Of course, you need to start arranging your living room with the sofa. Its size, shape and color depend not only on your taste, but also on the size of the living room, the height of the ceilings, the size and number of windows and, of course, the overall concept of the space. That is, in general, from everything you think about when imagining the ideal living room.
Photo: elledecor.com
We cannot give unambiguous advice on choosing a sofa, but we draw your attention to a fashion trend: furniture sets are a thing of the past, giving way to items of different shapes and colors.
Coffee table
Low or tall, wide or narrow, made of natural wood or clear glass with a forged base. The functionality of such an item is important, but not required. The impressive appearance of the coffee table trumps its practicality.
Photo: elledecor.com
True, it is still necessary to combine such a table with other pieces of furniture in the living room.
Photo: elledecor.com
Display cabinets
If the wall serves to display a home library or valuable collection, give preference to lightweight cabinets with transparent doors. Glass will not only protect objects from dust, but will also add airiness to the interior by reflecting the light falling on them.
Paired display cases can be placed in the TV area or on the sides of the sofa, creating a cozy niche.
Carpet
We told you how to properly place a rug in a living room, meaning that it should decorate the floor in this room. The offensive name “dust collector” was invented for the carpet by those who are too lazy to clean it regularly. Yes, we insist that this item is a must for a proper living room. And not only as a decorative element. Using a rug, you can soften the brightness of accents, balance out asymmetrical furniture arrangements, and even narrow or expand the boundaries of the room.
Photo: elledecor.com
A rug can even take on the brunt of the visual load—and carry it well while you experiment with furnishings and decor.
Photo: elledecor.com
We disassemble each piece of furniture separately
A standard set of furniture for the living room is a sofa, table, TV. Add to this chairs, a work or dining table, cabinets and shelving as you wish.
Where is the best place to put a sofa and armchairs?
If the living room is the heart of the home, then the sofa is the heart of the living room. This is one of the largest pieces of furniture, so the arrangement should begin with it.
According to Feng Shui, sitting with your back to a window or door is undesirable, and sitting with your back to the exit is not very comfortable. The most advantageous place is at the end wall or in the center of the room.
The choice of location also depends on the shape:
- Straight. A universal model that is suitable for both spacious and small living rooms. Standard options are designed for 2-3 seats. For frequent meetings with friends, buy armchairs for the sofa.
- Angular. The L-shaped one is used for zoning space in free spaces, and in small spaces it is placed in the corner to save space.
- Modular. Most often it has a U-shape. Such models occupy a large area, so it is recommended to place them only in spacious living rooms.
Installation with the back to the wall saves space and is most convenient for small spaces. When placing the sofa and TV opposite each other, leave no more than 3 meters between them.
A slight excess of the distance (up to 50 cm) can be solved by moving the sofa and installing a console behind it. Paintings, flowers, and accessories are placed on it. Moving it 1-1.5 m, place a working area behind it. If the distance is >1 meter, place a dining, playing or sleeping area.
In the photo, zoning the space using a sofa
How to correctly arrange the cabinet and wall?
20 years ago, the Romanian wall covering the entire room was considered the standard of style; today designers are calling for replacing bulky built-in wardrobes with light and spacious ones.
Let's consider the main options for locating the storage area:
- Opposite the sofa. With a symmetrical arrangement of furniture, 2 identical cabinets are placed on the sides of the fireplace. Or they build a TV into a wide wall.
- Around the sofa. Build a closet with a niche for an ottoman: storage consoles will fit perfectly on the sides and above it.
- Near the window. Avoid curtains in the living room and place shelving on either side of the window opening. Ideal for a workplace on the windowsill.
- To the side of the door. When the entrance is on the edge, the cabinet is placed along the remaining wall. This technique will help dissolve it in space.
If you have nothing special to store, limit yourself to a TV stand and open shelves near your desk.
The photo shows the standard way to place a cabinet in a niche
Choosing a place for the TV
It is logical to hang the TV opposite the seats, the main thing is to maintain the proportions:
- height from the floor 110-130 cm;
- distance to seat 180-300 cm.
Do not place the TV system near or opposite a window. Due to the sunlight, it is impossible to watch it during the daytime.
