Making the Best Living Room Design

Are you interested in living room design ideas? Make use of the ideas from these living room case studies in coming up with the best layout for your living room space.

The living room is an essential part of your home. It is the area where you spend a significant amount of time with your family. However, it is often considered to be less important compared to the kitchen and less personal compared to the bedroom. Nevertheless, it is important that you design your home to reflect your lifestyle.

There is no better living room than one which suits your way of life. You could be intending to use the living room as the entertainment or relaxing/resting area. Others prefer a multifunctional and flexible living room design.

Functions of the Living Room

The living room can have several functions. The primary function determines the main point of focus in this space. Traditionally, this is the area where you place the TV. However, this does not automatically make it the focal point. In case you want the TV to be the point of focus maybe because you want your living room to be a home cinema space, you may have to incorporate a TV feature in the living room design.

Other than the TV, you can make the fireplace the focal point in your living room by having a piece of artwork or a mirror positioned over the mantelpiece. This design comes in handy in spaces with no gadgets by supplementing the calming feel created by the absence of technological distractions. It is the best alternative for those who prefer to use the living room for reading and relaxing or simply listening to music.

For a living room design with an open plan extension and vast windows, great views through the window can be the focal point. This solution is suitable for living rooms that serve relaxation purposes. This living room layout is only possible if it was incorporated during the design phase of construction. This way, the positioning and size of the windows make the living room space naturally lit.

You can as well go with the unconventional living room design that puts furniture as the focal point. To do this, you will need to specifically set up space in a way that allows for free movement and interaction between members of the family. You can strategically place your distinct armchair in a well-lit corner. Furniture will be the first thing people notice on entering the room.

Isolated or open-plan Living Room?

This decision can be made after you have determined the primary function of the living room and its central focus. You can decide on an isolated living room or one connected to the other rooms.

A personal evaluation can help you make the right decision regarding the issue of whether or not the living room should be open-plan. You may want to ask yourself how much isolation you’d require from household life. You can divide the room into two distinct spaces one for teenagers and the other for adults. This way, you will achieve your living room design goals of ensuring everyone goes about their endeavors reasonably undisturbed.

If you are one of those people who prefer a seemingly larger space, you may want to go with the open-plan living room design. In this case, the kitchen, dining, and living areas overlap thus allowing for more family interactions.

Most people find the combination of both open-plan and isolated living room designs to be the perfect solution. In such a case, although it is open-plan, the living room is clearly defined using double, folding, or sliding doors. The combination allows you to experience both layouts.

Living room layout Design

The layout design of the living room helps you decide on crucial aspects such as the arrangement of furniture and the ease of movement in the space. This often comes after deciding the living room’s functional needs as well as its focal point.

Open shelving or storage units can be a great choice to be used for partial separation. This is most suitable especially if people pass through the living room on their way to the garden or they pass through this area when moving between the kitchen and the dining area.

Furniture can be a great way to delineate an open-plan living area. You can use the L-Shaped sofas to zone the room. This helps the boundaries of the TV area being clearly marked by the furniture.

Do not forget to put into consideration the room’s focal point when making furniture arrangements. You do not want your arrangement to disguise the living room’s main focus. For instance, if the garden-facing window is the focus, you should arrange your furniture in a way that takes in the view while at the same time creating ample space for relaxation.

Storage space is indispensable in a living room. It is better to implement a storage solution that solves more than one problem. Bench or banquette seating would provide storage spaces for DVD and home entertainment gadgets. At the same time, it can provide extra seating. A stone-topped plinth of 45cm above the floor level across the fireplace wall area seems like a good idea. This is for those who prefer the modern design in a Victorian or Edwardian house. Space underneath provides storage for logs and kindling and is also a perfect hearth for a modern depressed fireplace.

Lighting options

As seen earlier, a multifunctional living room is much more preferable to one with a specific function. So when it comes to lighting, it is better to go with options that cater to a variety of living room functions. Achieving variability in artificial lighting requires you to have multiple lighting sources. Alternatively, you can have them controlled from a dimmer switch gadget or a lighting system to set the appropriate light in the different areas.

You can use a 5A ring circuit which will enable you to control a handful of table lamps and floor standing lamps around the room from the light switch or dimmer. This circuit requires 5A pin sockets meant for small round pins.

Remember that you can throw in additional concepts to your living room design simply by working with the available lighting options. For instance, pendant lights make traditionally symmetrical rooms stand out when fitted with a chimney breast. Floor standing lamps, on the other hand, are a visual feature that enhances the flexibility of position in the room.

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