Your living room may look perfect, but a few simple mistakes can throw you off balance. The living room serves many purposes, from a home’s communal chamber to a party spot. Unfortunately, for a room as important as your living room, people don’t decorate it as efficiently, especially the delicate balance between looks and functionality.
With so much on the line, decorating pitfalls are common. Clutter and overcrowding are the two major mistakes people, even interior designers, make when decorating the living room.
Here are a few mistakes you need to make a note of the next time you decorate your living room.
Leaving Out Unnecessary Clutter
Clearing out clutter is the first step for a polished and elegant home. Hide the mess and clutter of your daily life from view. Stylish storage baskets and boxes help hide the clutter out of sight.
Alternatively, you can also use open shelves. They are a great place to put away your odds and ends. However, open shelves work only when it is not overcrowded.
No Greenery
Introducing plants in your living room adds some life instantly. A little greenery goes a long way toward breathing life into your room. If you are not a green thumb, look for low-maintenance plants that look after themselves.
Plants like succulents, cacti, snake plants, ZZ plants, etc., do not need much effort. Alternatively, you can create a floral arrangement with some fresh greenery. With little work, you can create a welcoming environment and cheerful vibe in your living room.
Prioritising Style Over Comfort
People often sacrifice comfort for style, which tends to reflect in their living rooms. Comfortability is the key to decorating your living room. It is easy to fall in love with a style and forget its purpose.
Remember that a living room is meant for the family to gather around. So it doesn’t matter if your couch is cool; is it comfortable? Alternatively, you can also throw some plush pillows and a cozy blanket.
Pushing the Furniture to the Wall
Instead of pushing the furniture all the way against the walls, try floating it, meaning you place them off the walls, even to the centre of the room. This makes your living room appear larger since you can walk around it. Putting the furniture close to each other also makes for an intimate conversation.
Using Too Many Cushions on Your Sofa
Rather than overloading your couch with too many cushions, work with a few statement pieces. Two or three pillows per corner give the room a more well-thought-out look. A sofa with too many stuffed cushions can make the living room look messy. Moreover, you’d have to move them off the couch before you sit down.
Choosing a Small Area Rug
Area rugs serve a bigger purpose than decor. They make the area complete and frame the space. They also help to anchor the furniture and tie the entire arrangement together.
The thumb rule of area rugs is that they should go under all the furniture or at least the front legs. An area rug that’s too small brings the furniture closer together, creating an unbalanced look. On the other hand, a larger area rug can overwhelm the room and make it appear smaller.
Relying on Overhead Lighting
Rather than relying on single overhead lighting, why not use more localised lamps to layer the light levels? This allows you to have a dimmer room easily when the need arises. Use a mixture of overhead and localised lighting (floor lamps, table lamps, wall lights, etc.) Wall lights, especially, are discreet and pretty. They do not occupy much space either.
Choosing Small Curtains or Mounting Too Low
Your curtains should skim the floor or even puddle a bit, but never shorter. Short curtains truncate the wall and make it appear smaller. Hang your curtains 3-8 inches above your window line. This makes the room appear loftier.
Create an Elegant Living Room with Furniture from Valentines
Buying fast fashion is one of the biggest mistakes people make when planning the living room decor. Instead, invest in furniture and homeware that will last a long time. By these standards, Valentines Furniture marks the standards when it comes to furniture and homewares in Bendigo. We carry high-quality, affordable furniture in eye-catching designs.
