutter it. Take a look around and throw out, or remove, any items that you do not need in the room. Once this has been done, you are likely to be left with some items which you may want from time to time, but don’t necessarily want to take up space in the room. If you already have cupboards in your room, then make the best use of these. If you don’t have cupboards or any readymade storage space, there are many items of furniture, such as coffee tables, that have built-in storage facilities for book, CDs and general ornaments. This keeps these items handy for use, whilst maintaining a tidy room. Modern shelving too, offers an easy, yet attractive, method of storage.
Once you have made these changes to your living space, you will find that you have a beautiful new living room in which you can relax, or entertain, and feel proud of what you have achieved.
The author has frequently blogged on behalf of fishpools.co.uk about interior design on subjects as diverse as sofas and the latest industry news
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