Easy Ways to Spruce Up Your Living Room and Make a Great First Impression
Living rooms should be designed for two purposes: gatherings and relaxation. A living room is a place where the family spends time relaxing, but it’s also the place where they hang out and catch up with friends. So, it goes without saying that the living room is the room that gets the most attention in your home, and being cautious when decorating it is mandatory.
But even if you’ve already invested quite an effort when decorating it the first time around, it’s easy to get bored with its same old look. And when that happens, you don’t need to start an expensive makeover project. With the right changes here and there, you could freshen it up without spending a fortune.
Switch Up the Coffee Table with an Ottoman/Pouf
Instead of spending a lot of money on a stylish new couch or sectional sofa, you can simply replace the coffee table with a more interesting alternative – a luxury ottoman.
With its soft edges and upholstery, a luxury ottoman can improve the living room’s comfort while at the same time serving as an accent piece. As we all know, ottomans are upholstered backless stools that can be used as an extra seat or as a footrest when placed in front of an armchair. But in the past years, a more creative use for ottomans has been popularised – that of serving as coffee tables. Space-savvy, luxuriously looking and stylish, a modern ottoman can instantly improve the look of your living room.
But why do we call it an Ottoman?! Well, that’s simple, ottomans were first introduced into Europe from Turkey or the Ottoman Empire, hence the name. Over the years ottomans have evolved a lot, and nowadays they can come in a range of sizes, shapes and styles, in order to meet different customers’ needs.
Now, except for ottomans, you can also invest in poufs. Similar to ottomans, just without legs, poufs are decorative furnishings with a pillow-like appearance. Generally speaking, poufs can come in a round or a square shape, while their inside is made of some kind of foam. The best of all is that both ottomans and poufs can be used in different room styles.
Whether you go for an ottoman or a pouf to be used as a coffee table, make sure to place a larger tray on it, so it could be more stable when you rest your afternoon coffee or evening drink on it. If the ottoman or pouf is large enough, you can also decorate it in order to make the room warmer and more stylish.
Spruce Up the Walls With Interesting Artwork
Let’s be honest, bare walls are dull and boring. Walls are essentially blank canvases and are perfect for hanging decor. And what better way to decorate your walls than using artwork? Since paintings are unique, they could easily become the focal point in the living rooms. This is just another affordable way to add a dash of luxury and freshness to your home’s busiest room without breaking the bank.
Speaking of wall art, the choice of canvas artwork is huge, so if you take the time to do a good search, you will undoubtedly come across something up to your taste that will fit perfectly with the rest of your living room decor. If you’re feeling stuck with the current dull look of your living room, you can easily add colour through canvas artwork.
It isn’t mandatory for the artwork colours to match the colours of the room. In fact, it’s more appropriate if you choose to add some clashing colours. There’s nothing wrong with being brave, just make sure that there is a balance between everything. When looking for the right artwork, make sure to match its style with the one in your living room because this is the only way to get the best of it.
Regarding the number of artwork pieces, you have all the freedom in the world to add as many as you want. However, you should be really careful about not overdoing things, so sticking to the rule less is more would be better. If you’re certain that you want to add more than one artwork, you can always mix and match several smaller artworks of similar style and colours and create a gallery. Art is an investment that can last you literally a lifetime. It’s an investment on which you can rest your eyes and mind, an investment that will improve the look of your space without having to make a huge investment.
Pick a Lovely Rug for Instant Room Transformation
According to interior designers, rugs are as important as any other furniture or decorative piece in the home and have the same power to jazz up a room. So instead of changing everything in your living room in order to switch it up a little, you can do it by only changing the rug. Nowadays, you have all the freedom in the world to choose from the extensive range of rugs ranging in size, material, pattern, colour, style and thickness. All of this allows you to choose the rug that will best meet your personal taste but also the look of your living room.
To add colour to your living room, you can always choose a rug that has lots of patterns and lively colours on it. You can also pick a rug that is in contrast with flooring. For instance, dark floorings can look great when paired with a lighter rug and vice versa. In case having a carpet from wall to wall, you can add a twist in your room without having to remove the carpet. And this can be done by layering on an accent rug in a bolder pattern.