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As the heart and soul of your home, the living room deserves special consideration when it comes to decorating. In fact, for most new homeowners, furnishing and designing the living room takes absolute priority over all other rooms.
But that’s precisely why living room decorating can be challenging and often stressful. To help you through it, we’ve prepared a list of five living room essentials every new home needs. Read on to get a few design ideas!
1. Sofas, Sectionals, and Loveseats
The first thing you’ll notice when you enter any living room is, without a doubt, a sofa. It is the focal point of the space, where you gather with your family, entertain guests, and unwind after a long day. With that in mind, the sofa must be chosen very carefully, and the rest of the furniture can then be coordinated accordingly.
Sofas come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles, so you should explore your options first to determine what suits you. A regular sofa will fit most large living rooms, but if you have a very large family or guests that frequently stay over, a sectional sofa might be a better choice. On the other hand, a loveseat will provide a perfect mixture of comfort and style to smaller living rooms.
Don’t forget to consider the upholstery, as well as your maintenance capabilities. If you have children or small pets, leather sofas are the best choice, as they are fairly easy to keep clean. But ultimately, it all depends on the kind of texture you want your living room to have. Fluffier and denser couch fabrics always make the room feel cosier and homelier.
2. Accent Chairs and Recliners
After you choose a good sofa, the next item on your list of essentials should be an accent chair or a recliner, especially if your room is big enough. Both of these furniture pieces offer an additional seating area for larger families or guests, but they also serve different purposes and come in various styles.
For instance, recliners provide great comfort and are incredibly convenient for older family members or those with mobility issues. And thanks to their modern design and new features that often include massage technology, they quickly become the whole family’s favourite piece of furniture.
On the other hand, accent chairs will not provide quite as much comfort as a recliner, but they certainly enhance the living room’s aesthetic. Typically, home improvement experts choose accent chairs that don’t entirely complement the sofa but instead contrast it. That way, the living room gains an additional stylistic element, making its whole interior design come together beautifully.
3. Coffee Tables
If you try to imagine a living room without a coffee table, you’ll definitely feel like something’s missing. Coffee tables primarily serve a practical purpose as furniture where you can put your cups, remote, books, or anything else you need to have within reach. But since they are rather prominent in the overall living room arrangement, their design shouldn’t be neglected either.
When picking a perfect coffee table, consider what you want to use it for. If you wish to avoid clutter in your room, storage coffee tables are an ideal solution, as they come with additional drawers. On the other hand, lift-top coffee tables are made to meet the needs of those who like to eat or work in their living rooms.
And even if you opt for a standard coffee table, there are many different styles to choose from. For a modern look, choose a rectangular table with a glass top or an industrial coffee table. The oval, wooden coffee table is reminiscent of a more traditional, classic style. And finally, if you’re looking for something more unique and original, you can’t go wrong with a fun tree root coffee table!
4. TV Stands
Although many homeowners nowadays opt for hanging televisions, TV stands haven’t lost their title of living room furniture staple. They add extra storage space to your living room, providing a place to keep your electronics, books, and consoles in one place. There are also many design and style options to choose from, so it’s easy to make them fit into any kind of room.
If you’re buying a TV stand, make sure to match its size to the size of the TV you plan to place on top. The TV should not be too small, as you will have plenty of unused space on the stand. Similarly, if the television is too big, your TV stand will look like it’s struggling with the TV’s size and weight. Get the dimensions just right for a tasteful and neat design.
5. Wall Decor
Unless you are going for the minimalist design, blank living room walls can make the space feel empty and cold. And typically, that’s the opposite of what you want in a room that should be a synonym for cosiness. So don’t leave your walls untouched; start looking into some wall art.
Wall art can be anything – large pieces, hanging textiles, or even several smaller artworks tastefully arranged to create a unique visual effect. Incorporating wall art into your living space gives you an opportunity to truly showcase your taste and personality, so don’t feel limited by conventions in interior design.
However, it is a good idea to pay attention to the size, colour, and content of the artwork you want to put on your walls. If everything neatly flows together, the general effect will be more impressive both for you and your visitors.
A Quick Checklist to a Dream Living Room
Designing a perfect living room can take time and effort, but at the end of the day, it’s all worth it. Remember that this is the room you will very likely spend most of your day in, as well as the place where you’ll receive guests. So you shouldn’t rush buying furniture or deciding on the style. Go through the checklist of necessities one by one and consider each item you want to purchase carefully!
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