Decorating

Do's and Don'ts of Living Room Decorating

April 20, 2016

The living room is arguably the most important room in everyone's house when it comes to decorating. It's the room where you entertain guests and loved ones, and it's where families tend to spend the bulk of their time together. A comfortable living room is about layers, creating conversational seating, and building a sensible room that's both visually and functionally stimulating. In order to make sure it looks its best be sure to follow these living room do's and don'ts suggested by About.com:

DON'T choose the paint color first. Paint is available in thousands of colors and can easily be changed. In most cases it should be one of the last things you do.

DO choose your most expensive furniture or favorite item and decorate around it.

DON'T use an area rug that is too small. This is the number one mistake people make when decorating living rooms.

DO make sure that all the pieces of furniture fit on the rug. Ideally all four legs of major pieces should be on it, but if this simply isn't possible make sure to fit at least the front legs on the rug (the back legs can be off). But all the legs of smaller pieces should be on the rug whenever possible.

DON'T push all the furniture against the walls.

DO pull the furniture away from the walls when possible in order to create intimate conversation areas.

DON'T hang art too high. People have a tendency to hang art closer to the ceiling than it should be. This goes for every room in the house.

DO hang artwork at eye-level. Obviously this varies from person to person, so use your judgment. But it's better to err on the side of lower rather than higher.

DO hang artwork at eye-level. Obviously this varies from person to person, so use your judgment. But it's better to err on the side of lower rather than higher.

DON'T ignore the importance of dimmer switches. Each and every light in a living room should have a dimmer switch on it.

DO have a mix of overhead, ambient and task lighting. Use table lamps, floor lamps, sconces - whatever you like. Just be sure to use a mix. It will provide more light as well as make the room and everyone in it look better.

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