Living Room Decorating Ideas

Living Room Decorating Ideas

One of the more important rooms in the home, I believe, is the living room. This is the area where your guests will spend most of their time when visiting you at your home. So it is important to spend some time, effort and money to spruce up your living room! But do not worry, it is possible to give your living room a sparkling make-over and not have to spend a fortune doing so. A makeover does not have to consist of completely ripping down your room and starting over, a lot of great renovations can be cheap and quick, such as purchasing new lighting for a room, or adding new handles and knobs to old furniture and simply polishing old wood. Sometimes all a living room room needs is a beautiful rug, a few throw pillows, or a coat of paint to give it a refreshed look.

Here are some brilliant living room decorating tips for you to get inspired.

Painting the Living Room

Changing the color of the living room is one simple way to change its look. However, painting can be time-consuming, if you plan on doing it yourself. You will have to add a primer coat, and several coats of the new paint color. But the effort would be well worth it. Color changes can have a dramatic difference to the overall look of your living room. Color will change the mood, disguise flaws and create illusions. Depending on the color you choose, dark to light color ratios, will give the illusion of a bigger or smaller room. Lighter colors reflect light and will make the room appear larger than it actually is.

Vibrant Green Pain Color for the Living Room

Neutral Paint Color for Living Room


De-cluttering the Living Room

It is easy for clutter to build up in the living room - house keys, magazines, newspapers, bills - have a way of accumulating on the coffee table. Children's toys as well have a way of finding themselves strewn all over the living room. The main issue is that we tend to spend a lot of time near our television sets, and whatever was occupying our attention before it was caught by the television, gets left right there. But you do not have to ban all such items from the living room. You can easily create a place for these items. For instance, buy an inexpensive magazine rack to store your magazines and newspapers after you are done with them. This can be placed by your favorite reading chair. Once the rack starts getting crowded, either bring the magazines and newspaper to your recycling collection site, or store them out of sight in the garage or storeroom. A wicker basket with a lid is also a great way to hide away knick-knacks or the children's toys. Making use of attractive storage choices for smaller items such as house keys and bills is also a great way to create a clean look in your living room.

De-cluttered Living Room

Create Storage to Achieve A
De-cluttered Look for Living Room

Living Room Furniture Placement

Changing the placement of your living room furniture can also change the overall feel of the living room. First, decide whether you want a formal, semi-formal or casual style arrangement in your living room. For the formal loom, symmetry is the most important element when laying out furniture in a formal room. Matched pairs and straight, vertical lines suggest a clean, conversational and orderly living space. For the semi-formal look, this would be very similar to the formal style yet more casual. Positioning a one sofa perpendicular to the fireplace and arranging a pair of chairs opposite, works especially well if chairs are placed between the living and dining room entrance. For the casual look, comfort is the main priority in the casual style room. Furniture and accessories should be cozy and inviting. It's visually appealing as well as easy to maintain. Furniture should be placed in a more informal arrangement. Horizontal lines are preferred as they give the eye a place to rest, creating a more relaxed atmosphere.

Formal Living Room Interior Decoration

Semi-formal Living Room Interior Decoration

Casual Living Room Interior Decoration

Slipcovers and Throw Pillows for Existing Living Room Couch and Sofa

If buying new living room furniture, such as a new couch or sofa, is not in your budget, then a great way to spruce up the living room is to get slipcovers! Modern slip covers look so good, especially if they’re designed for your furniture - it is almost as if you had gotten new furniture. Decide on a color theme for your living room. You can either choose a neutral color for your slipcovers, and add bright accents such as throw cushions or pillows on the couch. Or you can use striped or printed slipcovers with neutral accents. The key is to have some contrast.

Fun Printed Slipcover for Living Room Furniture
Living Room Rugs

Add vibrancy to the entire living room with a rug.





Living Room Accents

Living room accents should reflect your character, personality and lifestyle. Adding artwork is affordable and can be found, online and in the home furnishing isles at most discount department stores. Pull different colors from the room and incorporate them into cushions and throw pillows. Plants are a nice accessory providing they are in proper scale with the furniture and not just randomly placed in a corner. It's not very difficult to give your living area a fabulous new look. A little time, a little planning and less money than you think, is all you need.

Living Room Pillows from
Cushion Couture