Friday 12 October 2012

Affordable Living Room Decorating Ideas For Homeowners


Not everyone has an unlimited budget when it comes to decorating his, or her living room, thus affordable living room decorating is an important thing to think about. Many people's living rooms are a direct reflection of their financial difficulties, often comprised of hand me downs, and thrift furniture. Not only is this not a great design element, it is completely unavoidable if one has a grander vision.

Embrace the shabby chic design element that allows for vintage to be cool. Some of the most respected furniture design companies spend much of their budget creating vintage looking furniture. When considering affordable living room decorating it is necessary to look at this trend, and embrace it while going for the originals.

Instead of going to the thrift shop, try looking at an antique auction or antique store instead. Many think that the word antique signifies a high price tag, when in fact most antiques are as cheap as what a piece of furniture would be at a thrift store. Just as the retail market has general rates, so does the resale market. This means that a beautiful antique sofa or table at an antique is probably as cheap, as a dirty couch found at a thrift store. By looking for antiques you can find not only beautiful affordable living room decorating pieces, but you can also find sets easier.

Create a must have list, and start at the top when putting an affordable living room decorating plan in action. There should be one or two pieces that are the focal points of your affordable living room decorating effort, and thus try to obtain those first, and build around them. By considering this in your affordable living room decorating plan, you will be automatically thinking about an actual design, what most people forget to do when they shop for affordable furniture. Stop thinking in terms of price, and instead think in terms of design, and then in terms of price.

Go with a simple, minimalist look to save money. While minimalists come from all economic walks of life, it is the most affordable way to make an affordable living room decorating plan look chic. Simply define your needs in terms of people that will be spending time in your living room, and go off to find the minimum that they need. Space the furniture, and tables out, and you should have an affordable living room design that the entire family will appreciate.

Thursday 29 March 2012

3 Decorating Tips For Adorning Large Living Rooms

If you happen to own a house that has a considerably large living room, you may constantly find it hard to decorate such a huge space accordingly. Similar to small spaces, large areas are not immune to several decorating troubles. When it comes to adequately adorning a huge living room, a proper way of utilizing the available space is considered as the most important job.

Below are some helpful decorating tips for you to keep in mind when decorating a large living room to make the most of our huge space on your hands.

Use Darker Colors

If you want a bigger space to look smaller, then using dark colors are effective decorating tips for large living rooms. Paint the living room's walls a few shades darker than you usually would, and you will notice that the room will appear much smaller than otherwise.

Alternatively, if you don't like the idea of having a
smaller place, you can instead try to use darker accessories that will give the room a relatively lesser huge feel, so it doesn't look like a deserted space as if you've just moved in.

Use Space Accordingly


One of the most effective
decorating tips for a large living room is to use its space according to how large the room actually is. This means that all of the room's seating furniture should not be too near each other. Spread the furniture pieces out so that it will look as though they were evenly distributed within the room.

Be sure that you have plenty of gaps or space between the coffee table and the couch so people or visitors can walk in between the two pieces of furniture with ease. When you take advantage of the space properly, you can avoid making the place too open and cold, hence, making it more charming, comfortable and inviting to the guests.


Hang Large Pieces of Art Decorations


The pieces of decorative artwork that you use in order to accentuate your room should be well-planned according to the empty space that you have. If you have a significantly large blank wall, you will not likely hang a 5 x 7 painting on it. Instead, try hanging a painting that accumulates almost half of the upper portion of your living room wall.

Also you can easily mount a huge flat screen TV with a TV bracket that will not only make great use of the empty space but also give you extra entertainment ideas. You could easily invite your neighbors and friends over for a late night movie or to watch that famous football game that everybody has been looking forward to.

Wednesday 22 February 2012

5 Easy Ideas For Living Room Designs to Kick Start a Comfortable Living Space

The living room is one place where we gather as family. It is also the place where we receive and entertain our guests. If it looks the same today as it did three years ago, perhaps it is about time you kick start your living room designs and breathe some new life into it with some of these simple living room decorating ideas.

The easiest and no-costs-involved way to change your living room decor is to rearrange the positions of your furniture. You could change the way the armchair faces, or move the sofa to another wall. These little changes can immediately make your living area appear different.

The next simple way is to place scatter or throw cushions on your sofa or your window seat. These cushions can be in colors that complement the rest of your furniture or it can be unexpected pops of bright colors, depending on the mood that you want to create. Choose cushion covers that provide a tactile experience, like wool, fine cotton, satin, velvet and suede. This small change can create such a big impact.