We arrange the table and chairs conveniently
If you are going to combine the living room with the dining room, leave enough free space not only for the table, but also for chairs - so that nothing interferes with the holidays.
The arrangement of furniture depends on the layout of the apartment. In order not to carry food through the entire room, the dining area is placed at the kitchen door. Or at the entrance to the hall, if the rooms are not connected to each other.
When planning, consider the following numbers:
- seat depth - 70 cm;
- The minimum passage taking into account the extended chair is 55 cm.
Otherwise, it will be inconvenient for guests to move and sit during the feast.
What to do with accessories and decor?
Assess the size of your living room. Large paintings are hung in the spacious room and massive vases are installed. In a small one, instead of one large one, we place 2-3 smaller ones.
Most often, decorative interior items are placed along and on the walls, but you can also create a composition on cabinets, a console behind the sofa, or place attributes on open shelves in a rack.
The photo shows an option for decorating the living room in blue
Floor lamps and lamps
Lighting in the living room is no less important than the furniture and carpet. And it is very important to provide as many light sources as possible here. The main chandelier, ceiling spotlights, floor lamps and lamps, sconces and candles - all this is appropriate and in demand in the living room every day.
Photo: elledecor.com
A tall floor lamp with a curved leg has been at the peak of fashion for several years. Retro models and modern options look equally good in a living room of almost any style.
Photo: livingspaces.com
Paintings, panels or photos
One large canvas or several small ones, a collage of photographs and even thematic posters are an excellent decoration for the walls in the living room. It should be taken into account that such decor looks good on plain walls in a contrasting shade.
Photo: elledecor.com
An interesting art or abstract installation is a great alternative to a photo gallery or painting. The plot is optional. The main thing is to choose a suitable palette and carefully fit the installation into the main colors of the interior.
Photo: elledecor.com
Books
A good library will never be out of place in the living room of a creative person. Books will highlight your deep inner world and desire to understand the universe and yourself. The placement of these treasures depends on the style in which the living room is decorated and on your imagination.
Photo: elledecor.com
Open shelves will make using the library more convenient and display dozens of old volumes in all their splendor. True, you will have to wipe the dust more often and take care that the bright rays of the sun do not fall on the book covers.
Photo: amara.com
Large living room: basic rules
Owners of small apartments know how problematic small spaces can be. They must be designed to be ergonomic and functional. In large living rooms there are no such restrictions, but certain placement rules should be followed. Check out how to create the perfect design for a large space. Get the best tips and learn how to make your gym even better.
When planning the arrangement of a large interior, it is important to remember that all decorative elements must be in the same style. Of course, you can add a rustic chair to a modern interior as a decoration, but you cannot use too many accessories from another concept.
In a large interior you have a lot of freedom regarding the choice of colors. You can successfully use darker shades without fear that they will optically make your living room smaller. However, as with hardware, be careful not to overdo the number of colors. Otherwise, you will get the effect of colorful chaos.
Owners of small apartments know how problematic small spaces can be. They must be designed to serve an ergonomic and practical function. In large living rooms there are no such restrictions, but certain placement rules should be followed. Check out how to create the perfect design for spacious spaces. Get the best tips and learn how to make your gym even more beautiful.
How to decorate a large living room? Start with the basics!
The floor is the element of the interior that guests see first. Only then do they pay attention to furniture and accessories. That is why it must not only be durable, but also correspond to the location of other elements. You have many options here. A light floor will optically increase the space of a large living room, while a dark floor will slightly reduce it.
Important tip: The color of the furniture is supposed to contrast with the color of the tiles or floor panels.
With this arrangement, a large rug is well suited, which further contrasts with the whole and makes the interior symmetrical. When you want wood in your living room, never combine oak with pine or ash with beech. A good idea is a gres, the appearance of which is inspired by nature. By choosing this solution, you can simultaneously enjoy the durability of tiles and the beauty of elegant stone or wood texture.
Choosing a central point - the possibility of correct arrangement
When organizing a large space, first choose the focal point of the living room. This could be a coffee table, a fireplace or a TV. Arrange furniture around a central point to create the perfect space for socializing and relaxing. Correct placement of the sofa, armchairs, chairs and poufs will bring harmony and order to the interior.
