Living Room Decorating Ideas For A Comfortable Lifestyle

Most of us spend a lot of time getting our living room in fine order, as this is usually where we entertain guests and needs to make a good impression. Making a good impression is a noble goal so long we don't turn the room into a picture perfect place that intimidates guests and requires a high maintenance upkeep from family. A living room is meant for living, not preserving, so make yours comfortable and friendly to be in.

Make a Design Plan:
The first step is to look at what you have at hand and chalk up a design plan. Consider both the effect you want to create and the architectural elements of the living room. Make a list too of the activities you are going to use the living room for. Is it going to be reserved for entertaining guests or is it going to be a family room as well? Is it going to double as a dining room? Will it be used for reading or playing games or watching television? If you have pets, will they be allowed in it?

Then think about the kind of furniture you will require for the proposed activities. If you are going to have a dining table, what kind, large or small? Are you going to have cabinets for the television, books, ornaments and other stuff? What kind of sofa and chairs will be comfortable for you and your guests, and wear well too if you have pets jumping on and off?

Get inspired:
Once you know what you want, you can look at different design ideas. Refer to magazine photographs, color swathes, fabric designs, artworks, other people's homes, shop windows, nature, the Internet, everything is grist for the mill. It is inspiring and certainly very interesting to know what leading interior designers are doing currently, but don't fall too much for 'what's fashionable now' and 'what's hot and happening today'. Remember, you should be your own style expert where your own home is concerned. The point is not just to have a well-designed living room, but one that portrays your personality vividly, is both fun and comfortable to live with, and is easy to maintain. If you have a living room that is too precious to be used, one of you needs to be changed.

Colors for your Living Room:
In the opinion of many interior design experts, the best color for a living room is a light and neutral shade. Having your living room walls and floors in a neutral hue certainly offers plenty of leeway in choosing the furniture, draperies, ornaments, lights and so on in varied colors and textures, and so is especially useful if you like to change around the look of your living room every now and again. You don't have to repaint the whole room to get a different look.

Paint your ceiling lighter than the walls if you want to create a feeling of spaciousness and tint it darker if you want to create a more cozy feel. Highlight interesting architectural elements like crown moldings, baseboards, doors and windows by painting them in a contrasting color to your walls.

Furniture for your Living Room:
Consider the size and type of the room as well as the look you want when buying furniture. If you have a small-sized living room, for example, it is best not to crowd it with too much furniture. With a large-sized living room, you can divide it up into two or three seating areas. Don't place sofas or chairs too far apart - your guests shouldn't have to yell across the room at each other to carry on a conversation. There should be clear and sufficient walkways through the room and the furniture shouldn't block access to windows and doors.

Get furniture with changeable slip-covers, so you can them clean easily and also change the look of the room frequently. Just changing around the positions of the living room furniture is another way of giving the room an entirely different look.

You can arrange your living room furniture around one, two or more focal points; it depends on the size of the room. If it's a small one, a single focal point should suffice. This can be a fireplace, a large picture window, a piano, a favorite painting, a wall mural or a treasured collection. It can also be a television, but I'm sure there are better options than grouping around the idiot-box. Mirrors can make a good living room addition, so long you don't overdo them or place them in such a way that discomfit all occupants.

Furniture that can be used for dual purposes - like a sofa-cum-bed or a table with drawers, for example - is a good idea, especially if you have space constrains. Usually, large furniture pieces are placed against the walls, but this is not an unbreakable rule.

Don't hang a heavy-framed painting over a sofa - it should face the sofa.

Lighting for your Living Room:
Carefully think over the lighting arrangements as these can enhance the overall look of the living room. Ideally, your light arrangement should be adjustable to the different times of the day, evening and night and help create different moods. Put up blinds and draperies to control the amount of natural light, and lights with dimmers to control the amount of artificial lighting. Go for diffused, ambient lighting to make your living room look larger. Incandescent lights will give your room a warmer feel. Install light sockets at strategic locations around the room so you can change around the positions of table lamps and floor lamps.

If you have collections of china, pottery, glass, stones, wine glasses, candelabra, photographs, crystals, figurines, sculpture, books and so on, arrange them tastefully and highlight them with accent lighting so they draw the eye.

Include a few plants or fresh flower arrangements in your living room.

Your living room décor ideas should be visually and aesthetically harmonious to one another, be functionally practical, and create a good vibe.