1 – List your needs

The living room having many different jobs, it is necessary to list its needs, questioning its habits is indeed an essential step. Do you love gathering large tables of friends? Prefer to peck on the coffee table? Do you often work in this room? Do you have young children who do not have their own play area?

The answers to these questions will determine the choice and location of the furniture, large wooden table, mega corner sofa or two small sofas facing each other…

2 – Organize activity areas

To do this, note each activity listed with the constraints inherent to each, window, lighting, electrical outlets and observe the exposure of the room and its natural light. If the living room is preferably exposed to the south to capture the light, it should be the same for the sofa. Although it is usually placed against a wall, do not forget that the sofa can also, placed across the room, act as a partition, separating the living room from the dining room. As for storage such as the library, they can also be used as a dividing wall, with the entrance for example.

The dining area will logically be near the kitchen, the work area will not necessarily require outside light… but the proximity of a socket for its lighting! The reading corner will impose a place to sit but also a light or a coffee table.

Keep in mind that the same space can be dedicated to several activities, so the sofa will be used for watching TV but also for reading quietly. The coffee table can accommodate your friends and serve as a table for games or drawings for young children. By doing so, you should be able to combine your different activities quite naturally.

3 – Work on the lighting

The living room and multifunctional room par excellence, so it needs plenty of light from morning to night. To sublimate the light, think of light shades, mirrors, lacquers, metals, to absorb it, favor matt paints, textiles such as linen, wool, wood. Mix warm and cool lights.

Use the warm yellow light above the dining table, coffee table, sofa. Keep the lights cool to showcase your paintings and objects on the walls.

4 – Pay attention to the flooring

The living room is a place of passage where the practical side must above all be privileged. Take into account the features of the room itself and its inhabitants. Natural fibers and parquet are very popular coverings. But if you have children or animals you risk damage!

Tiling is more suitable and if it has the disadvantage of being colder, one or more rugs laid out in risk-free areas will warm up the view…and the feet ! Manufacturers have now succeeded in creating imitations of parquet, tiles, even quite remarkable “polished concrete” effects.

5 – Dare to color

When it comes to color don’t be conformist, dare to be creative! Look for subtle colors, don’t be afraid of dense and dark tones that create contrasting effects, in a word: express yourself, show your personality without fear of displeasing because the decoration is intended to please you!