My husband and I used to have a brown chocolate sofa in our living room, with a matching brown and Ottoman chair. We were in our 20 years and I was in the initial internships to fall in love with the interiors. I had no idea of the designs of the living room and the scale. The furniture was welcoming, without a doubt, but the flow of space felt narrow and uncomfortable. It was one of my first experiences in which I realized that a room was blank, which maximum reached my interest in design. Fast advance a decade later and I still can’t have any brown chocolate furniture, and I have learned one or two things about the designs of the living room.
The designs of the living room do not have to be complicated, but there are definitely common mistakes that people commit (including myself!). Before, I talked to Jennifer Jones, main designer of Niche Interiors and Melanie Bryant from Melanie Bryant Interior to get her do and Don on how to design a living room.
No: Ignore the scale
Starting strong with my own mistake, ignoring the scale. “When the furniture is too large, however, it is too small; too small, and everything seems floating,” Bryant shares. “The scale is everything.”
I used to navigate decoration and furniture without any plan. I would simply drop what I thought it seemed pretty in my cart. Now I see it as a safe way to guarantee a burst of returns, which is exactly what happened! Since then, I have learned that an adhesive tape can be a precious possession for anyone who loves design, as special when it comes to scale.
Jue: Choose furniture that works with your space
Measuring your space before making large purchases is of the utmost importance. You want to make sure your potential furniture fit. “While there is no unique formula for all, a good general rule is to leave 14 to 18 inches between its sofa and coffee table,” recommends Bryant. “This ensures that their pieces fill the space without blocking the movement. If the room still feels” off “, a scale problem is usual.”
No: Buy a support that is too small
It turns out that the scale is not limited to only furniture. “This error is common: great sofa, little carpet,” says Jones. There is nothing more uncomfortable than a beautifully designed room with a carpet that only fits the coffee table.
The carpets can be a great expense, so it makes owners to try to get their own with a back that is too small. The result? “Real make the space feel narrower,” says Bryant.
Thu: Let your back occupy space
When it comes to your living room, go big or go home. “An area carpet must be large enough so that all seats in a room feel comfortably at the top,” says Jones. Bryant agrees. “Place your furniture where it works naturally and then choose a back that extends at least under the front legs, if not the entire seat area,” she says. “Munda the room and makes everything feel more connected.”
No: keep the corners exposed
I have an uncomfortable corner in my office at home that was naked for a few months when we moved for the first time. It was all what to put there, but I couldn’t stop looking at the empty corner. It took me to public services! The same goes for the designs of the living room. The empty corners can feel cold, so Jones recommend a thing: “Avoid dead corners!” She excludes.
JUD: Add plants
“Do you have a sad and empty corner of your living room with which you are not sure what to do?” Jones reflects. “Instead of adding another piece of furniture, consider bringing vegetation in the form of a large house plant or an inner tree.”
The uncomfortable corners are only cozy spaces that expect to be full, and this simple change of mentality can open a world of possibilities. Personally, I think plants are always an ideal addition to any room, and Jones agrees. “Plants add so much life and interest to a space,” she says.
No: Push all furniture against the wall
“One of the largest design errors we see is all the furniture in the living room pushed against the walls,” says Jones. I must admit that this is a design design of the living room I have done too!
“Eliminating each furniture along the walls may seem that it makes the room feel larger, but it often has the opposite effect,” says Bryant. “Flast the space and kill the flow.”
Do: create space for conversation
Instead of placing everything against the wall, Bryant suggests placing at least a piece of furniture towards the middle of his living room. “Only in average size rooms, floating key pieces such as a sofa or a couple of chairs create a more cozy design and in layers,” she says.
Floating furniture also means preparing their space for connection, which is always welcome in a living room. “Create an intimate seat area with all the furniture arranged close enough to easily carry out a conversation,” Jones suggests.
“There is not a perfect formula, sometimes you just have to drag things or sketch it,” adds Bryant. “But the goal is always balance and breathing space.”
No: send the space
The flow of a room should always take into account when it is making a rain of ideas of design ideas from the living room. More is not always better. “Always take into account the circulation and ease of moving through your living room,” says Jones. “-Tentimes, we see too much furniture crowded in a space without space to navigate, making it uncomfortable for guests.”
Do: create paths
If it is uncomfortable to move from one seat to another, or maybe there is a coffee table along the way, with the foot as a sign to create a better path. For additional accuracy, your tape measure can be useful. “For the main roads, leave 30-36 inches of space,” recommends Jones. “For smaller areas between armchairs, leave at least 24 inches.”
No: Ignore the disorder
Even if you have found the living room design for your home, one thing can marry the environment. “The disorder kills a good design,” says Bryant. “When remote controls, blankets, laces and random chucheías are dispersed everywhere, even a well -designed room can feel chaotic.”
JUD: Use storage
As your living room together, consider storage solutions from the beginning. Identify the elements that must be stored: white sets, cables and remote controls come to mind. Then work from there. “Use decorative boxes for narrower items, storage blankets in a tapa or otoman basket, and adhesive tape or perfectly buzzing furniture,” Bryant suggests. The cord covers are also miraculous workers, especially if you set up your TV on a wall. Cleaning the disorder will make your space feel calmer. “A little consideration contributes greatly to make a room feel polished and united,” Bryant adds.
Your living room must be a space that feels as good as it seems. When making some adjustments of the best, you can create a living room that really works for your home and your lifestyle. Whether you are starting from scratch or simply changing things, small changes can have a great impact. Happy reach!
