By BRIAN BOGULSKI | Special to the Palisadian-Post
When decorating a home, some may feel like they must choose between comfort and style.
Living rooms are especially known as places where residents seek to create an aura of relaxation—a place for watching TV, lounging on the couch, reading and playing board games. Thus, it can seem daunting to make the most leisurely space in your home well-curated and furbished with deliberateness.
Finding the balance between making your living room a space that is unique to you while still maintaining structure when decorating, however, is not only possible but encouraged by professional home stagers.
One of the most important tips to consider when decorating your living room is cohesiveness. It is important to prioritize making this place appear unified, with decor that matches an overall design plan you have set for the room.
To achieve this objective, there are five recommended steps to follow: keep your space open, understand furniture proportions, do not focus on coordinating every color or piece, focus on neutral colors and be patient.
A living room that is crammed with furniture will feel congested and restrictive. To avoid this, keep your furniture placement well-spaced.
Interior designer Nathan Thompson suggested maintaining a minimum of 18 inches of space between furniture pieces for smaller living rooms and 36 inches for larger living rooms. Allowing for walking space within your living room will add to the ease that people feel upon entering.
To a similar point, the size of furniture can also have major impacts on your living room. If you fill your living room with a few big, bulky pieces, the space may feel engulfed in fixtures. On the other hand, filling your living room with many small furniture items can stifle the openness of the space and take away from the importance of each piece. Collaboratively balancing the different proportions of your furniture can truly bring your living room together.
Thompson also suggested having your sofa be twice the size of your coffee table, and having your rug touch the front legs of your furniture at the least. This will help to achieve the goal of curating a proportional living room.
Many people assume that having all of your furniture match is an effective way to make sure decorations look cohesive, but the opposite is true. To boost the sophistication of your space, ensure that less pieces match, not more. This will make it easier to incorporate new and unique items of furniture as you continue to build upon the style of your living room.
A helpful trick to keep in mind if you do not have a specific design for your space picked out is gravitating toward neutral colors. Having most of your large furniture pieces be a neutral color and then adding in an accent color for some smaller decorative details can be helpful in ensuring a cohesive and elegant look within your space.
The last step to decorating your living room successfully is taking your time. Household projects that are slower and better thought-out may end up being more rewarding than projects that are rushed.
Acclaimed designer Terence Conran once called the living room “a place where we feel totally at ease—temple of the soul.” To honor the comfort that living rooms are known for, it may be helpful to consider the aforementioned design tips when decorating your space.
Brian Bogulski is a sales partner with Amalfi Estates, which has sold $1.4 billion in properties and was selected by the WSJ as one of the top 60 agents in the country out of one million agents. If you are thinking of buying a home or selling your own, contact Brian at 323-983-1177 or brian@amalfiestates.com.
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