10 Do's and Don'ts of Styling a Living Room

The living room is probably the place where you spend most of your time at home. It's also the room that can be the hardest to style. You want it to be cozy but not cluttered, stylish without being fussy, and comfortable without looking like a dorm room. In order to pull the room together and make it a place where you love to gather with friends and family, it’s important to follow a few simple rules for living room styling. Read on for 10 do’s and don’ts that will help you create a beautiful living space that’s personalized, welcoming, and reflective of your style. 

1. Do Include a Comfy Couch

If you do nothing else to style your living room, make sure you include a comfy couch. The reason for this is simple: a comfy couch is essential for making your guests feel at home and relaxed — while creating a welcoming area for you and your loved ones to enjoy family time. 

The problem with living room styling is that oftentimes, homeowners try to work their design around their sofa instead of creating a room that incorporates all of the elements they desire. Instead, you could start with the sofa you really want and then choose other furniture pieces and accessories that complement it. 
At CouchHaus, we make the process easy by offering custom couch designs that are affordable, handcrafted, and made to measure.

Couch shopping on our website is fun and simple, and it’s the best way to make sure you get exactly the right size, color, and style of custom couch you want. We offer free shipping to your doorstep on all orders in Metro Vancouver, and delivery starts at $199 for those outside the area.

 2. Don’t Try to Make Your Living Room Look Like a Showroom

You might have a favourite furniture store, but that doesn’t mean you need to buy every item from there for your living room. This kind of “matchy matchy” feel works great for a showroom, where the store is showcasing its products and how they look together in an imagined space. 
In a real home, however, it’s cool to mix and match pieces from different brands, stores, and even eras. For instance, pair a new custom couch with a vintage-looking rug, and you create instant interest in the space. It also makes your living room feel more personalized to your tastes and reflective of the history behind all of the different pieces in your home.

 

3. Do Create a Focal Point

A focal point in a living room is important, as it helps to unify the space by drawing your eye to a specific area. Here are some ideas:

• If you have a fireplace, place a mirror above it. This will reflect, highlight the fire, and make your space feel larger and warmer.
• If you have a bay window, add attractive window coverings, throw pillows, throw blankets, and other accessories that make the space look warm and inviting.
• Hang a gorgeous chandelier above the seating area to pull the room together and draw the eye upward for a feeling of spaciousness.
• Create a furniture arrangement that provides a cozy nook where you and your guests love to hang out. This is your spot to play board games, watch your favorite reality TV shows, enjoy a glass of wine, and plan your next overseas adventure. 

4. Don't Overcrowd the Room

While it's great to have a lot of furniture and decor, you don't want your living room to feel overcrowded. For example, if you have a small space, try not to fill it up with too many pieces or the wrong size furniture — too big, and your sofa or coffee table will overpower the space. 
It’s also important to keep the space free of clutter and avoid over-accessorizing. While you might love having throw pillows, picture frames, or tchotchkes from your trip to London, you don’t have to display everything in the living room. 
Plus, leaving some open spaces in your living room helps to create a sense of peace and calm in the space — perfect for those afternoon naps and late-night reading sessions.

By starting with a made-to-measure couch that’s comfortable and stylish, you can more easily accessorize around it and add other functional furniture pieces. Try adding a coffee table with built-in storage and a bookshelf with a fold-out desk, for instance. This way, you can tuck away books, magazines, spare blankets, and other living room essentials when not in use.

5. Do Add Texture

Adding texture to your living room is an easy way to give it depth and interest. On the flip side, filling your living room with items that all have similar textures makes it lack personality — much like having all of your furniture come from the same store. 
You can add texture with different fabrics, patterns, rugs, artwork, and a range of natural materials like woods and metals. Try pairing your CouchHaus custom couch with a pair of leather side chairs, for instance. Add in a few different types of throw pillows and throw blankets in different fabrics like boucle, velvet, and faux fur. 
Mix in some fun prints and pops of color to make your accessories stand out! Not only does this make your space more visually interesting, but it also prevents you from creating a space that’s not comfortable or inviting.

