Finding the right look for your living room is a deceptively difficult task. The most common idea of a living room is to point the couch at a television and decorate the space with a few framed pictures. It’s a normal feeling to take a step back and feel that something is not quite right in your design. Luckily, there are some living room layout mistakes to avoid that can help you identify just what is off about your current setup.
The Television Is the Focal Point
It is common practice to make the television the centerpiece of any living room. After all, it’s something that everyone can gather around and watch movies, shows, or sports games together. But having the TV be so dominant can be one of the most common living room layout mistakes.
Solution
Place the TV off-center from the rest of your furniture. Emphasize the television less in favor of having furniture that facilitates discussion and conversation. Think of the TV as a special occasion item, not the main event.
Placing Furniture Against Walls
It’s almost a natural compulsion to place furniture against the walls. And while that does seem like the best place to put them, spreading them out in that way comes with its own issues. Pushing chairs and couches against the wall can detract from the intimacy of the room and take away from the social aspect.
Solution
Be sure to find the correct size furniture and bring them closer together. Try to keep that social atmosphere in the living room to encourage people to spend time together there. The living room is a space where you are meant to enjoy each other’s company, and that can be hard from opposite ends of the room.
Crowded Shelving
There is such a concept as decorating shelves too much. This has the effect of making the living room seem more claustrophobic and chaotic than it actually is. It can be easy to clutter up the shelves with random items, and these items can detract from the overall style of the room.
Solution
It is always good to add some decorations and personal flair to your shelving. Without any kind of adornment, the shelves look barren, and the living room can look unfinished. Make sure the decorations you are using are deliberate and match the theme you are going for within the whole space.
The Takeaway
There are plenty of themes and designs you can incorporate into your living room design, but the recurring aspect of living room design is closeness. Design the space in such a way that everyone can easily see and speak to each other. This way, everyone can enjoy one another’s company.