Our living rooms can often be the very first place guests will see when they visit your home, putting a little pressure to ensure the space looks immaculate! We’ve helped decorate many living rooms in the past, and want to highlight some faux pas we’ve seen people commit, and how to rectify them.
A Rug, Too Big or Small
Rugs are an important piece of furniture in framing your space, Too large and it can overwhelm the space, making everything seem smaller. Too small and things feel closer together, creating an unbalanced ambiance of wasted empty space. When determining the ideal measurements, utilize painter’s tape and make rough outlines on your floor to help envision how the rug will look in the context of your furniture.
Couches Against the Wall
This one feels counterintuitive, I know – but doing this risks making the room look smaller than it actually is. Each space is different, however relocating it to a ‘floating’ sofa (closer to the centre of the room) will make the living room feel and look larger because you can now walk around it. It also opens more wall space – everything to a floor plant, more artwork, or a credenza!
Not Enough Light Sources
Light is an invaluable resource for any home – natural or artificial. When the day starts to become darker, you want lighting options to suit your needs. Overhead lighting on a dimmer switch will provide that, but you’ll also want plenty of secondary lighting from lamps and/or candles to bring a really warm and comforting presence. Be shrewd where you place them too – on bookshelves or fireplace mantel can create aesthetic layers of lighting, for whatever mood you’re in.
Cluttering Shelving Space
Shelves are amazing – they hold the things we deeply value in a convenient, simple and pleasurable way. However, like many things, we can overdo it. Too many things stacked on top of each other on shelves will make the space feel like the walls are closing in – you’ve got to allow space to the room to breathe! If you have a cluttered shelf, take stock of what you can do without, consider where excess books/ornaments could go and enjoy a tidier, more beautiful shelf.
Oddly Combined Furniture
An easy way to throw off your sense of space and symmetry in your living room is including a piece of furniture that feels like it doesn’t belong (we do see this A LOT, so you’re not alone!). Of course – if you love it, for sure buy it! – just be sure that it isn’t too big of a distraction. We once saw a life-size fake stuffed camel in someone’s living room entrance…
Fill your room with the furniture you love, and keep a mental note of how everything will work in tandem to create a warm, inviting atmosphere to your room. The opposite is true also – if everything is too similar, the room can feel bland and show-roomy. Variety after all is the spice of life!