Furniture Ideas For Living Rooms

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Furniture must be chosen with care if our living room is going to be one in which we relax, but at the same time we want it to look just right.

Where once sets of furnishings ruled, today’s rooms often feature matching pieces; pillows, upgraded lamps, and throws finish off these fun easy living room designs.

Sofas

Even if your sofa is the most dominant piece in the room, it should not be the only dominant piece. A good idea is to have it opposite another piece that’s at least as large, like a fireplace mantel or art wall, or a window.

If the room is big, try placing the two sofas together to create a sitting arrangement. This sort of seating is perfect for a gathering of friends and family. Just make sure to leave some space between the two pieces so that you can easily move around.

Ottomans

Versatile and on-trend, Ottomans will transform your living room, both enhancing style and providing additional footholds for added seating, storage and postural and back-support benefits.

Ottomans can be round or square and vary in colours, materials and fabrics – like this tufted one from West Elm (more elegant with the crosswise legs) or consider adding a floral pattern for more colour and interest.

Coffee Tables

A classic piece of furniture, the wood coffee table with a longer surface and relative heft lends dimension and substance to a living room. Often, it acts as a centrepiece to anchor wildly diverging styles when accessorised with a candle, decorative box or other decorative elements.

If your small space has very little walk-around clearance, narrower coffee tables will do. (And if there are long sofas, you may want to consider multiple tables anyway.)

Bookshelves

Bookshelves are a statement all on their own, especially if they’re beautiful boxy ones. When you team them with a display that follows symmetrical rules – think two matching ceramics lamps, an arrangement of two picture frames, or a scattering of statement books arranged with their spines facing outward and their holes aligning – you can make a room as put-together and artistic as you like.

For bookshelves, bookends will keep your shelves from falling, while heavy paperbacks tend to fall over and break easily, so the bookends will keep them in place; home decorations such as vases with some decorative houseplants, or any other indoor plants, will add beautiful greenery and bring a somewhat effortless aesthetic into the house.

Fireplaces

All fireplaces don’t need to be made the focus; consider the example of designer Whitney Leigh Morris who designed her hearth as a perfect example of a protruding wall (with two cabinets on either side for vases and decorative boxes).

It’s no reason to be shy about the use of colour when decorating around a living room hearth. Paint its firebox a bold colour or stack wooden logs or mirrors, whimsically and crooked, on display.

Mirrors

Mirrors can be an attractive way to add an optical illusion and make any living room seem larger and also brighter while a detailed decorative one or one with fancy borders will make an ideal decoration to any room.

Mirrors in round shapes of varying sizes look lovely in a gallery on a wall and the colour should pull it all together, so add personality with a pop of colour. Don’t be afraid to go bold with something like a sage green mirror.

Paper Lanterns

Hang lanterns at different heights to add a pop of colour or to create a showstopping display. Use markers, puffy paint or whatever medium works for your room to decorate the stripes.

Paper pendant lanterns are something that seem to be always in vogue. They add light as well as warmth to modernist atomic ranch homes as well as chill contemporary spaces filled with cold sleek modern furniture.

Linens & Throw Blankets

And maybe you don’t have room for blankets in your closet or cabinets. Keep them tidy and away from the living room foot traffic by hiding them inside a basket. Woven, ceramic or wicker ones can hold everything from little throws to fluffed-up winter weight covers. They’re available in a variety of sizes so you can fold or roll them up, and you can easily tuck them out of view when unused.

And don’t forget about vertical space: hang a bold picture or wall hanging above an existing sofa or armchair to ‘pull the eye up’ and create the illusion of height.

Curved Floor Lamps

Arc lamps are a modern trend in lighting that represents a chic accent to any living room. A collection of shade designs available in a range of colors and finishes, can suit each living room design style.

If your preference for elegance isn’t dictating your choice of lamps, then Havenly lead designer Toussaint Derby likes one arc lamp that combines sharp, lineart-like lines with a streamlined metal column base and a textured, domed shade resting on a metal disk – and, if desired, a dimmer, for even more flexibility.

Rustic Elements

Today’s rustic decor abounds in texture, looking unfinished and raw. Consider accent walls of reclaimed wood and fireplaces made with natural stone to add character and depth to a living room.

Another rustic element, weathered wood furniture, might be juxtaposed against contemporary art for the same compelling contrast – taxidermy trophies enhance the effect further.