We’ve learned during the pandemic that a terrific living room is also a general-purpose room. Gone are the days when the living room served primarily as a home’s formal entertainment space. Here are some living room layout ideas to help make your home more livable.
Before we begin thinking about good living room layout ideas, let’s talk about decorating freedom. You must never forget that there are no absolute right and wrongs when it comes to decorating. Your interior decorating choices should always reflect your sense of style and what makes you happiest.
Now that our plea on behalf of your design freedom is out of the way, let’s turn to the design of your living room.
What Do You Need?
Before you begin rearranging furniture, think about what you need your living room to accomplish. Will you use it as your office during the day? Do you need it to do double-duty as a virtual classroom for your children?
Understanding how you’ll use the space is an essential part of a living room transformation. Don’t get discouraged if your needs seem to overwhelm the square footage of the room. As Bob Vila notes, there are an endless array of ways to make a room stylishly fit your lifestyle.
Once you decide on the tasks that will likely occur in the space, it’s time to play with room layouts. There’s no absolute right way to explore layouts. You can sketch out your ideas on paper and computer or get a workout by moving your furniture through each potential layout.
It’s never a waste of time to try several different layouts. Sometimes, the room layout that ends up meeting all of your task and style needs isn’t immediately apparent. Spending time playing with furniture arrangements is a fun and productive use of time.
Living Room Layout Thoughts
A traditional living room layout often consists of focusing the furniture toward a specific point in the room. A gorgeous brick fireplace, for example, works well as the focal point around which the room layout centers. Transforming a traditional living room into a multipurpose space requires a different approach.
Consider looking at your room as a series of zones. Each zone should help to achieve one or more of your goals. For instance, one area could provide office storage while another delivers conversation and napping space.
Of course, even though a living room might also serve as an office and play space, the separate zones should fit together as a whole. Happily, blending a bunch of zones into a cohesive space isn’t an overwhelming design endeavor.
Examples of simple ways to create a unified space include:
- Large area rugs
- Wall paint and accessory colors
- Wall art
Think about how multipurpose furniture can turn your room into an area that serves multiple functions. It’s always a brilliant idea to include a sleeper sofa to welcome overnight guests. Coffee tables with drawers are a simple way to give ready access to things like school supplies and board games.
Neutral is the word when it comes to a living room color scheme. Not only are neutral colors relaxing (a necessity in these chaotic times), they also make pulling together multiple task areas much more accessible. This article from The Spruce gives an informative introduction to some of the things you can achieve with neutrals in your living room.
The Room Divider: Privacy in a Multipurpose Living Room
Does your daily living room experience consist of the entire family, including your furry friends, crowding into one space? If so, you don’t have to suffer from too much togetherness. A room divider can give you the privacy you desire.
From drapes to intricate antique screens, room dividers come in many forms. Decide if you want the divider to be a permanent part of the living room layout or if you’ll hide it away after each use. Either way, you’ll be able to locate one in the Eugene area that suits your decorating sense.
Transform Your Living Room
Finally, it’s not difficult to change how your living room functions. Transforming a rarely used living room into the heart of the home may take a little work, but it is well within your ability. Indeed, you have the power to create a living room layout that meets the needs of your family.
Would you like some friendly, professional assistance from a Eugene, OR design team? We love creating indoor spaces that enrich the lives of our clients in Lane County. Contact us online for creative solutions for your residential design projects.