The current circumstances force us to reconsider what it means to “live” in our living rooms. It was once a place we used to spend an hour or so after work, before we rushed back to the bathroom. Now it’s where we check emails, have our morning coffee, exercise, and help our children. It is important to find furniture that makes us happy and feels comfortable. This guide will help you furnish a stylish, comfortable living room that suits your budget.
The living room has been losing its status as the ‘heart of the home’ in recent years. These two rooms are becoming more and more partners or parts of each other. This is why you need to consider how the living and dining rooms interact when selecting furniture for your living room. To make the kitchen less functional, you might add curtains or lamps to it. The living room will likely take over the main dining area (and perhaps the working!) table. I have hardwood flooring that runs seamlessly between my two rooms in my home.
The sofa is my favorite piece of living room furniture. The sofa is the most important piece of furniture in your living room. Once you have a place to rest your rump, you can relax and let everything else wait until you find it. A sofa is not something I would buy on Ebay, unlike other furniture. Many of the older sofas from 20th century tend to sag and discolour due to the foams and fillers. There are many sofas and sofa beds that are affordable on the high-street.
Sofas can occupy a lot of space. If you live in a small house, avoid designs that make too much of your living space. You can be more comfortable with more upright, modern shapes that are influenced by mid-century modernism if you’re a percher than you are a lounger.
Place the sofa wherever you would like to be seated. It will most likely be where the sun shines in or where there is a view out of the window. My experience with living in an apartment that was not the most logical location for it felt like it was wrong. It had to do something with doors, draughts and traffic. It’s okay to not overthink it. You will find yourself gravitating to the place you want to be, and then end up there, leaning against a wall, while the sofa lies in the draught, unloved. Move the sofa so that you can actually sit on it.
Next, determine the dimensions of the other pieces. For example, the width and depth of a coffee-table that doesn’t interfere with the door opening or bump into someone’s feet. You should measure any places where storage might fit in. To avoid making mistakes when shopping online for furniture, standard heights are 75cm for a table and 40cm respectively for a coffee table. Make scale drawings of the layout of the room on A3 paper. To test the space’s layout, you could use masking tape, paper, or cardboard to measure the furniture.
What kind of space do you have? This will determine the type of person that you are. Do you plan to use the space to relax with a drink or a book? If so, you will need a side table for your drink and a table or floor lamp to read.
The basic steps to furnishing a living space
Other seating
After you’ve got the sofa in place, consider what other seating options you could fit into the space. You can also use daybeds or a comfortable armchair. If you have a bay window, benches or window seats are something to consider. You can add elegance by separating the upholstery into one piece such as a small chair or wooden bench. Rita Konig’s column on the topic advises to keep the arrangement of upholstered parts loose and to have fun putting together a mixture of old and new friends. To create balance, use vertical lines and hard surfaces (lamps or tables are great for this) instead of a room full of chairs. ‘
M Jannet J are one of the leading trade furniture suppliers in the UK.
A coffee table, or an upholstered ottoman
An ottoman or coffee table is an essential piece of furniture that will be used as a centrepiece in the space. To make upholstered pieces more functional, place a tray on top to hold cups or vases of flowers. You should also look for coffee tables that have drawers or shelves below.
Textiles
There are many things to discuss here. I will not go into detail about how to dress different window styles or how to plan the textiles. However, there is one basic formula that can help you make sure your fabric choices work.
1. Limit the palette to just three or four colors
2. Two plain fabrics are available.
3. Mix it with a stripe, small-scale pattern or a large-scale pattern.
It will never look bad if you’re unsure. A rug can be used to tie together a scheme. People will avoid large, figurative patterns as they can be too distracting. As a first priority, I would choose colours that I love.
Tables
Consider placing a table near any seating. These tables are great for breaking up larger spaces, such as a table behind a couch or a desk with a lamp in it. You can find small antique side tables or tea tables that have lots of character. These are often designed by more flamboyant designers, with bobbins or barley-twists, flame tops, scallop tops and zigzags. This is a great opportunity to add some flair.
Lamps and Lighting
Lighting is vital for creating a sense of atmosphere. Wall lights can be used to create a mood in the evening. If you don’t want an electrician to come over, there are many options that you can plug into the wall and fix it yourself. Original BTC is another option. For a more flattering evening glow, you might consider lampshades that have gold card inside.
Art, plants and other things that give character to a person are all examples of art.
It’s a great way to create atmosphere in a space, but art doesn’t necessarily have to be costly. I’d recommend looking for large coffee table books with illustrations and photographs from second-hand bookstores or publishers like Rizzoli or Taschen. Although they are expensive for books, a large Taschen volume could contain hundreds of artworks. Take a scalpel and carefully cut the pages. Frame them to create a cohesive gallery wall. You can also download pieces from our printable art collection Things to Put in Framings. To brighten the space, choose low-maintenance flowers like Geraniums and then add fragrant bulbs in spring. You can use old scented candle jars as temporary pots for your bulbs.
Shelves and storage
There is no need to rush. All of these items, including coffee tables, side tables and a chair for the corner are just nice extras. You don’t have to rush to order built-in storage. If you keep these dimensions in mind, you may just find a charming and affordable antique of the perfect size. As many people these days, I watch television on my computer. But I do know that I have not yet seen a hiding the telly solution I love.