5 Rules to Follow When Designing Your Living Room

The living room is the center of the home, and one of the main places that guests see when they visit. We chose five rules that should always be followed when designing your perfect living room.

1. Choose a Color Palette

Selecting a color palette is a must when decorating any room in the house. It will naturally help to give you direction as you’re buying pieces for the room and work to keep things looking cohesive and well-styled. We suggest finding a textile or pattern that you enjoy and using that as your room inspiration. Remember to also accessorize with this in mind!

Photo: Chameleon Design

2. Size Your Rugs Correctly

Having an area rug can add the finishing touch to any room and anchor your design, but choosing the right size is very important. Having a rug that’s too small can make furniture look cramped, while also making the room look like it doesn’t flow properly. The trick is to choose a rug that fits beneath the front legs of all the pieces, which will make the room look well-balanced and cohesive.

Photo: Chameleon Design

3. Light It Up!

Incorporating numerous lighting sources in your living room will not only help with the look of your room but will also provide for a nicer atmosphere than you’d get with just overhead lighting only, for example. Overhead is great but table lamps, sconces and floor lamps will work wonders if you’re able to weave them into your floorplan.

Photo: Chameleon Design

4. Design with Everyone’s Needs in Mind

While you might love some designs, they may not be practical for your family’s needs. Take into account who will be using the room, and what their needs are. Living rooms are less and less the formal, sitting rooms of the past and today people want to make them as functional as possible. One way to do that is plenty of comfortable seating to create a space for everyone who will be using the room. Designing with kids, and even pets, in mind can help you decide which fabrics are best for your design.

Photo: Chameleon Design

5. Mix Multiple Textures

Using multiple textures in a room creates depth and layers to your design. Using pillows, throw blankets and different materials for your furniture can help to achieve this. We love to mix throw pillows, as long as they stay in the color palette!

Photo: Chameleon Design