6. Don’t Buy Poor-Quality Furniture

Poor-quality furniture might be cheap, but typically, it’s not worth the headache. Certain items like the sofa are worth the investment in a high-quality piece. Just think about how frequently you’ll be sitting on the couch — and how much you don’t want to have it fall apart after a rowdy play sesh with your toddler.
This doesn’t mean you have to splurge on the most expensive pieces of furniture. A CouchHaus custom couch is affordable yet durable and beautiful, so you won’t have to worry about guests sitting on a lumpy, wobbly sofa. It’s also sturdy enough to hold up to everyday wear and tear. With simple ongoing maintenance, your couch will stay stunning for many years to come.

7. Do Find the Right Rug

The rug is one of the pieces in your living room that everyone sees first, so it’s important to choose one that works with the overall design of your space. If you want a traditional look, go for a Persian-inspired rug in wool or silk. If you have modern tastes, consider choosing a geometric-patterned rug in wool or cotton. 
In addition to matching your interior design style and theme, make sure that your chosen area rug fits both the size of your room and its purpose. One of the biggest mistakes many people make is buying a rug that’s too small for the space. This can cause the room to look unbalanced and lack symmetry. 
As a general rule, your living room rug should be 6” wider than your sofa on both sides and should run the length of the sofa. Most living room rugs are 8’ x 10’ or 9’ x 12’. Always measure your space before committing to a purchase.

8. Don’t Buy Into Trends That Don’t Suit You

Trends come and go — and when they go, you don’t want it staring at you in your living room. So if you want to make sure your style stays timeless, steer clear of decorating with things like pricey wallpaper, furniture in trendy colors, and anything that cannot be easily changed. 
For instance, it’s easy enough to swap out colourful throw pillows. It’s even possible to swap out a paint color in a weekend if you decide to change up your color scheme. 
Instead, go for items that are classic and will carry you from one year to the next seamlessly. For larger pieces like a custom couch, you might want to choose a neutral color such as white, beige, or charcoal so you’ll always be in style. However, with the removable slipcovers, you can always change the fabric or colour of the couch!

 

9. Do Add Lighting

Natural lighting helps to highlight the features you love the most about your living room, so make use of it! Position your furniture such that natural light can illuminate the space without getting blocked by furniture pieces. If you’ve got curtains or shades, open them up during the daytime to help light up the space and make it appear larger.
Be sure to incorporate light fixtures that help highlight the space in the evening, too. Light up corners that have poor lighting with a floor lamp or a hanging light fixture. Incorporate candles on end tables and coffee tables. Add lighting to shelving to highlight your favorite photographs, artwork, and glassware. And as for that mirror above the fireplace we mentioned earlier? It’ll only look bigger and more beautiful if you add a couple of sconces on either side.

10. Do Add Greenery

Greenery is one of the easiest ways to style your home on a budget. It adds life and color, and it’s easy to add without spending much money. There are plenty of faux plant options out there if the green-thumb gene skipped your generation; or, you can always find low-maintenance options like succulents that don’t require much upkeep.
You can also add fresh flowers in vases anytime you want to liven up the room. They add instant beauty, and you can easily swap them out when they get droopy. Try dropping by your local farmer’s market, or you can always opt for a bowl brimming with colourful fruit on a rainy day.

Make Your Living Room Uniquely You

Yes, you can make your living room beautiful and functional without making it boring or busy. Your living room should be a place to relax, watch TV, read, hang out with friends and family — basically anything that brings you joy while relaxing with your loved ones. If it's not comfortable, then people (including you) won't want to spend time there. 
The best way to achieve this is by choosing furniture that fits both your personal style and the needs of this space. With a custom couch from CouchHaus, you’ll be well on your way to creating a living room that’s stylish, cozy, and inviting.