When decorating a home, many people start in the living room.
The living room is usually where a family spends the most time and it is where they entertain guests.
Decorating a living room may seem daunting, so just follow these steps for interior designer tips and tricks for how to decorate a living room.
How to Decorate a Living Room - AI generated image for inspirational use onlyFurniture Plan
First things first, you must have a plan when decorating a living room.
Do not buy things here and there and hope they fit and coordinate with each other.
Many people have purchased items that are too large or too small for their room and their room ends up looking and feeling unbalanced.
Figure out how many people will be using the living room and for what purposes - reading, watching TV, playing board games, etc.
Use graph paper to make a floor plan by drawing your room to scale and cut out paper templates of furniture that you can move around on the floor plan.
Figure out the best location of furniture for your specific needs and what sized furniture works best.
You will probably need at least 1 sofa, end tables, a coffee table or large ottoman, at least 1 chair, and maybe a piece of storage furniture for books, board games, a TV, or whatever. If your room is large, you might also want a sofa table, a sectional sofa, or other furniture to fit the large room
How to Decorate a Living Room - AI generated image for inspirational use onlyFocal Point
Decide on a focal point for your living room.
It can be your fireplace, a large piece of artwork, an amazing light fixture, or a colorful rug.
Maybe it is even a brightly painted piano.
Ideally, your living room focal point should not be the television, however the TV is the focal point of a living room more times than not.
If your TV ends up being your focal point, at least put it over a great fireplace or on top of a nice piece of furniture.
Don't skip using a focal point or your room will end up looking nice but not fantastic.
How to Decorate a Living Room - AI generated image for inspirational use onlyFabrics
Select the fabrics for your living room.
You might have curtains, a rug, upholstered furniture, a throw blanket, and/or pillows.
The fabrics will often determine the color scheme of your room.
Start by selecting the fabric on your largest piece, either a sofa or rug, and build from there.
Don't purchase anything until all fabrics for the room have been decided upon.
You might choose to have your fabrics coordinate very closely or you might want to have your fabrics be more eclectic and colorful.
A general rule of thumb is that you want your fabric patterns to be different scales - perhaps a large scale floral, a medium scale stripe, and a small scale plaid.
How to Decorate a Living Room - AI generated image for inspirational use onlyGet Furniture
Buy your large pieces of furniture for your living room first.
Make sure you sit all furniture before buying it.
It must be comfortable.
If you plan on laying down on your sofa, lay down on it to make sure it is the correct length.
Get all of the other furniture needed for your living room.
Don't be afraid to purchase unique vintage pieces to make your home unique with one-of-a-kind treasures.
Consider reinventing the vintage pieces with new paint or upholstery.
Avoid purchasing everything shown on a certain page of your favorite furniture catalog - mix it up a bit or your home will feel like a furniture showroom that everyone has seen before.
How to Decorate a Living Room - AI generated image for inspirational use onlyPaint
After all of the living room fabrics have been selected, you can paint your living room walls (and maybe even your ceiling a color other than white if you prefer).
Select a paint color that is used a little here and there in your fabrics.
If you use a dominant color that is used a lot througout your room, you will get a very dramatic and modern effect.
Dark paint colors usually make your living room feel more cozy.
Lighter paint colors usually make your living room feel more light and bright and cheerful.
Lighting
Lighting is not just functional, it can also be jewelry for your room.
Skip the basic builder light fixtures and select something fun or unique for your living room.
Don't forget to add lamps so you get light at eye level and not all of the light comes from the ceiling.
Ideally, you should have lighting from multiple sources at different heights in your living room.
How to Decorate a Living Room - AI generated image for inspirational use onlyAccessories
Select unique accessories in the colors of your fabrics to reinforce your color scheme.
Vary the texture of accessories in your living room to create interest.
Use rough wicker baskets with sleek metal lamps, shiny mirrors with soft velvet drapes, or distressed accent furniture with new metallic spheres.
Try to find unique accessories and avoid accessories similar to the ones in your friends' houses that came from a large accessory store down the street.
You might want to decorate with vintage or antique items for a truly unique living room.
Try to repeat at least 3 colors in at least 3 different places on your accessories throughout your room. Also use lighter or darker versions of those colors for more interest.
Plants and Flowers
To bring life to your living room, add a real plant or fresh flowers.
Avoid fake flowers and plants if at all possible.
