The meaning of the living room in the house
There is an eternal pattern for how to arrange furniture in the living room. Here is a TV, there is a bookcase, a couch and a coffee table. Such a solution is possible, but it is much more interesting to add notes of individualism and echoes of the lifestyle of each family member to the interior.
To make the living room cozy and not have a museum-like look, as if frozen in anticipation of guests, make it comfortable for yourself.
- Create a feeling of comfort. Usually these are soft and warm things. Or what is associated with them. For example, a soft carpet, an electric fireplace, cute pillows, a bowl of fruit. Everything should be conducive to the desire to relax and unwind.
- Choose your favorite color scheme. No interior shade should irritate or disturb you. Stylists for living rooms, for example, recommend choosing a combination of light wood with yellow, blue or green tones.
- Use the living room every day. Don't save it for special meetings with guests. Drink tea or coffee, watch movies, chat with your family.
- Designate a corner in the living room for each family member depending on their preferences, character or lifestyle.
- Buy good furniture that won't look sagging and uncomfortable after a few months.
- Lighting design plays a big role. Create a soft, relaxing light that will promote relaxation and rest.
No. 3. Style
You should immediately decide on the chosen style of the living room, since this largely determines what furniture you will need to buy. It's no secret that classic and modern differ in completely different approaches to the choice of furniture, materials for its execution, various decorative techniques, etc. Here you should start from your own preferences: some people are more impressed by the baroque style interior, some are more impressed by Provence, and some are generally delighted with boho. If you do not hire a professional designer, but rely on your own strength, then before choosing each piece of furniture it is better to carefully study the basics of the chosen direction, familiarize yourself with photos, expert advice, etc.
Although it is stupid to advise something when choosing a style, it is still better for owners of small living rooms to pay attention to minimalism, hi-tech or modern - interior styles that use the minimum amount of furniture sufficient for the full functionality of the room. Modest pieces of furniture, devoid of excessive decor, do not take up much space and do not clutter up the space.
Tips for arranging furniture in the living room
First of all, think about what kind of furniture you need. Arranging furniture in the hall does not mean placing all the extra furniture along the wall. It's a bad idea when you furnish the living room thoughtlessly with what you have. Perhaps the sofa is outdated, does not accommodate all family members and is sagging.
You should carefully consider what furniture to put in the living room.
It might be worth buying a rocking chair for the older ones and dedicating a play area for the younger ones. All these nuances should be taken into account at the planning stage of the living room interior.
Where to put the sofa
Depending on the sofa model, its design and color, it will zone the room or be its central figure.
- The classic sofa is suitable for all types of rooms, from narrow to non-standard. If the space of the room allows, place it in the center.
- A corner sofa divides the room into zones. Its long part visually makes half the room longer. If the room is square-shaped, the best arrangement is to place a corner sofa along one of the walls.
- Island sofas are twins, which are usually placed “facing” each other. This is a great solution for a living room, especially if you add a coffee table and lamp.
Where to put the TV
People have always loved watching TV. It doesn't matter if it's a TV show, a news program or a favorite movie. To make it comfortable to sit in front of the screen for a long time, think through all the details of its location in advance. How to properly arrange furniture in the living room so that the TV complements the interior?
- The height of the TV should be at eye level of an adult. You should not throw your head back or bend it down. The optimal height is 1-1.5 meters from the floor.
- Watching TV closely strains your eyes and threatens to damage your vision. The harmonious distance between you and the screen is considered to be from 1.8 to 3 meters.
- Do not place the screen close to a window. Incoming sunlight can distort the image and make it dim.
The TV must be placed according to certain rules.
Where to put other furniture
In addition to the sofa and TV, the living room may contain a huge amount of other furniture. If you are a book lover, and another family member is a gamer, you need to equip the room so that everyone is comfortable, for example, install a convenient bookcase and a cabinet for the console.
Options for arranging furniture in the living room may be different. Every piece of furniture should have meaning and be useful. Get rid of old and unnecessary furniture in a timely manner. This is especially true for children's interior items, feeding tables, swing chairs, when the child has already grown up and does not use it.
Old and unnecessary furniture must be disposed of.
How to choose furniture for the living room?
Before you devote an entire weekend to selecting and purchasing furniture, make a clear plan. Sketch out your room on a piece of paper and plan out where each zone will be. And already at this stage decide on the style. If you like it when there is nothing superfluous in the interior and at the same time the room looks decent, modern will suit you. If you are used to adding luxury and splendor to your design, but are unable to cross the fine line that distinguishes all this from pretentiousness, then your choice is classic.
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In order to finally make sure of your choice, look through magazines, look at pictures on websites or look into good furniture boutiques.
The living room is the place where the whole family gathers in the evenings or weekends, where they watch TV together, welcome guests or just talk. In order to add variety to your usual way of life, you can buy a table of an unusual design for your living room. It will be convenient to organize feasts or just play chess, checkers, cards or backgammon every evening. Don’t worry, such a table will not take up much space if it has a “conveyor” in the design. Space will be saved.