When you're thinking about how to decorate a large living room, remember to keep it in line with your family's interests and hobbies. For example, readers will be pleased with a comfortable chair and spotlights that divide the space. Elsewhere in the large living room, you should create a space for watching movies. It is important that these areas do not interfere with each other, and household members can spend time together as they like.
Large living room: how to decorate? Accessories create the interior!
When the decoration and arrangement of the main furniture is ready, you need to take care of the finishing, that is, the additions. It is worth choosing those that will not only be a decoration, but also an element that affects the comfort of guests and residents of the house. Examples of such accessories are various types of poufs, seats, footrests, tables and pillows. Preferably, they should also fit into the same overall style. How to decorate a large living room? We need to make it functional, convenient and consistent!
Curtains
Perhaps the windows in your living room are not large enough to block the natural light from entering the room with curtains. Nevertheless, it is advisable to decorate the windows with textiles. This will immediately make the space much more comfortable and harmonious.
Photo: elledecor.com
Buy two or three sets of curtains in different shades and change them once a season. Such a simple technique will radically change the appearance of the living room and even affect the perception of other objects in the interior.
Photo: theeverygirl.com
What to do if the space is narrow
When arranging a group of furniture in a narrow space, the goal is to visually make the room wider. At the same time, all objects should be compact and low. Instead of cabinets, it is better to use hanging shelves, instead of armchairs - poufs, and also a table with a glass top. Placing a cabinet on the side of an end wall, or two opposite end walls, will visually shorten a long, narrow room, bringing its shape closer to a perfect square.
To avoid common mistakes when decorating a narrow room, you should avoid options when using a furniture set placed along the walls along the entire length of the room, or grouped in one corner.
If there is a window on one end wall, you can build a wardrobe on the opposite wall, which will visually shorten the length of the room. If the room is narrow and, moreover, its area is less than 18 meters, you should not use a large amount of cabinet furniture. So, instead of the usual “wall”, you can install a TV stand opposite the sofa and hang several narrow shelves. Such a living room should be equipped with a minimum number of pieces of furniture with the greatest functionality.
Flower
There's no need to turn your living room into a greenhouse, even if you're an avid plant lover. But one large flower should decorate the interior and fill the empty space in one of the corners that you don’t want to take up with decor.
Photo: elledecor.com
Be sure to leave access to the plant to spray and water it regularly. As a rule, the air in the living room is dry, which has a detrimental effect on flowers, not to mention your well-being. Carefully monitor the condition of the plant’s leaves - such a “live indicator” will promptly signal you about the need to humidify the air.
Photo: theeverygirl.com
How relevant is the wall in the hall today?
Just a couple of decades ago, the furniture wall was the standard in living room furnishings. It was almost impossible to find an apartment without this piece of furniture. It was a bulky, heavy wall that took up a lot of living space. But all due to the fact that its purpose was to store most of the things that residents tried to hide in closets and on shelves. In modern living rooms you can rarely find furniture walls, especially those that occupy the entire space along the wall. They have been replaced by more stylish and comfortable types of furniture, the variety of which allows you to furnish the room much more ergonomically. Manufacturers are also moving away from mass production of furniture walls with standard sizes and filling. People have begun to order custom-designed furniture more often. This allows you to get something that you will like in appearance and that will be convenient for a specific person to use. Now let’s answer such an exciting question, what to put in the hall instead of a wall.
Accessories
Yes, accessories in the living room are also necessary, but it is important to choose them very carefully, without overwhelming the entire room with them. It is better to put two or three beautiful and stylish vases than to fill a room with dozens of figurines of different styles, collections and times.
Photo: livingspaces.com
Ethnic decorative elements are very popular in many modern living rooms, even if it seems to you that stylistically they do not fit into the decor. Just mentally try on one such accessory for an already created interior and find a suitable place for it. And this item will be the finishing touch that logically completes our list of must-have items for the living room.
Photo: amara.com
Large living room in an apartment: choosing a style
The most common living room compositions are the following styles:
- modern;
- Scandinavian;
- glamor;
- classical.
Each one has slightly different features. In a large room you can take full advantage of each arrangement. You should not give up the given interior characteristics in order to make the room functional and comfortable. But before you start assembling your equipment, it’s worth making a list of your personal requirements combined with the pros and cons of the chosen interior style.
