A living room is the heart of a house since it creates a space that symbolizes love, and togetherness, aiding in making many memories with friends and families. Unlike the kitchen, basement, or bedrooms, the living room usually comes first to mind when decorating a new home. Decorating a living room vastly depends on the need of the family, such as ranging from a casual place to wind down and relax by watching TV after a long day to a much more formal space to hold small family gatherings.

The design of a living room is crucial in understanding the house dynamic, and it should be the most versatile space in the house to use for different needs meeting the requirements of each family member. This room usually has many seating spaces and options; there is at least one sofa or a couch, a few chairs, a coffee table, and some stools, if necessary, tying up the space in coherence.

This article focuses on how to design a living room space to bring harmony to the layout for the entire house and address common mistakes to avoid while assessing the living room layout and accessorizing the area in a balanced way.

1. Not Testing the Room Layout

Before beginning the design for the living room space, testing the room layout is the best way to find a focal point of the area and understand the placement of a furniture piece, further aiding in defining the function of a room, determining the furniture and traffic flow, creating a center of attention composition and different zones where the end goal is to have pieces that are in harmony.

Although most designing and decorating are heavily based on personal preference and choice, analyzing and assessing a room layout also teaches one when to stop, which is easily one of the most challenging skills to master and resist the temptation of going overboard with decorative pieces, it is vital to keep experimenting with adopting the method of trial and error to settle on a final design layout of a room.  

2. Misjudging the Size of the Furniture

Furniture is essential in the interior design of a house, and buying furniture for every room can be daunting and expensive; therefore, a living space might often look cramped with disproportionate sofa, couch, or chair sizes. This misjudgment not only happens with furniture but also with rugs, carpets and curtains. Area rugs often hold spaces together, making them feel like one unit. It helps to anchor the sofa, coffee tables, ottoman, and chairs together.

Although choosing the size of a furniture piece or rug is a personal preference, it can easily overwhelm or underwhelm a space if not done appropriately. A common misconception is to buy a big chunky corner sofa that will provide seating spaces for everyone; however, doing that will occupy sizeable real estate in the room, making it clumsy for other pieces.

Hence to dodge such a situation, estimating the usual number of people in the room and optimizing seating spaces using ottomans and footstools would help.

3. Missing the Focal Point of the Living Room

Understanding the focal point of a living room is crucial for a good design layout, which aids in the alignment of the future around the space. Not knowing the focal point can leave the furniture, technical gadgets, and other design pieces in the living room in a jumble. Making the TV the focal point of a living space often disturbs the design aesthetics of the room; hence finding a creative way to camouflage the TV in a position comfortable for viewing depending on the type of the TV can enhance the design aspect of a room.

If a room has a natural focal point, such as a big window facing outside, a fireplace, or shelves of books, mirrors, the furniture should ideally be placed to maximize the view. A few ways to conceal the TV is to give more natural touch by using a sliding painting or panels; further, the TV can also be mounted on a shelf that matches the color of the TV.

4. Trying to blend too many patterns

Introducing patterns is the best way to add fun and personality to a living space. However, finding the right balance to blend your creativity into utilization is significant and often tricky. Using too many patterns will make it less pleasant to the eye. It will make the room busy, chaotic, and unrealistic, hindering the functionality of the space and creating an environment that is less ideal to wind down and relax.  

This can be avoided by making a conscious decision of choosing both plain and patterned designs. Understanding different patterns, such as floral, abstract, plaid, stripes, etc., can help achieve a cohesive look. For example, one can choose a plain and simple couch paired with patterned cushions or vice versa. It is also better to choose larger prints for oversized furniture, such as sofas, and smaller prints for smaller pieces, such as armchairs.  

5. Not Using Enough Lights

Lighting plays a significant role in designing a living room, and the position of lights heavily depends on the functionality of the space. Therefore, before determining the number and type of lights, it is recommended to define the functionality of the living room space.  This aids in making most of the area meet everyone’s requirements in a house.

One central light on the ceiling will only meet some needs and demands. Lights are better if layered in different zones in the room for every activity. Adding other lights such as scones, standing lamps, table lamps, and floor lamps will not only help elevate the room's design but also helps in achieving different moods to do various activities in a living room.

Enhancing natural light is the recommended prime focus in a living room which helps in improving health and mental well-being. Placing mirrors diagonally towards a window will help reflect the natural light into the house. With appropriate lighting, a living room can be covered into an entertainment room, TV room, and relaxation space to enjoy with family and friends.

The Windup

Although running into common mistakes and pitfalls that might sometimes compromise the aesthetics and functionality of a space, designing and decorating a living room can be very exciting, just like any other journey, designing an ideal living room that is visually appealing, functional, and comfortable comes with experiments, testing out different styles, furniture arrangements, and various lighting.  

By avoiding some critical mistakes listed above, one can create a living space that is refreshing, personal, and beautiful that would enhance every day’s artfulness.

Author’s: Deejay Icban

Cover image by Craig Cooper on Unsplash