Decorating your home can be a fun and rewarding time, yet it can also be a stressful endeavour due to budgets and the time you have to spend getting everything right. One room that is often given the most consideration due to how much time is spent there is the living room. There are so many things to think about when decorating a living room if you want everything to go to plan, and to help you with this, we’ve listed seven essential steps to follow.

Taking Measurements

There is nothing worse than buying some lovely furniture, whether a sofa or armchair or shelves and cabinets, only to find that once they’re delivered, they just don’t fit like you’d hoped they would. This is why you must properly measure your living room for a sofa and other furniture. Compare these accurate room measurements with the provided measurements of each piece of furniture if buying online, or measure them yourself if buying them in person. While it is satisfying for something to fit in a room perfectly to the exact millimetre, it is often wise to give a bit of leeway for your furniture, just in case measurements weren’t as accurate as you initially thought.

Decide On The Overall Aesthetic

It’s highly recommended that, at least for each room, you don’t mix your aesthetics. Different themes for different rooms are acceptable if you really want to, but choosing different aesthetic options in one room can make the place look awkward and unwelcoming. Instead, decide on your aesthetic before you start, and focus on that choice as strictly as possible. There are so many different vibes you can choose for a living room. Some people prefer to choose something warm and comforting such as a rustic farmhouse, whereas some might opt for a more contemporary and vibrant feel. Whichever you choose, stick to that decision so that the aesthetic doesn’t become confused.

Have A Plan In Place

A living room doesn’t have to be used for one specific thing. Similar to choosing a different aesthetic, there are a number of things that you can designate your living room for. In some cases, a living room will be a retreat, reserved solely for you and your close friends and family. The focus here will then be on comfort and relaxation. In contrast, your living room may be designed to be suitable for hosting guests and parties, in which case a more open and accessible room will be better. This will help you to avoid any stuffiness and discomfort from having multiple people in the room. Ultimately, this, as with other aspects of decorating your living room, comes down to personal preference. Whichever option you choose, you’ll want to have a good plan before starting.

Buy Interesting Décor

You should steer clear from any generic décor as this could significantly detract from your hard work when decorating. Commonly seen ornaments and design ideas can make your living room look unattractive, generic, and poorly thought out. Instead, try to source some unique and interesting ornaments such as the items you can find from Antiques Boutique. This could be anything from furniture and rugs to mirrors and shelf ornaments. Whatever you choose, be sure that it’s something that matches your aesthetic choices and theme, as well as something that you find interesting. Antiques can offer guests great talking points and give your room extra personality.

Consider Creating An Ideas Board

When designing your living room, it’s worthwhile having somewhere to keep track of your inspirations. An ideas board is always very useful when designing anything, and anytime you see something that you like for your living room, whether it’s paint colour, furniture options, or even a room layout. You could create a physical ideas board with printed-out imagery and colour palettes or utilise online ideas board software or apps that can help you do this quickly and easily. Making a mood board can be fairly straightforward and can really help inspire you and remain focused on your chosen design in the end.

Be Creative With Space

Often people will put most of their thought into the floor space of their living room, choosing free-standing shelving and lamps. However, when you’re working with a smaller space, it’s important to get creative with this area. You should make use of the verticality of your room, too, such as alcoves at the side of your chimney breast or even the walls above your mantlepiece or furniture. These spaces are perfect for things like shelves and décor such as artwork, mirrors, or a wall-mounted TV.

Bring The Outside In

This is the perfect option for a final touch to your living room and is actually often forgotten about. In many cases, someone finishes decorating their living room, only to feel underwhelmed and that something is missing. Usually, this is because there is nothing natural in the room yet. Plants are extremely beneficial to our health, both physically and mentally. They help freshen the air in a room and act as a natural mood-booster. You don’t necessarily need to flood your living room with greenery, but a few plants here and there can bring any room to life.