9 Living Room Interior Design Mistakes + What To Do Instead

let's talk about nine living room design mistakes  to avoid and what to do instead to create a   comfortable cohesive and inviting living [Music]  space hi everyone it's Liz welcome to Balance and   Rhythm where we talk about interior design and  ways to make the most of our homes to create   happiness health and well-being of all the rooms  in our homes living spaces are the ones where we   spend the most waking hours so how these rooms  look and function are essential to our comfort   and well-being there are a few missteps that  tend to affect living spaces more than any   other so we're going to break them down by broad  categories of comfort proportion and scale and   the finishing touches that when missing make a  space feel bleak and lifeless before we jump in   if you like this type of content and you find  it helpful please give this video a thumbs up   and please leave a comment with your thoughts  it's great to hear from you and your support   goes a long way in helping our community  grow now let's talk about our first concept since we spent so much much time in our  living rooms we want to make sure that   they're comfortable and inviting the first  thing to consider is the layout and making   sure that it supports all the activities of the  space arranging furniture pieces around a focal   point at a conversation friendly distance is  a great way to do this a common mistake is to   spread the seating too far apart lining furniture  pieces up against the wall if you can think about   floating your furniture pieces in the space on  an ample area rug around that focal point it's   not always possible to float all seating pieces  in the center of the room especially for smaller   spaces but try to keep the pieces in a cohesive  arrangement that facilitates conversation and   togetherness you may be attracted to certain  looks and seating like curved shapes leather   and button-tufting and while these features may  look great it's important to evaluate them in   the context of the purpose of your space and the  comfort level you need if the primary purpose of   the space is mainly decorative which could be the  case if you have a formal living room and a family   room then things like shapes conducive to lounging  cozy fabrics and soft cushioning might not be as   important as they would be in a space like a  family room that is used for lots of lounging   TV watching and maybe even a little popcorn  eating if the ladder is the case think about   fully upholstered pieces and soft cozy and easy  care fabrics and smooth cushiony seating surfaces   that are easy to clean you can also mix it up  with some soft pieces built for ultimate comfort   and some pieces that while not uncomfortable  are less lounge-y and can act as an accent placing your TV too high like over a mantle  puts stress on your neck and makes viewing   uncomfortable the recommended height is 42 inches  or about 107 cm to the center of the screen which   will be at about eye level if you're seated and  will be the most comfortable angle if your TV must   share a space with your fireplace moving it off to  one side can be a good solution and investing in a   picture frame TV that looks like artwork when it's  not in use is a great way to take the focus off of   it and have it blend seamlessly into the room having too few tables will leave you and your  guests without anywhere to place a book a drink   or snacks having some type of coffee table  is a great place to create vignettes with   your decor items or it can even double as  storage and while you may not necessarily   need full-sized side tables think about the  function of your space and consider smaller   c-tables or drink tables that will make the  space more comfortable for you and your guests visual comfort is a about more than just adequate  lighting using only overhead down-lighting can   make a room feel cold and harsh and cast  unflattering shadows by layering in ambient   lighting like wall lights and lamps you'll  give your space a cozy and relaxed feel and   the lack of glare from a single light source  will be much more comfortable if you need to   have direct overhead lighting put it on dimmers  to give yourself some flexibility and combine   it with floor lamps table lamps and sconces  for more visual comfort and a softer look in   addition keeping the color temperature of  the lighting in your living space on the   warmer side at 2700 Kelvin or even less  will make the room feel cozy and intimate the scale of furniture and furnishings and how  they work together is important in creating   balance and interest furniture and decor that's  placed all at one level makes the space look flat   and uninteresting create visual interest by  varying heights around your living space and   balance proportions to each other try to vary  the the heights of your furniture pieces and   add some interest with tall plants tall lamps and  sconces floor mirrors and wall art to balance the   shorter pieces the different height levels will  engage your eye and draw your gaze around the room in addition to balancing heights make sure  your furniture pieces are in proportion to   each other a good guideline is to follow  the 2/3 rule for the living room look for   a coffee table that's about 2/3 the  length of the sofa you can also group   smaller tables of different heights  together to get the dimensions right use the same approach for displaying artwork  artwork that's too small will make the entire   room and all the furnishings in it feel  like it's out of scale and out of balance   the guideline here is the same as for the sofa  coffee table arrangement if you're hanging the   piece over a sofa mantle or console table aim  for the piece or group of smaller pieces to   be at least 2/3 the length of the furniture  piece wall mantle or whatever it's hanging   over to keep everything in proportion and a  little bonus tip on artwork is to keep it at   about 57 inches high on center which is a  comfortable viewing height for most people an area rug helps ground and define a room  and adds depth and texture but if it's too   small it'll break up the flow of the space and  make the room appear smaller a larger rug will   anchor the space and offer unity for all the  pieces within the space ideally all the pieces   in a living room would fit on top of the rug but  at minimum the rug needs to be big enough to fit   at least all the front legs of the seating plus  at least 8 inches or about 20 cm on the sides one of the biggest design mistakes is not thinking  in layers this is the secret ingredient that makes   a space feel complete you don't want to just  fill your space with random stuff but instead   use carefully curated selections placed in  layers this approach adds depth coziness and   personality to your space a first layer could  be rugs and draperies something to soften the   hardness of floors and walls area rugs do this by  adding texture and it will also anchor the space   visually and increase acoustical comfort  fabric window treatments do this as well   whether they be drapery panels or Roman shades or  a combination of the two next bring in your comfy   furniture to create your conversation-friendly  seating layout using the strategies we covered   earlier then comes the most fun part accessorize  lamps pillows throws pottery plants artwork   these are the items that reflect your style and  personality and help create the cozy layered look let me know in the comments what you think of  these tips for correcting living room design   mistakes if you like this video please give it  a thumbs up and please consider subscribing to   be the first to know about new videos thanks  so much for watching I'll see you next time [Music]

Channel: Balance + Rhythm

Views: 340,084

Keywords: #interiordesign, #homedecor

Id: pIsbA6WkllE

Length: 8min 26sec (506 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 07 2023