Creating a comfortable home environment is all about how well you decorate it.
This sets the mood for you to entertain guests as well as to connect with the people you live with, and to take care of yourself. The right interior design can make you feel relaxed, happy, inspired, and more.
It’s worth making the most of every room in your home or apartment. Whatever your living arrangement is like, the setup of the bedroom, kitchen, living room, and even the bathrooms matter!
In terms of your living room design, much of this comes down to the kind of sofas you get. The seating is the focal point of this room. It’s what can make a living room feel warm and inviting or sleek and modern.
Whatever mood you want, the sofa set ties everything together.
Here’s how to get the ultimate living room look designed around each sofa.
Know What Kind of Decor Style You Want
Before you start browsing through different sofas, take a look around your home.
Consider the kind of interior decor you already have in place. This could be the result of things you’ve gathered in your home over the years, or the style you want to guide your setup as you furnish a space for the first time.
Either way, you need to choose the kind of decor you want to identify with.
This makes it much easier to choose all the pieces in the living room – from the sofas to the tables to the wall decorations and even the window accents.
Here are some common interior decor styles to choose from:
- art deco
- shabby chic
- modern
- industrial
- bohemian
- rustic
- coastal
You don’t have to pick just one of the options on the list.
Some of them look great when used to complement each other – like a modern living room design with a bit of an industrial twist. Or maybe, a mostly rustic approach with some shabby chic or bohemian accents.
Either way, keep in mind that your entire home should have one clear design approach, whether it’s a blend of two styles or not.
Purchase and Place the Sofa First
Once you have a feel for each kind of interior design style and which one speaks out to you, it’s time to get to work.
Start your search for new sofas either online or in local home furnishing stores. Filter your options by selecting the kind of design each sofa goes with, as well as by pricing or color.
Take note of the style, material, and finish. Check if you can flip the cushions around or take the covers off for easy maintenance and repair. Maybe consider whether the sofa sets come with a pull-out mattress option or not.
Don’t forget to sit on each sofa to get a feel for the level of comfort it provides!
At the end of the day, that is the main purpose of a sofa. If you’re shopping online, pay close attention to comfort as you’re reading through reviews and looking at ratings. Otherwise, take a seat and let yourself rest for a second to see how a sofa feels.
All of these details will help you narrow down your options. To get closer to your final selection, start trying to really picture how each sofa set will look in your living room.
Keep your interior design approach in mind, but also consider the size of the area and how well everything will fit. Make note of the rest of the colors you plan to use in the room and where you would ideally like to place each sofa, too.
The more you consider every little detail, the better they will all come together.
Get Seating Accents and Other Room Accessories
Speaking of every little detail, remember that your new sofas are only one part of your living room setup. There are many more things to think about and shop for to make this interior design project complete.
Pillows and Blankets
As important of your choice of sofas is for your living room, often times, people will notice what is on top of them first. This means you have to choose the right pillows and blankets to make your sofa set look its best.
Use contrasting colors if you really want to make these accents pop. For a more neutral, relaxed look, choose something that is a similar shade to the sofa set, but still not the exact same.
This helps create depth and texture in the room.
Ottomans, Rugs, and More Seats
In addition to eye-catching design elements, you also need to invest in all the pieces that make a space as comfortable as possible.
Consider getting an ottoman that compliments one sofa.
This offers a nice aesthetic, but it is truly more about being able to put your feet up and kick back. If you’re the kind of person who loves to host guests, the ottoman converts into an extra seat, too.
You may choose to get a loveseat or an armchair to place across from one of your sofas. This provides enough seating for everyone, with plenty of different options to make sure each guest is comfortable.
To center the seating or support one of the pieces, get a rug.
Rugs are a beautiful addition to any room, especially the living room. Their patterns add a bit of fun to everything else going on in the room.
Lighting and Wall Decor
Just when you think your living room setup is complete, take one last look around.
You may be missing a lighting upgrade or some accents on the wall to make your space as beautiful as it can be. There are many ways to go about lighting a living room, including natural light, lamps, and ceiling lights.
When it comes to wall decor, there is plenty of room for expression.
This is your chance to show off your eye for design as well as parts of who you are. Wall decor may be anything from family pictures and fond memories you’ve made over the years, or images of things you admire like works of art and quotes.
The Best Shopping Tip for Sofas: Plan Ahead
Whether you just need one new sofa or you’re looking to remodel the entire living room, one thing is for sure: you have to plan this purchase.
The better you prepare to buy a sofa, the more you will get out of it. Take a look at your budget as well as the dimensions of your living room.
Make sure you know how big of a sofa you need, and consider if you want to keep it in the same place as your old one or if you want to move things around. This may be hard to picture in your head, though.
To plan your living room layout as best as possible, design it first. Try your hand at Photoshop and create a simple digital representation of your living space.
This way, you can easily manipulate the shapes and layers to move things around and consider different living room layouts.
If you’ve never used Photoshop before, don’t worry – click here for the basics.
