Our Living Room
Usually the most public area in a home, the living room is considered to be one of the most important rooms in any residence. Often multifunctional, the room essentially serves to entertain, but can also be used for other reasons.
Kids often have their play zone in the den; they also can find a cozy spot to study or play music, and the parents use the space to relax when their offspring is fast asleep at night.
Living rooms often present unique design challenges depending on their size, location in the house and its intended purpose. The rooms can range from square, and stretched across half the main floor, to undersized awkward spaces, squeezed in between kitchen and hallway. The smaller the room, the more complex it will be to integrate functionality and creativity as well as style into the design.
Finding inspiration to transform a rundown living room into a glamorous, yet functional entertainment area is quite feasible, especially with today’s technology at your fingertips. Almost every newsstand offers decorating magazines, entire television channels are dedication to home make-over projects, and the Internet can deliver all the other ideas you will require to find the inspiration you need to turn your living room into that inviting and welcome space, you always wanted to show off.
Adding color to your living room
Formal and elegant, or fun-loving and laid-back, the living room is the place to be when you are entertaining guests or need some alone-time to relax. It is the place in your home you use the most to watch TV and listen to music, or have a cup of tea while reading the newspaper or a magazine. You enjoy that room, until one day you realize its style is outdated and you need to give it a new face.
Giving your lounge or den a makeover can be as simple or as complicated as you want. You can replace all your furniture, lighting and window treatments, or you can start by de-cluttering and adding a few new tones and shades, and see if that is all you need to create that glamour-look you envisioned.
A great starting point is repainting your living room walls, ceilings, window, and door trims. The best clues for the color scheme can come from your furniture, drapery and accessories, unless you have already decided to replace everything. Otherwise find a bold wall color that will suit your existing room fixtures. Do keep in mind that the store color swatches and the actual shade turning up after painting the walls may slightly differ.
Lighting is important for any room in the house, but more so for the living room, the place where family and guests tend to gather most to hang out. Styles can mix and match when it comes to illumination, as even in a traditional and classic living room, selecting suitable whimsical lamps or shades can add great points of interest. Depending on the amount of attending guests, you can then use the lamps as needed to set the right mood.
Strategically placed in front of a club chair or under a coffee table, a vivid throw rug can add color, contrast and texture to any floor and space. Wall art, mirrors, throw pillows, plants and flower arrangements are also great for changing focal points and making inexpensive yet effective changes. With these tips, your own intuition and design talents, you will soon have the most vibrant living room in your neighborhood.