When developing the design of the hall, choose the so-called “main place”. All attention will be focused on it, it will set the mood for the entire environment. If a home theater takes pride of place, then you should start dancing with it. Place a sofa and armchairs opposite at the optimal distance. Try not to clutter the rest of the living room with unnecessary furniture. On the other hand, it is beneficial to divide the living room into functional areas: for lunch, relaxation, games, and so on. In this case, each part of the hall will need to buy its own furniture. But here the main task is to choose one that will perform all the functions intended for it and at the same time be compatible in style and color with other headsets. As a result, you need to get a complete composition.
What to do with accessories and decor
Often you want to decorate your living room with all the best, all at once. But remember moderation. The fewer decorations in the living room, the more attention they attract. The abundance of decor sometimes creates a feeling of clutter rather than a stylish room.
- Place the pictures correctly at the eye level of an adult. It is best that you can immediately see the center of the canvas without lifting your head. And then contemplate the details around the perimeter.
- Use multiple light sources. Combine lighting so that you can create your own version for each situation. For example, a floor lamp for reading a book, a soft night light for watching TV, a lamp above the table for a light snack, so as not to go to the kitchen.
- If you are a collector. Don't hide exhibits deep in closets. Make a display case for them in the living room. This will give the interior a special charm.
- Carpets make any room beautiful, cozy and homely. Do not neglect this opportunity, even if you have beautiful and expensive parquet.
- Decorate the windows with curtains, tulle, hanging flowerpots. This is the easiest and fastest way to transform any room.
What to do if the living room is narrow
The main task if you have a narrow room is to visually bring it closer to a square with the help of furniture. It is recommended to use low sofas, chairs and tables to visually leave more free space. Try to avoid heavy cabinets. Replace them with hanging shelves or a wardrobe.
A narrow room should not be cluttered with cabinets; it is better to choose hanging shelves.
It is better to buy tables with a glass top. Do not line furniture along the walls, do not turn a free area into an even tighter corridor.
In narrow living rooms, furniture should be multifunctional and take up minimal space. Do not buy a single dark-colored furniture set that will take up the entire room. This will give the room a feeling of crampedness. Stick to light colors, use reflective and mirror surfaces, and hang hanging flowerpots with flowers. This creates a feeling of lightness, unobtrusiveness and freedom of movement in the living room.
In narrow rooms it is advisable to stick to a light color scheme.
Basic mistakes when choosing furniture
Now let's move on to what not to do when decorating a living room. One could keep silent about this, but, alas, today such errors occur very often. Thus, many still cannot get used to interiors in the spirit of the Soviet era. And they clutter up the space with voluminous walls or slides, which simply have a lot of compartments. As a result, sometimes there is nothing to even store on countless shelves and sections, except old trash.
Another “rudiment” of a Soviet-era apartment is an essential set, including a sofa and two armchairs. As a result, half of the free space in the room is occupied. Limit yourself to more compact modifications, for example, a soft corner.
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And finally...
Remember that you should not completely follow the advice of designers and create an interior “exactly like in that magazine.” After all, you want your living room to be cozy. And the true warmth of a home cannot be created by any design trick - only by the tremulous hands of a real housewife. Just follow the basic tips and rely on your intuition. And the result will amaze you.
What to do if the living room is round
If the room is shaped like a circle, you need to highlight the central piece of furniture. It could be a chandelier or a table, a table or an aquarium. It is recommended to place bulky furniture closer to the center, and small and light interior items closer to the walls. In this case, a feeling of space, “air” is created. There is no impression that the furniture is “pressing” on you from all sides.
You can combine the dining room with a relaxation area.
Sometimes in a round room it is necessary to combine a dining room with a relaxation area. In this case, two interior “microworlds” are created. For example, one around a coffee table with a soft corner, and the second around a large dining table.
In a round living room, the main piece of furniture should be placed in the center.
No. 8. Choosing a coffee table
A coffee table is an important attribute of the living room, which serves not only to place all sorts of small things on it, such as newspapers, magazines, CDs and remote controls, but also becomes necessary when drinking tea, for example. The average height of this piece of furniture is 50 cm, and the size can be completely different, as well as the material used.
- For living rooms in a classic style, you can choose a wooden carved table , perhaps even with forged elements.
- But for rooms in a modern style , and without extra square meters, it is better to choose another option. So, an oval or round glass table will be just as functional, but at the same time it will seem to dissolve in space. Another good option is a table in the form of a cube , the surface of which is used for its intended purpose, and the volume becomes another storage space. If such a cube is made of translucent plastic, then it is ideal for even the smallest living room.
- When space allows , you can choose any coffee table, especially since stores always have many interesting options, often very unusual, that can become a real highlight of any room.
Tips for planning a custom living room
A non-standard living room is a polygonal, round, trapezoidal or semicircular room, into which it is not easy to fit furniture using the classic method of arranging along lines.
- It is better to order some interior items according to individual measurements.
- Do not hide beveled, non-standard corners. They can be made the central decoration of the entire interior.
- If the room is round, surround yourself with streamlined interior items. This technique works well with many geometric shapes.
- Decide whether you want to emphasize the non-standard shape of the room or, conversely, smooth it out. In the first case, choose furniture that contrasts shapes and colors. In the second case, order furniture according to individual measurements and bring the room closer to the shape of a square or rectangle.
Layout of a living room is a fun and creative activity. This is a great opportunity to create your own little cozy world that will replenish your energy and charge you for new achievements.
