Inviting Comfort Into
Living Room Decorating

Living room decorating in today's homes is different from the way it was in the past.

Instead of the stiff and proper parlor of yesterday (where you were nervous and uncomfortable to be in) you want to be able to actually use the room for various functions with the family, entertaining friends or just some quiet time.

Living room decorating for comfort is a style that is easy and rewarding to implement.

The furniture, accessories and art you choose showcase your personality and interests, and shapes the style direction giving your room it’s purpose.

To capture an inviting look to the room and a feeling of being “lived in,” start with comfortable seating and mix with well-loved antiques or weathered vintage pieces.

Avoid buying sets or groupings, instead select individual furniture items’ pieces by piece that blend and work well together.

Instead of a matching sofa, love seat and chair for example, select a sofa then a love seat then a chair that works together but don't necessarily match. This will offer more flexibility and freedom to rearrange and move items from room to room and home to home. Also, individual pieces show your unique style.

When you have a family room as well, you can get away with a less expensive sofa in a great looking fabric for living room decorating that is used primarily for company. Otherwise if buying a new one, pick an enduring style and buy the best you can afford.

Benches and ottomans offer flexibility and can have different uses as coffee tables and extra seating, and can be pushed aside when not in use or stored under a table to be pulled out when necessary.

Comfortable living room decorating and a true enjoyment of your home can be achieved through sensual texture variations. This creates an inviting atmosphere and coziness.

• A combination of easy care casual fabrics with the more luxurious will dress up a plain or slipcover sofa.
• The use of textures in pillows and throws to chairs and the arms of sofas of leather, suede, velvet and chenille add warmth, and color.
• Introduce another layer of texture and depth with the addition of area rugs, which will also define your seating areas especially when you create more than one seating arrangement in a room.

The use of mirrors can be fun and useful in ways of adding a dimension to the walls and reflecting something nice. If you are going to hang a mirror be sure to position it so it reflects something pretty, like the view outdoors and not so people will constantly have to look at themselves.

Welcome a touch of nature into the room in the way of a live plant or fresh flowers. A plant is a very calming and helps to purify the air.

If you can't use the real thing, a tall silk tree will soften a corner of the room or create a "break" for the eye, for example leading from one room into another or along a long common wall of two rooms.

You can also use a decorative room divider or screen and achieve the same thing.

Living room decorating looks even better with paint color and the color choices you make should be an expression of your style and enhance the room.

Color can make a room appear bigger or smaller, and bring out the best in your furniture. Think about the direction the room faces and the amount of natural light available. If your room faces the north it receives cool light so consider hues in the warm shades and rooms facing the south paint in a cooler tone.

A classic neutral background provides a beautiful backdrop for possessions and art can be easily placed and updated.

Play an emphasis on repeating colors in the room. If the walls are a soft blue, arrange a cluster of soft blue vases or a soft blue pillow to follow thru with the color.

White trim on the woodwork outlines the architectural details of the room and casual window treatments lend themselves to the comfortable feeling you’re creating.

Focus on providing flexible lighting in this room to address all of your needs. The flattering light in living room should be both general, coming from the ceiling fixture, to the task at hand from your lamps and diffused with accent lighting.

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