The living room is the room in the house that no one wants to leave. How you choose to decorate this space can determine the atmosphere of the room – most everyone wants their living room to be an inviting environment for friends and family to relax. Although no one wants to intentionally ruin their living room, the following list is a sure way to do it.
1) Buying uncomfortable furniture
That sofa you saw in the store may look great, but is it actually comfortable? A good looking sofa is practically useless if you can’t sit comfortably in it. The easiest way to ruin your living room is to fill it with useless stuff. It’s important to create a comfortable environment that you can see yourself spending hours binge-watching your favorite TV show or playing a board game with family.
What to do: Test out your furniture while you’re in the store before you make the purchase. Instead of just sitting on it, lay back and get comfortable to figure out whether or not you can see yourself spending countless hours on it comfortably.
2) Not choosing a focal point
This is a common mistake made by many when decorating their living room. Not setting a focal point in your room can create a unorganized and cluttered feel.
What to do: Choose a focal point such as the fireplace or TV to arrange your furniture around.
3) Trying to match every detail
This can be tricky since it’s naturally tempting to want to create flow and harmony in your space. However, matching every single color and pattern tends to make a room appear flat. Unless you particularly want your living room to look like a hotel room, mixing and matching styles is a great way to create contrast.
What to do: Incorporate contrasting colors and patterns into your living room decor to create a more dimensional look.
4) Using too many throw pillows
Throw pillows are a great way to add an accent color to a couch or loveseat, but adding too many can make your sofa feel cluttered. Not to mention the pain of having to awkwardly ask your guests to move the pillows every time they sit down.
What to do: Limit your use of throw pillows or purchase pillows that you are okay with people sitting on.
5) Pushing furniture against the walls
Although it can be tempting to arrange your furniture against the wall to create extra room, doing this can make a small room appear even smaller. Arranging your furniture closer together towards the middle of the room invites your guests to converse with one another.
What to do: “Float” your furniture away from the walls to create space in your living room.
6) Not properly caring for your furniture
Not taking care of your furniture can quickly lead to the downfall of your once beautiful living room. When properly taken care of, furniture can last much longer which eliminates the need of having to replace it as frequently.
What to do: Check out our last blog post for tips on how to properly care for your furniture to make it last longer.
7) Buying furniture that doesn’t fit
It’s easy to underestimate the size of furniture when you’re in a large showroom and buy something that’s way too big for your own home.
What to do: Use our Room Planner to enter your room dimensions and find out exactly how furniture would fit into your living room before you take it home.
8) Trying to float rugs
Using a rug in the middle of your living room with no furniture resting on it can cause the room to appear disproportional.
What to do: Measure your room and buy a rug large enough that all of the front feet of your furniture will be resting on top of it. If you are still struggling to decide on what rug to get, then it might be a good idea to check out something like Bazaar Velvet to give you a bit more inspiration on the type of rug you should get for your room.
9) Leaving clutter out in the open
This is a surefire way to make a perfectly good living room feel unorganized and messy.
What to do: Buy furniture that have storage options such as a storage ottoman or coffee table to quickly get rid of your living room clutter.
10) Not having proper lighting
Lighting is an easy way to set the ambiance in your living room. Not having enough lighting can make a room dark and uninviting.
What to do: Properly use the 3 types of lighting: ambient lighting, task lighting, and accent lighting. Ambient lighting is the overhead lighting that provides illumination to the entire room. Task lighting directs light to specific areas, such as lamps. Accent lighting provides drama and contrast in your room.
Ready to tackle your own living room? Check out the living room section on our website or our Pinterest board for inspiration.
We’re always on the hunt for great home decor ideas so we can share them with you.
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