Living Room Simplicity and Style
The heart of the house is the living room, not only for family activities but for your entertaining friends
and family. Whether your taste run to traditional, modern or antique furniture,
comfort is of primary importance.
The proper furniture, wall and floor coverings and lighting
are integral components in your country home decorating plan.
Even if you're decorating on a budget,
you can achieve a cozy country decor through careful choice of home accessories.
Look for home furnishings and accessories that create both mood and comfort in your living room.
Think fresh color schemes and clever furniture arrangements.
Certainly this central room of the home deserves to be outstanding in both appearance and livability.
Functionally, the furniture in the room should make it comfortable.
It should be grouped so that it highlights centers of interest, convenience and comfort.
An old rocker is a great addition.
Designing the Home Interior
When you're ready to choose the furniture,
the walls and floor coverings should be in place so that the choice
of furniture will be the best out of several possibilities.
Quality furniture manufacturers and stores are, Ashley Furniture, Ikia Furniture Store, Thomasville Furniture
and Broyhill Furniture.
Imagine a more livable room, one with a large, soft sofa in front of a fireplace,
behind it an antique wooden table filled with books, while holding a lamp at either end.
Or else, at the end of the sofa, a small table for the reading lamp and on either side a pair
of comfortable chairs and ottomans.
Natural Wood Floors
Remember that it is always better to leave a space empty than to have it occupied by a badly placed piece of furniture.
Good furniture needs space to be seen to its advantage.
If there is a large array of furniture in the living room, keep the carpet,
and furniture upholstery all to one tone.
Mantel accessories may be applied to the other shelves and the tables in the living room.
Keep them free from dust-collecting, trivial things, while creating a sense of style, order and cleanliness.
Living Room Essentials
The main essentials in a living room are a comfortable sofa, a table large enough to hold books,
magazines and lamps, and at least two comfortable, upholstered chairs and a smaller table.
While at the other end or side of the room, a pair of book-cases, cabinets or a small table.
These balance the fireplace, since they are placed against the wall and have a corresponding shelf,
cornice or mantel line.
You may want to add a chaise, a good-size table, another large chair, and another small table,
depending on the size of your family room.
Balance is maintained by using objects in pairs a pair of vases, candlesticks, bowls, or jars.
Placed at either end of the mantel, they should be higher than the intervening objects,
to form a sweeping curve. Also they help to frame in the over-mantel picture or mirror.
In fitting furniture to its architectural background there are 3 things to consider
- contour and proportion;
- design and decorative detail;
- color of wood.
The first two points are obviously necessary; it is in the last that the furnishing of many rooms fails.
Oak and mahogany do not mix amicably; one does not set off the other because there is not sufficient
contrast, nor are they closely enough akin to harmonize.
On the other hand, black ebony and yellowish burr walnut,
such as is used in inlaying seaweed pattern in oak, are examples of harmony gained.
How to Rearrange a Living Room.
To rearrange a room successfully, begin by taking everything out.
In reality or in your mind, next decide how you want your living room to look.
Design and color of wall decorations, carpets, lighting fixtures, lamps and ornaments on mantel,
depend upon the character of your furniture.
In furnishing a small room you can add greatly to its apparent size by using plain paper and
making the woodwork the same color, or slightly darker in tone.
If you cannot find wall paper of exactly the color and shade you wish,
it is often possible to use the wrong side of a paper and produce exactly the desired effect.
