Is your living room living up to its full potential? Who knows, right? It's very hard to see a space you're in as often as your living room with fresh eyes. That's half the reason why some living rooms can go years without reaching their full potential.
But fear not, for the NicheCanvas team has been hard at work investigating what are the most common reasons for a living room might look a bit "off." There are a number of common mistakes we see crop up time and time again. But the good news is, they're easy to remedy.
Ready to dive in? Let's go!
1. Skimping on your upholstery
Do not, we repeat, DO NOT, skimp on upholstery. Never go for a less expensive material for your armchair, sofa, bar chair, etc. It makes a massive difference in how comfortable your seat will be. So for yourself and the sake of your guests, invest in quality.
2. Selecting the wrong sofa
Sofas are often among the most, if not the most, important part of a living room. So picking the right one is very important. Problems often arise when people haven't picked the correct fabric to harmonize with the room, or maybe it's the wrong color or style.
Give special attention to seat height. Low seats are hard to get in and out of, as well as uncomfortable. Also, remember to pick something simple: it's easier to style with the rest of the room and will never go out of fashion.
3. Wrong sized rugs
One of the most common mistakes in living rooms is poorly matched rugs. We don't want to see huge rugs in small rooms, nor tiny rugs in massive rooms.
Likewise, don't put small rugs under center tables or sofas, because this creates disharmony and leaves blank spaces in important areas. Go large in these areas!
Be careful when using a larger rug for a smaller room as this can take away some of the space making the room feel even smaller.
4. The showroom look
Many of us have a favored place where we tend to pick up most of our home decor items. This can be a risk though. If you get all or most of your items from the same place, your living room can begin to give off a showroom look. It's important to mix new and vintage elements to create an eclectic effect on your room.
5. Poor planning
It can be tempting to simply push a sofa against the wall facing a TV stand and stop there. But there's more to it than that if you want to create a stellar living room. You should consider and create conversation groupings, especially if the room is long and narrow.
6. Hanging art incorrectly
Poorly hung art is like a character in a movie wearing a really bad wig. Once you've seen it, there's no going back, and all you want to do is rip it off. It doesn't ruin your experience, but it's terribly distracting.
That's why getting it right is important. Most of the time, art should be hung at eye level - but not every time. If your ceilings are really low or if you're really tall. Generally, you should imagine your wall cut in four quadrants from top to bottom and hang your picture in the third.
And that's a wrap! We hope you've enjoyed these 6 common mistakes for living room decor. Now go forth and make that living room the best it can be!
