Which room do we spend the most time in at home? Well, of course, it’s the living room! When it comes to the living room, it’s nice to have a space where you feel comfortable, relaxed, and cosy at all times.
So, here are our top tips for creating a living room for life; a room that one day could be suitable for children, pets, and all the everyday accidents that come with family life.
Choosing practical living room flooring or carpet
Spillages and stains are an inevitable part of day to day life. So, if you’re not in a position to keep replacing flooring or simply don’t want to, it’s advisable to choose something you know will have a good life span.
We have two recommendations: laminate flooring or a dark-coloured carpet.
Laminate flooring is a much better choice than hardwood flooring because it’s less easy to scratch and mark if there are paws around regularly. It’s also fantastic if you need to mop or wipe up any accidents that may occur. For example, if the kids enjoy a creative painting session or eating food that’s a bit messy.
A dark-coloured carpet is another excellent choice when it comes to practicality. Light-coloured carpet is easily marked and much more challenging to keep clean, whereas darker colours tend to have are more likely to conceal stubborn things like dog hairs, drink spills, and food stains. Colours like dark grey, plum, blue, and even black are excellent options that, if styled correctly, can be the perfect base for your living room.
Picking a living room sofa
A sofa is another considerable investment, much like carpet or flooring. Picking the right sofa could last you years and years. What you mainly need to think about is, what sort of sofa suits your lifestyle?
If you’re a pet-free household, you might like a leather sofa because often they’re easy to wipe and clean. If you have animals roaming around who want to jump up, we wouldn’t recommend leather due to scratching and marking.
You might prefer the idea of a material corner sofa if you enjoy cosy movie nights and could do with plenty of space for the whole family to sit down. There’s always recliner sofas, too if you’re the ultimate comfort connoisseur, or if there’s just one or two of you at home, then a bold, bright two-seater is a great choice to bring your living room to life.
Thinking about cushions and accents
One of the most exciting parts of designing any room is adding decorative accents. You’ve heard the phrase “making a house a home”, and it achieves exactly that. Again, this really depends on what sort of lifestyle you have. Lots of cushions on the sofa can be aesthetically pleasing; however, you may want to consider who is around to disrupt a ‘perfect’ living room look. We’d recommend fewer cushions for a family home because it leaves more room to relax and be comfortable. You may also want to choose ornaments and decorations that aren’t fragile or easily broken; also, items out of reach from prying eyes could be an idea.
Making the right decisions for your living room could mean you don’t have to switch things up for years and years. Sure, everything experiences wear and tear eventually, but the ‘lived in’ look can be a good one – one that is full of memories and good times!
Come on, pop down to Frank’s today and let’s get your living room goals off to a start.