Blog

Designing any area in your home can be a lengthy process, but also an entertaining one. Whether you live in a country style home, a Victorian terrace or a studio flat in Edinburgh, there are some simple design tips you can follow to bring life to your living room, discover more.

Design tips include coming up with a colour scheme, adding plants, considering furniture and wall art.

Make a plan

A living room is the perfect place to relax and entertain and it’s likely that a lot of time will be spent in there. So you’ll want to get the design just right, making a plan and setting a budget can help with this. Make a list of things you want to include in your space and plan the layout, you could even order swatches and samples to help with your colour scheme.

Colour scheme

Colour schemes can be a great way of letting your personality shine through. Choosing the right colours can be a tough decision and one of the most important too. This is crucial for a living room because it’s where we spend a large proportion of our time, either on our own or with friends and family. This can be a daunting task as there are so many amazing colour combinations to pick from. Why not create a mood board of your favourite colours and take inspiration from other living rooms online or in interior design magazines. To start off that inspiration popular colour schemes include…

• Greens and neutrals for those who love and take inspiration from the outdoors
• For a timeless colour scheme a blue-green gives a beautiful effect
• To offer a dramatic look, dark, inky colours will do the job
• Peach, scarlett and ambers provide warmth and cosiness
• Soft pastels, such as neutral pinks and oranges are highly emotive and show confidence
• Black and white for a monochromatic and elegant design

Potting plants

Plants are not only fabulous outdoors, but indoors too. With a vast range of house plants both real and fake, make for the perfect addition to any living room. Living plants not only freshen up and make a room more welcoming, they also have benefits to your physical and mental health. They are known to help reduce stress and also boost creativity. Before deciding on what plants to bring life to your living room, first have a look at your lighting situation and the amount of space you have. Some plants need more natural light than others, if not much natural light is available then LED grow lights are also sufficient. The best lounge plants include:

• Anthurium
• Snake plant
• Peace Lily
• Pothos
• Areca palm

Furniture and functionality

Furniture is obviously a necessity in any room and it should be practical, yet stylish to match the interior of the room. Space is a massive thing to consider when deciding what furniture to buy, too large or too much and a room may look small and cluttered, although too little in a large room may look lost. The main living room furniture essentials that also serve a purpose include:

Photos and wall art

From art paintings, to glass and canvas prints, to photos of loved ones, the living room is the perfect place to hang your favourite images. These help to bring a trendy touch to your lounge walls and can brighten up any space. Whether a standout piece of art or a subtle design, all will bring life and joy to an area. When deciding on artwork, it’s a good idea to match with the chosen colour scheme. With photos of friends and family, they could be placed in frames on windowsills or even hung up on string around the room.

Following these simple design tips is a great way to bring your living room to life, as well as let your personality shine through and provide a fantastic space to entertain and relax.