Your living room should be the main hub of your home, so when decorating you have to balance both practicality and design. Remember to consider your lifestyle before committing to a particular style – you might love the pure white furniture of the Scandi style but if you have a dog and small children then you could spend more time keeping it clean than enjoying it!
Modern living room ideas
If white furnishings are unpractical for you, then you can still get that clean fresh feel by going for a light blue or pebble grey and painting your walls in an off-white – which you can keep practical with a wipeable finish. If you’re looking for some more warmth then brown leather sofas never go out of style, they are fantastically durable and can look even better after some weathering.
Scandi-style wood furniture can also warm up the feel of your room while still being practical and affordable. You could even use a cool modern backdrop to highlight brightly coloured furniture to create for a vibrant youthful atmosphere that can still look very sophisticated.
Small living room ideas
Good storage is a must for small spaces, so turning your storage solutions into great looking features is just good sense.
You can make a stunning focal point out of a sideboard by using it as a display for mementos, plants, and art, and you can modernise this look with floating shelves to extend your display upwards. Wicker baskets are another fantastic choice for storage as they look great and, depending on their size, can be a feature all on their own.
De-cluttering can make your space look surprisingly bigger, so if you have a smaller living room consider keeping your accessories to a minimum and asking yourself if each item is needed or whether it could be stored out of sight. A pile of your favourite magazines might be convenient but keeping them tidied away can make a huge difference to the look of your room.
Don’t be afraid of large furniture – even if this means you have to only have one sofa and a single armchair. Small furniture can sometimes only serve to emphasise that the room is small, and having a large sofa (especially one with a corner design) rather than having extra chairs, can actually save space.
Our top tips for your living room
- Consider whether your idea is practical to maintain
- Choose your furniture to match your design – the right furniture can make or break a style
- Look at the size of your room objectively, is it too small to divide or too large for a single focus?
- Fill the room with your own personal style – remember that it’s your home!
How to divide up your living room
If you have a larger space you can divide up your living room, so you use each area differently.
Cutting the space in half with a sofa allows for a clean traditional break which clearly defines the area you use for relaxing from other spaces – which you could use for a dining table. A more contemporary approach is keeping the room more open plan and, instead of a harsh break, gradually transitioning from one space to the other.
For example, you can use an ottoman to mark the dividing line between a dining and relaxing area and clarify the distinction with a rug. Each area should have its own focal point whether that is the TV, an art piece, or your dining table. These focal points are what truly divides up your space making each area feel distinct.
For more inspiration check out our living room Pinterest board full of images from our beautiful show homes. Or head over to our Twitter and Facebook to share your Lovell living.
