Interior Designing & Home Decoration

Your living room no longer needs to be that formal, unused room just off the entryway. Gone are the days of the proper parlor where you sipped tea, and remember those matching living room sets where people left the plastic on so they wouldn’t get dirty? What purpose could it possibly serve to have a room that was never used? To receive visitors – that was about it.

• Make your living room look more comfortable and “lived in,” start with comfortable seating and mix in antiques or vintage pieces, there are plenty of casual antiques available for living rooms.


• Avoid buying sets or groupings, instead select individual pieces that blend and work well together. Don’t buy the matching couch, loveseat and chair set. Don’t use a lonely, single chair in the corner either, someone may actually use it and feel left out, try to keep seating in groups to encourage conversation and interaction.


• Place lighting at different levels in the room. Use a combination of accent lighting, table lamps and decorative lamps to add warmth and atmosphere to your living room.


• Keep the delicate antiques and collectibles in an area where you don’t have to worry about them getting broken and your guests don’t have to worry about tiptoeing around them.


• Place small furniture in the room, accent tables or an ottoman work well. Place magazines or a coffee table book on tables – they can spark conversation as well as liven up the room. Don’t overaccessorize, or the room will look too cluttered.


• If you tone down the formality of your living room, you can not only make guests more comfortable, but you can make it comfortable enough to make it your own personal hideaway. Wouldn’t you love to have a living room you actually use?