Without a doubt, one of the most fun rooms to design in your whole home is your living room and/or living spaces. Afterall, these are the rooms where you spend most of your time, either hosting guests, or creating memories with your immediate family. While living room staples have changed greatly over the last few decades, there are still some crucial design ideas that remain. A few essentials that have been constant over the years are sofas, chairs and coffee tables. Another thing that hasn’t changed is some of the best quality furniture pieces are always found at local retailers, such as Lafayette’s Albarado’s Fine Furnishing.
First: Take a moment to envision the goals of your living area
Most interior designers advise before you even begin thinking about what kind of furniture and decor to use in a space, think first about the room in question. What do you want the room used for? What feelings or emotions do you want the occupier to feel? Do you need more functionality over sensory experience? One of the biggest mistakes homeowners make when designing a room is concentrating so much on style, they forgot to make sure the space makes sense for their lifestyle. For example, if you have children, furniture you may choose for your living room needs to have storage, better for hiding toys and nick nacks.
Second: Sofas
The most important feature of your living space is the sofa, as it will be the first thing that visitors will notice when they walk in. It is usually the largest thing in your room and also the most expensive. You’ll want to revisit the functionality question again and what your needs are. If you have a big family, having enough sitting for everyone may cause you to consider a sectional sofa. If you are unmarried and/or have a small apartment, you may consider a small couch or loveseat. Keep in mind that you may need to choose different sofa fabrics if you have a child or pet, especially cats. In that case, you’ll definitely want to stay away from leather!
Third: Coffee table
Coffee tables are the perfect centerpiece to your living situation. While it looks great visually, it also acts as a useful place for remotes, dishes or magazines. Just as with chairs and sofas, the options are endless with circular options, rectangles options, glass options, wood options, with some even acting as a place to store blankets. Check out this great guide to find the right coffee table for you.
Fourth: Chairs
Here is where you can get a little creative. Of course, you will first need to purchase your sofa, as your chairs will be its accent. While in the past it has been more in style to have a love seat, chairs are the new solution not only for style, but also to fill negative space. There are many various chairs to choose from, including recliners, rockers or accent chairs.
Skip the big box stores and stay local
It is very tempting to head over to google search to find inexpensive sofas and chairs. And while you may find some from the big retailers, many times you will be forced to skip on comfort and style as you are dazzled by pricing. Don’t fall into this trap! Many reviews on these same items can show you disappointed customers wishing for refunds. And of course that is one of the biggest negatives of shopping online–you aren’t able to try out the furniture for yourself to make sure it is comfortable and will fit well in your space. This is a huge positive for sticking to local shopping: you can visit in person to make sure this is the best choice. Shopping at Albarado’s also gives you the great benefit of something you don’t find everywhere – requesting a design consultation. This cool feature will bring an interior designer into your home and help you pick the perfect quality living room furniture pieces for your budget, without having to sacrifice comfort and personality. Contact Albarado’s today – they can’t wait to help you transform and personalize your living space.