That’s a strange thing to advise isn’t it? Shine a light in your eyes and give yourself the third degree about your living room? However, before you go all ‘good cop, bad cop’ on yourself, let us explain why asking a few rhetorical questions about decorating your living room is a very good idea.

Is it a room we can live in?

Le Corbusier, the legendary designer, described a house as a machine for living in. Whilst this may seem a stark description, considering the function as well as the style of any room is a wise move especially before you let your design muse take over. The living room, for most families, is a place they will spend many of their waking hours. It’s a room where you’ll watch TV, eat casual meals, chat with friends, browse the web or simply read a book. These are all very different activities so your room with need to adequately cater for all these needs and probably a few more too.

What is my style?

In a recent blog, we discussed how room colour could affect your mood. This is very much a statement of your personal style and when matched to your preferred furnishings is highly relevant to the look of your new living room. A clear overall direction is a good thing to create, as it will guide your choices. Whether you’re looking for modernist, minimal, country cottage, seventies chic or something classic like Art Deco or New York loft, creating a mood board with pictures of furniture, fabrics and ornaments will help you to fine tune your living room style. All the top designers do it so it must be right!

Can I get in (please)?

Access to any room is important. Bit of a no brainer that, but if you get carried away and overdo it you’ll have a room so stuffed as to be unusable. That is why planning is so important. Try visualising the space that you want to create and how you’ll use it. Also, ask for information from your suppliers about their products. Here at the Chesterfield Sofa Company we have buyer’s guides that give essential information about our furniture including measurements, materials and care regimes all of which will help you make good choices as you put your new living room together.

Now where do I put…?

Having plenty of places to store bits and pieces should be uppermost in your thinking. Even the best-designed room with great flow and a refreshing colour will look cluttered if there are random belongings lying around for want of a cubby to store them. Buying well is vital here. Look at pieces like our Box Chesterfield footstool that offers handy, useful storage. Other options could include the void under window seats or well-designed coffee tables complete with lots of useful little nooks and crannies.

What is my budget?

Like so much in life, it all comes down to money, even decorating your living room. However, instead of feeling depressed that you can’t spend as much as you’d like, look at it like a challenge. Ask how can you create the design you want even on a modest budget. Looked at like this your living room decoration project will become a motivating quest. You’ll soon be thinking: Can I use fabric instead of leather for the sofa? What can I up-cycle? Where can I get it cheaper? How can I change that into this? And, with any luck, your budget will remain healthy.

Where’s the Hygge?

Did you read our Hygge blog? If so, you’ll have an idea of how to design a bit of this desirable quality into your living room. There seems little point in investing time and effort in a room design that turns out to be a stark, comfort-free zone. A bit like living in a laboratory. Make sure you allow for comfort, warmth, relaxation, joy, pleasure and plenty of what’s the word? Oh yes, Hygge! Whatever your plans for decorating your living room we hope our guide has given you food for thought so your new space is everything you could wish for. Naturally, we hope you’ll want to add some distinctive Chesterfield elegance to your design so do get in touch and we’ll help you to create the living room of your dreams.]]>