The 10 Essentials for Designing Your Living Room (Part 2)

Welcome back to part 2 of our blog on the 10 essential design elements for the living room. In the first blog we focused on the “foundations”, if you like for the living room; the layout, the colour palette, flooring, the focal point and the important factor of furniture.

For the second part of our blog we’re going to move to more of the fun design choices for this space.

If you would like help with your living room then please contact us to book an appointment.

Design Element Six: Lighting

Lighting in the living room needs to be layered. If you are re-doing the electrics for this space, then this is a perfect time to ask you electrician to add five amp sockets that can be wired back to the switch. This then gives you the option of having different floor and table lamps on for different situations.

Consider having dimmer switches, particularly if you want the option of down lighters or ceiling lights as it allows you to play around with the moods and levels of light.

I mentioned before that when I design a living room, 90% of the time I design bespoke built-ins. This way I can add another layer of lighting behind the pelmets and shelves, allowing soft pools of light to highlight beautiful displays and collections in my clients homes. 

Central pendants or chandeliers are a lovely option but only if you have the ceiling height, if your ceilings are low then keep to different table and floor lamps.

Design Element Seven: Art

Adding art to this space, allows your personality to shine through in this room.

Previously I mentioned that if you have a strong statement piece, then it can be a focal point for the room. The colour palette of the space does need to be reflected in your art choices but equally your choice of art may form the palette for the room. 

Larger pieces can hang alone but for smaller paintings or photographs group them together as a gallery wall. Lighting your art will create beautiful moments on your walls and add further depth to the space.  

The height of your art is incredibly important, many people make the mistake of hanging it too high, it should be at eye height or just above.

Design Element Eight: Soft Furnishings

Soft furnishings is an opportunity to dress up or dress down a space, if you want to add luxury or opulence to this room, then choose full length beautiful curtains.  

If you have the common issue of a radiator under the window then you can team roman blinds with full length dress curtains. The blind will provide the covering for the window but the dress curtains will still produce a striking visual. 

Fabric choices are huge and this should be incorporated into your mood board early on, to determine whether you want say a simple plain linen fabric or an opulent velvet floral. 

For more pared back interiors, plantation shutters are also simple but stylish. Again consider your colour palette when making this choice, if you have decided to embrace the darker palette then adding white plantation shutters will clash with the aesthetics. Most companies offer wide colour selections and some will colour match your paint choice.

Design Element Nine: Cushions

Cushions are definitely the fun part of the styling and as they are a low budget item, have fun with them and experiment. Layering patterns and fabrics is how you will achieve interest and texture to your finished space. 

Bespoke cushions allow you to be really specific with your fabric choices and sizes. Collect fabric swatches for your initial mood board so you can work out which will compliment each other. 

There is also a wide selection of off the shelve cushions and if you have fallen in love with a particular fabric then it’s worth checking to see if an online company has already made a cushion with your fabric.

Design Element Ten: Accessories

Yes we’ve made it to the final design element, the accessories! The living room is a great room for accessoring because there tends to be lots of surfaces to accessorise! Bookcases, coffee tables, ottomans, lamp tables are all areas to create beautiful unique displays of your personal collections. 

Coffee tables cry out for large coffee table books (it’s in the name), plants, bowls or other beautiful objects. Ottomans offer versatility, they are comfortable but you can also dress them with large trays for practicality and display purposes. Side boards, and bookcases are an opportunity to display family photographs, table lamps, candles or perhaps a gorgeous sculpture. 

At this stage with the room it can be easy to loose momentum but it’s the extra, unique additions which really give your room the wow factor!

So there you have all 10 essential elements for your living room. Have fun implementing and If you have any questions then get in touch!

If you would like more inspiration for designing your home, then check out my webisodes on YouTube.