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LouPhillips · Joined: 20 Jan 2011 Posts: 22 Location: USA

In the home, where do you spend most of your time? Which room is really lived in? Just a guess, but it's probably your living room . So it's important that this room is designed properly since it sets a tone for the rest of the house: it says a lot of about you as a homeowner and as a person. Though you could hire a trained interior designer to help achieve a specific look, most of the time these professionals will initially try to get a sense of your style and taste before they come up with a plan. For that reason, it's a good idea to have some ideas of your own before hiring an expert. The following creative tips for your living room design are sure to help get you started.

Living Room Design Tips

Define the Room: The best way to plan a room is defining its purpose. Is it supposed to be a playroom? Is it for entertaining? Is it formal? Is it for looks alone? Or do you want it to have multiple functions? The more specific the function, the more appealing the area. In other words: when people know how to visualize a room's purpose, the more comfortable they feel in that space. This preliminary decision will help determine the room's overall shape.

Arrange or Rearrange Furnishings

Once the focal point has been defined, the next step is living room furniture. In order to make things look fresh, you don't have to buy new stuff. And unless you're changing the room's entire color scheme, you shouldn't even have to reupholster. Instead create a whole new atmosphere with just a little imaginative rearranging. Before you start moving around heavy couches and love seats, it's a good idea to make large templates of your living room furniture from newspapers or old bed sheets in order to test out different arrangements. Remember, not everything has to be against the wall. Some contemporary designs use "floating" living room furniture in the middle of the room to help divide up the space . Also, while arranging, don't forget to supply ample walkways for guests.