Do you ever wish that your living room was more inviting, friendly, or functional? Well, not to worry because here are some professional tips for you to get that beautiful living room you have always wanted!

 

The living room is arguably the most essential room in the house. The room is aptly named because it is where you will do the most living inside your home. It’s where you will be lounging with the family, communing with old friends, and entertaining party guests.

 

Which is why before you begin with any of the practical ideas about your living room decorations, you should first decide on the “vibe” you would like most for your space. Is it a living room of classic elegance with neutral walls, and large peering windows? An elegant bungalow with low ceilings but bold floors? Perhaps a cozy cottage den for you and your guests to nestle in?

 

No matter what you decide on, what’s essential to raising your living room décor to the next level is making sure that the entire living room feels cohesive.

 

Your living room decorations should visually be understood as one functional unit. Everything has a function, reason, and purpose for being there. If everything in the living room feels like it belongs there, you and anyone who enters will feel like they belong too.

 

Please keep that in mind when reading about these seven living room décor ideas and how they can make life in your home just a little bit better. So without further ado, let’s begin!

 

Living Room Idea #1: Streamline your shelves.

You can give your shelving a refreshed and clean look by making them appear more monochromatic. You can do this by taking the jackets off old books (the cheap bad ones you can buy at a yard sale) and align the books to show off exposed stitching. If beige or white are not within your color scheme, you can recover the books with color coordinating paper.

 

Living Room Idea #2: A fireplace can really bring the decorative HEAT to your living room.

If you have a mantle in your living room and don’t know what to put on it, try placing a tilted mirror in the center. The mirror will create the illusion that there is more space than there actually is. It’s a great and simple installment if you have a more cramped space. (Tip: the more dimensional your mirror, the better).

 

If you have an old-school brick fireplace that seems to be an eye-sore, merely paint the brick to an accent color that will complement the surrounding walls.

 

Living Room Idea #3: Colors create emotions!

A house that has an interior with too many varied color palettes will leave people feeling visually stressed.

 

In order to make your living room feel more comfortable, understand the colors that go from room-to-room throughout all of your home. Having more consistency throughout will give the eye fewer details/ stress to take in. The house should appear as one soothing one color or thought, with the softest hue of the one color in the room that gets the most natural light (typically the living room), and then deepening shades of the same color through the rest of the home.

 

Living Room Idea #4: Too much of anything is a bad thing.

We just talked about how sporadic color palettes can cause people to feel visually stressed. Then what’s the opposite of being visually stressed? Being visually sedated.

 

If all the furniture in your living room is made of the same material, it makes everything too bland and provides no depth visually. Leaving the viewer with a tired and sedated feeling.

 

You can change this by inserting accent pieces like end tables or coffee tables made from wood or metallic material that fits in well with the other decorum of the room.

 

You can also give your overly neutralized living room some punch with a patterned rug. You can score extra brownie points if you find a similarly patterned pillow to the throw on an armchair or couch to compliment the rug’s design. Remember, you’re trying to make the room look cohesive!

 

Adding a rug and changing the furniture will give some diversity to the visual field without disrupting the color palette too much.

 

Speaking of furniture…

 

Living Room Idea #5: Don’t let your sectional couch, or any of your furniture for that matter, interrupt the flow!

 

If your sectional couch is too bulky and disrupts the airier feel of the room, consider buying a comfortable sofa that can supply the same amount of seating. If you can, buy a couch/sofa that has low arms. It will make guests feel less cramped when seated on it and looking more inviting.

 

Living Room Idea #6: Streamline your TV.

More modern TVs are already thin but if you have a large and bulky TV that's impeding on that comfortable and streamlined aesthetic you're looking for, consider purchasing a slim TV that has a thin mount and can sit flat against the wall.

 

If you have the capabilities, try to thread the wires through walls, so it appears less cluttered. If you can't do that, try purchasing scotch tape that is of similar color to the wall and mask the wires out of sight to the wall.

 

Living Room Idea #7: Let the light in.

Who voluntarily walks into the dark? No one. Your living room being dark is the quickest way to tell someone that they're not welcome.

 

To let more light in your living room merely change out those old thick sunshine blockades, hang up some sheer curtains and presto! Let there be light!

 

• Do make sure the tails of the curtains touch the floor. And if you have a high ceiling, consider hanging the curtain a foot above the windows. It will create a more spacious effect.

 

You can tell a lot about someone and their home based on their living room decor. It’s a cohesive representation of their vibe and how they want you to feel inside their home. So decide on which vibe  you think best represents you and your home, and let these living room ideas help you get that living room you’ve always wanted!

 

Don't forget also to check out the other nifty ideas and advice on our blog and check out Handy's various services over at our home page. Thanks for reading, and happy decorating!