Finally saved up enough to put down a deposit on your own place? Congrats! Now is where the rubber (of the moving trucks) hit the road. As first things go, setting the scene just right will go a long way to making each get-together at your place memorable. Here we take you through the essential building blocks of a great living room, and what makes for a well-styled one and how to style it.
Visualise the space you want. That’s it. That’s the secret. Before you get to raiding our site like our home section, or any other homeware store, it is key that you have a game plan for what you want your home to look like, and in this case, your living room in particular. Sticking to your intial vision will make the process a lot easier, and more enjoyable, than you’d expect. What it will require of you, however, is knowing what sort of style and colour scheme you’re most drawn to. Scandi bachelor pad? Light, neutral colours and rigid lines will do the trick. Old world drawing room? Richer jewel tones, and more fanciful furnishings like banker’s lamps and chesterfields will make it all come together.
“Visualise the space you want. That’s it.”
Thankfully, there is a method to this madness. Follow the same pattern of your building’s construction by looking first to the floor. If your budget allows it, and you aren’t too sold on the flooring you currently have in your new place, then consider redoing it. Wooden floors and carpeting provide more insulation than tiling and will lend your living room a warmer ambiance. Tiles, however, come in handy for more art deco or ultra-modern aesthetics.
A level up and you’re ready to add a rug. While your living room can do without one, a rug acts as a visual anchor helping to balance the overall composition of the furnishings in the space. Atop that set a coffee table, and flanking it on either side, arrange your couch(es) and chair(s). Next, another great visual trick widely employed in the modern living room – the standing lamp. Artwork tends to be out of most first time renters’ or buyers’ budgets but the standing lamp fills in for pricier sculptures and offers great practical value by both tying the aesthetic of your living room together and making the atmosphere more intimate than ceiling lights do.
Follow up the larger furnishings with a side table or two and affordable artwork on your walls and coffee table. Your vision for your living room and your research into the look you’re going for will dictate the finer elements like whether or not to use cushions on your couches, and whether to hang large, loud artwork on your walls, or simply photographs. All in all, a rug, coffee table, couches, chairs, standing lamp, side table and artwork are all you need to style your living room. Let your whims and fancies, and your living room’s layout, decide the rest.
