Living Room Basics

The Five Essentials to Every Living Room:

1. Sofa: Choose a sofa that is about 7 feet long. Some of the features you may want to consider would be lower arms, especially for talking on the phone or laying on; a lower seat (about 17 inches or so from the ground); and a higher back which is more comfortable for slouching/lounging. Be sure to pick a neutral color so you can always change the look with different throw pillows and blankets. Plus, a neutral couch won't go out of style as quickly as a couch with a print might.

Room placement: If you have a fireplace, set the couch perpedicular to the fireplace, then touch then front corner of the couch to front corner of the fireplace, lastly setting the couch one foot back from there. If you do not have a fireplace, choose another focal point in the room, such as large windows.

2. Coffee Table: Choose one that is larger and that will hold a lot of things. Your guests will feel comfortable placing their items on there. The coffee table should be about one inch higher than the couch for most comfort, such as for the ease of setting a cup of tea down.

3. A set of two stools: A great trick for any room! They're decorative, but they serve as last-minute seats for guests, and look extra nice next to the fireplace.

4. Wing Chair: Originally meant to sit by the fireplace, the wing chair offers the ability to shield you from the heat of the fire. Wing chairs are more decorative than club chairs.

5. Club Chair: Instead of two matching chairs, having both a wing chair and a club chair actually complement each other very well! Club chairs are a more shallow seat, that are typically easy to get out of. The clean lines of the club chair offset the decorative lines of the wing chair perfectly.

Other items you may wish to add to the room:

Curtains:

Use simple velvet drapes. A great tip to making your ceilings look much taller is to raise the curtain rod up very close to the ceiling, then choose drapes that not only touch the floor, but gather some onto the floor.

Television:

If your television isn't too large, you can put it into a beautiful cabinet, but make sure the cabinet isn't so large that it overwhelms the room. Otherwise, leaving your television out is fine.

Decorating Themes:

It is best to start with all of your larger items in neutral colors, then add a few touches here and there to bring out your theme. For example, in a room with lots of browns, it is a much classier safari theme to put ONE zebra-striped rug down, than to have everything covered in animal print.

Also, decorate for the environment in which you live. Avoid decorating in a beach theme if you live up in the mountains, and vice versa.

Finishing Touches:

On the coffee table
--Fresh flowers
--A decorative bowl filled with green apples
--A lit candle
--A small stack of your favorite/current books

Don't put too many things on the table. Leave room for others to set drinks on, etc.

Pillows and Throws:

Always pick out pillows and throws that go together. Choose simple pieces with less trim and less fuss.

Place pillows with zipper side down. A throw pillow always looks nice right in the middle of the sofa, one that doesn't necessarily match, but does compliement the other pillows in the room.

Picture Frames:

When displaying picture frames, make sure you use individual frames for each picture. Using mulitple pictures in one frame cheapens each picture and makes them all seem less important to the eye. It's much easier to notice the detail of each picture if there in only one per frame.

Items with a rich history:

Add a few things to your living room that have significant meaning, such as a seashell from your honeymoon, a picture frame from a special trip, or a book that belonged to a cherished grandparent.

The Rule of 3's:

When in doubt, remember the rule of 3's. placing just three decorations/items per spot always looks clean and sharp.