For the collectors, the living area is one place where you can show off your items. Things like seashells or even candles when placed together can create a nice effect. Try placing seashells into a large wooden bowl and place this on your coffee table. Wouldn't that make a great centerpiece? The same goes for the candles. Candles or votives in various heights and shapes can lend an interesting touch to your coffee table or your shelves.


In any living area, rugs can be a great addition. For a large room, area runner rugs can be used to separate the open space into smaller more intimate sections, which are used for different activities. You can have an area for your children to play in, or even a reading area. Runner rugs come in great designs too so you can definitely find some that would be perfect for your living area.

There is nothing fresher than a dose of the garden in your
living room. You can easily add fresh blooms in large vases or a solitary bud in a small slim vase for that touch of nature in your home. If fresh flowers aren't your thing, you can make use of the silk alternatives. These are great all year round. And of course, don't underestimate the power of green foliage. Houseplants and even grass growing in small pots can provide a stunning visual effect in your living room.

Changing the look of your living area is fun and easy. The above living room ideas are just here to help you get started. You can try out some of your own ideas for a more personalized touch.

Saturday 28 January 2012

A Small Living Room Can Be Decorated Just As Effectively

Decorating the interior of a small living room requires you to consider the space available so that the room when completed looks airy, bright and cheerful. In modern day homes, the high cost of real estate has led to rooms in apartments being smaller and this in turn restricts the sort of designs that you can execute for the living room.

So whether your interior design is modern or contemporary you need to keep in mind the area available and come up with an interior design that makes the best use of materials and colors and allows the final effect to be still be one of space and lightness.

Treatments to windows should not be bulky and use huge pelmets, jambs or sills that take up space. Heavy furnishings for a window in a
living room that has restricted space could have the effect of making the room look smaller. Using blinds with the thinnest possible slats would help to give a feeling of space.

Furniture in small living rooms should be minimal and multifunctional. Floor space occupied by the furniture needs to be restricted so that the living room area looks as if it has enough circulation area. This can be done easily by seeing that the supports for the furniture occupy very little space on the ground. Open spaces below furniture can actually help to create the feeling of openness and space which is so important for small rooms.

Interior design of a living room would naturally include the colors on the walls. A small room would take more kindly to a single color or slight changes in the shades of individual walls. Having a number of colors can make a room actually look smaller, especially if some of the colors are of the darker hues.

A
smaller living room calls for a lot of attention to be paid to the lighting. The limited light available that comes in from the windows can be accentuated with strategically placed mirrors or other reflecting surfaces. Use of a semi-gloss paint opposite the window can also help to increase the natural light in the room. When you decide on the lighting fixtures make sure that you do not use very elaborate shades, as these could further cause your room to look crowded.

Smaller spaces have as much potential as larger ones, when it comes to ideas for decorating. Even when placing decorative pieces around the house, limit them to just one or two on a table or shelf. Placing too many items on surfaces could make the room appear crowded. Decorating a small living room need not be too daunting a task if you consider all these aspects.

Thursday 5 January 2012

Living Room Decorating For Small Spaces

Many Americans are downsizing their homes due to the bad economy. This presents new design challenges to people who may not be used to living in small spaces. "Where am I going to put all my stuff?" is at the forefront of many people's minds. Living room decorating for small spaces is all about making use of every nook and cranny of the home to make the most of the available square footage.

Traditionally, homes are made up of bed rooms, bathrooms, dining rooms, kitchens, and living rooms. People may be inclined to decorate these spaces for their original purposes, but think outside the box and determine which spaces do not get much use. If you are a person who eats their dinner in the living room then a dining room is probably unnecessary most days out of the year. In this case, you can move the home office out of the living room and into the dining room. Get rid of anything in the living room that you can to maximize the use of the space.

Determine a focal point and design the rest of the room around it. Depending on the home, this could be a fireplace, a large window with a view, or even the television. When you have a focus then you know where to place the furniture and accessories. This creates a flow within the room that is important for the overall aesthetic and practical use of the space.


Consider creating a room within the room. If there is no other place in the home to create a workspace, then make a designated area in the living room to serve this purpose. Use a small rug to define the area, and use vertical space for storage. For example, hang floating shelves above a small desk and place boxes of paper, writing utensils, and other office supplies on them.

Creating a sense of unity through similar or complimentary colors pulls everything together. In a small space this is a simple way to create the illusion of spaciousness. The use of mirrors is another way to trick the eye into thinking a room is bigger than it actually is because it captures and reflects light.


Living rooms are a place for family and friends to gather. Make use of all the available space in a small room to make it comfortable, functional, and a reflection of your personal style. Living room decorating for small spaces is a challenge, but these ideas and tips make it easier for anyone downsize.