The nights are drawing in and the weather is turning chilly - with winter very much upon us, it’s time to make our homes our own private, cosy escapes from the outside world. With the living room at the centre of the home, it’s only right to start there!
What does your living room / lounge / family room / den (whatever you like to call it) say about you? Does it ooze your personality at every turn? Is it cool and sophisticated? An explosion of creativity? Is country-chic your thing? Whatever your style, follow our top tips to creating the ideal room for you…
Don’t be afraid to go to the dark side
Dark walls are an excellent choice for a cosy, intimate feel. Far from imposing and dull, dark walls offer a blank canvas which works to accentuate and enhance contrasting colours. If black is just too extreme, opt for a rich and moody blue, grey, plum or dark teal tone to create instant drama. We love the Scandi style shown here, combining dark walls with linens and natural wood:
Create Continuity
Create a seamlessly flowing room with a little forward-planning, thought and consideration. Now we’re not talking a full on CAD design with mood boards (unless you like that sort of thing!) but having a certain style and leading colour in mind is a fail-safe way to ensure that your final look is on point. As a starting point, why not choose one item for the room that you love, pick out a key colour and hue from that particular item and use this as a guide when hunting for additional items to furnish and accessorise the room.
Layer Up and Texturise
Adding a combination of layers and textures to a room is a quick and easy way to add warmth - even an all-white room will feel instantly cosy with a mixture of textures. Knits, faux fur, smooth concretes, rough brick-work, and cosy cotton - experiment and combine unexpected layers to create the perfect, tactile look for your home. We love that even this industrial, raw-finished room seems homely and cosy with the additional of a few different materials and textures:
Use your space wisely
With two sides to this factor, it’s important to work with the individual space you have got. If your room is a little on the snug side, stuffing it full with huge, deep sofas and oversized lampshades will only emphasise this. Equally, if you have a large room, beautiful high ceilings or large expansive windows to play with - why not get creative and work with the space to create something truly unique. Every room and space has the potential to look amazing, so it’s important to be realistic and take each room as it comes. There is no set formula - your interior design scheme should be as unique as the room you are designing.
Get personal
Perhaps the most important point of all - this is your space to be yourself, to relax and unwind, to laugh and live and love - you have to like it! If you are a calm and collected person, an eccentric, pattern-clashing look will probably send you up the wall. Likewise if you love nothing more than a long country walk followed by a cosy pub lunch next to a crackling fire, a stark white minimalist look will leave you less than impressed. Ok, so these are both stereotypes, but you get the idea. The living room is the hub of the home - your home - so when we asked if your home oozes your personality, it’s because it should!
With so much to consider, here are our picks of our favourite Living Room finds to give you a helping hand…
Chambers sofa - coming soon
District Eight Coffee Table - £699
Gooseneck Table Lamp - £99
Check out our pinterest board for more Living Room Inspiration