When designing the perfect living room, it’s important to not just consider the style, but also the purpose. What is it you mainly use your living room for? And how can you design your living room to be better suited for this means? This post delves into some of the different living room purposes and how to design the ultimate living room around these purposes.
The relaxation zone
Is your living room a place for de-stressing after a hard day? Transforming your living room into the most cozy and relaxing space possible could help you to unwind.
Comfortable furniture is a must - look for armchairs and sofas that you can sink into, or consider padding out furniture with cushions and throws. Footstools and sofas with footrests could be another great feature to look into.
There are so many other decor elements that can help to make a living room relaxing. Examples include:
Calming colors such as blues, greens, whites and soft pinks
Fur rugs and thick curtains to bring a sense of visual warmth
Warm lighting including ambient lighting options (such as candles and wall lights)
Houseplants
Relaxing scents
A fireplace (natural or electric)
The social space
Is the living room a place for getting together and talking with family and friends? In this case, it could be worth focusing on encouraging social interaction through design.
Consider adding as much seating as you can without overcrowding the room. You could even turn window sills into cosy extra seats or add ottomans that double up as storage. Try to arrange this furniture in a circle around the room facing inwards (rather than along one wall) as to encourage conversation.
Such living rooms may benefit from slightly more energizing decor and features that spark conversation. This could include:
Energising colors like reds, yellows and oranges
Vibrant artwork
Displays of photos, trophies and souvenirs
If you want the living room to be the hub during parties you could also consider
A drink trolley for guests to use
A music station for speakers or even a record player
The home theater
If your living room is a place used for serious TV and movie watching, why not improve the viewing experience by turning it into a home cinema?
Such living rooms should be designed around the TV with seating all facing the TV and no distracting decor around the screen. Make sure that the TV is the optimum size for the room (bigger is not always better - if you have a small room, a smaller screen may allow you to take more in).
To also improve the viewing experience you could consider:
Surround sound speakers
Blackout curtains to make the room darker
Sofas/armchairs with drink holders
The playzone
A living room could alternatively be a place for you or kids to play games. Such entertainment spaces can take various forms depending on who is playing in them.
For example, if you want young kids to use this space to play, consider adding a play corner with a toy chest for keeping toys contained. Try to make the room as kid-friendly as possible by avoiding fragile ornaments or furniture that could cause injury such as sharp edged coffee tables. To allow messy play, consider having a mat that you can roll out.
Play zones could alternatively be used for video games or even board games. A playzone centered around video games may want to be designed more similarly to a home theatre. Play zones centered around playing board games may meanwhile benefit from having a table and chairs or seating snugly arranged around a coffee table.
The animal sanctuary
Got pets? An alternative way to design your living room could be to make the pets the focus.
Such living rooms should be easy to clean and designed against pet damage. You may want to avoid carpets and stick to leather sofas with slipcovers or throws. It could also be worth creating space for pet furniture such as cat trees or large dog beds. Air purifiers could meanwhile be worth investing in to reduce pet dander and odors in the air.