Interior design of living room

Public Area of the House – Living Room

Usually, people get confused between the family room or living room and a formal drawing-room. The place where the family gathers and watches TV and laugh and play is called a family room. The drawing room or formal living room is a place, which is the main public spot of the house, where you can invite the outsiders to have a seat. The main focal point of one’s house is the living room and act as a center. The first impression of the home and defines the personality of the house owner. The designed living room has things in common like they are harmonious, elegant and according to the taste of the people using it. Designers should know the functions and areas to be added or separated so that designs should do accordingly. Many clients demand dining space in the living room, some spend small area for their shoe racks or some wants a small area for an outsider to sit.

Living Room Design Ideas

While designing the living room one should think about space available, the colors to be used, furniture to be placed or any other accessories to be placed. Designers should use the technique of space planning, furniture design, and decorative rugs or carpets can be set in contrast. The color scheme should be selected cleverly and textures should be added according to the need of style. They should try to find a balance and a relaxing atmosphere for the people who are going to use that room.

Color Scheme

The color scheme should be selected according to space if the room is small then white or pastel colors are more suitable. Bold and bright colors will make the impression of a much smaller space. In a larger space one can use different colors and patterns according to the style chosen.

Principle of 60-30-10

To decide the color scheme you need to know this principle which will make your work easy. According to this principle, you can select 3 boards of colors in your living room. It will be a combination of 60%, 30% and 10% of primary, secondary and accent colors respectively. The primary color consists of 60% so it will cover majority elements like sofa, walls. The secondary color will cover the smaller amount of elements that include draperies, some small furniture, etc. the accent color consists of the smallest part of the living room that includes artwork, cushions, etc.

There is no hard and fast rule to use this principle but as stated it can help you to choose the right color scheme and proportionate colors in your living room design.

Type of Flooring

There are many options for flooring nowadays; you can select flooring types according to the style of the living room.  You can select from stone or tiles or wood or you can also cover the whole area with carpet or rug or you can give the combination of half area covered with carpet and half with other material. The carpet will give more comfort in the cooler climate and add extra comfort. Wooden floor with high quality will give perfect look in your living room but requires maintenance. Cork is also an upcoming trend in flooring. It is a soft spongy material which will give a luxurious living room design feel. It is filled with a tiny air bubble which will make you feel relaxing and insulates the heat and noise. It is an eco-friendly, renewable material, and also maintenance free. But it is relatively expensive and can get damaged easily if something sharp falls on it, it will puncture it.

False Ceiling

Nowadays the trend of flat, white and boring ceilings has gone. False ceilings can be designed elegantly by designers, it transforms the look of the living room design by giving it a fresh and elegant look. Color, size and furniture placement and overall design of the interior of the living room are the factors which can clear your ideas. You can go with many options available like simple false ceiling design with LED strip lightings, or wooden ceiling are on-trend. A designer can be creative by designing asymmetry shapes or geometric patterns. Or the latest trend of letting your ceiling extended till floor can stand out your living room design.

Art Work

The living room design is incomplete without the artwork on the wall. Not only picking up the elegant piece but also its placement is important. If you pick some artwork then make sure that the dimensions of the piece are appropriate and do not look bulky or too small. If you have to place the piece on the wall where you placed the furniture then as per rule the piece should be about two-thirds the width of the furniture. The art piece should be the center of the wall and should be at eye level.

The different type of style

Interior design is not only an art but also a science, which enhances the beauty of the building. Living room design can be renovated by using different styles and designs. Few styles are discussed here-

Modern Living Room Style

The style is defined as clean, bold and simple, neutral colors at its core. In this style heavy use of accessories is prohibited. White, black or coffee color is a popular alternative for people who love the modern interior design living room. Large windows and neutral colors are aspects of modern style. Bulky furniture should keep at a minimum so that space does not look cramped. You can add small areas for dining or for the library if you like to read books.

Contemporary Living Room Design

Contemporary is defined as an ability to bend the rules of modern design style. In this style, lines should be clean and straight but can be curved unlike in modern style. Here you can combine two more styles to design. In this style, you can combine metal with wood or glass with stone to give an appealing look. Paneled partitions and playful designs can be considered in this style. Different colored rugs and furniture with curves can also be done in this style.

Traditional Living Room Style

India is the land of diversity, so we have so many different colors like bright; vibrant which is the hallmark for a traditional style. For Indian traditional look, one should make use of wood in furniture and floor and also the use of stone will be count in this style. One can go with wooden ceiling beautifully carved motifs in it or Diwans, armchairs, etc. You can also go with art pieces or amazingly carved statues or some other handicrafts or huge wall paintings depicting the mythological stories to give the ancient look.

The minimal style in Living Room

This style is the simplest form of modern style, characterized by neutral color such as shades of brown and grey, simple furnishing with absolute soothing. Keep it clean and minimal use of furniture in the living room leaving out empty space to attain focus on the decorative elements.

Retro Style in Living Room

Name itself states the style associated with the 90s culture, it consists of elements like a concentric circle and checkered pattern along with bold colors. The retro theme is back with more emphasis. Bold patterns with vibrant colors on walls with long lampshades, furniture can be patterned as well. Metal statues and futuristic wall frames are complementing this style.

Rustic style in Living Room

The rustic style consists of heavy use of wood and stone. You can pick artifacts and handcrafted wall hangings made of fabric, and seating with bright cushions. Candles also speak rustic, but you can replace candles with handmade dim bulb lightings in a holder. A small amount of metal can also be added, but make sure that it doesn’t dominate the look of wood.

Ideas for Designing Small Living Rooms

Designing a small space is a challenge that can be easily done with the help of the designer. For designing the smaller space should go with minimal style with minimum furniture. Colors create an illusion of space so choose the color accordingly; light colors should be used for the walls, curtains, upholstery to make the room spacious. Loud colors should not be used as the main primary colors. Small space has a disadvantage of storage but it can be transformed into an advantage by using the right furniture and storage. The tall, spacious units can be installed to give an impression of height and spacious appearance. We can have many options like seating with built-in storage, TV cabinet with storage, wall hanging shelves for books and other accessories. Colorful rugs can be used to look space bigger than actual and breaking the monotony of soft color tones. Coffee table or center table can be designed as floating furniture, create space and illusion of space. You can also use beautiful wall mirrors with amazing frames adding more visual space.

Latest Trends in Living Room Design

We will discuss here some latest trends for designing your living room-

• Mainly people are opting nowadays white color schemes in combination with shades of black and brown and even other pastel palettes.

•  Materials like wood, stone, clay are trending these days.

•  Don’t buy an entire sofa set try mixing two sets or various pieces so that you can achieve different looks and you may get color variation.

•  Ceilings can be designed with textured wallpapers, or embossed, or wooden beams, etc. to give a classy look to your living room.

•  Velvet is back again because it gives a luxurious feel on your skin. If you are out of budget then only go with velvet cushions and pillows.