Living Rooms, Designing and Decorating

The living room, lounge or originally the drawing room is the area we withdraw to relax, read a book, watch TV or a movie, listen to music, entertain or be entertained in. It’s interesting that the room can have a single function or many as open plan living came into being or fashion with the influence of architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright and le Corbusier. So you can see why there is so much to consider when you choose to design your living room. There are multiple spaces within one space that need to be designed. The flow from room to room or space to space soon incorporated many differing functions into one space. When designing a living room there is no right or wrong way to go about it but each design and decision must be justified with well thought out practicality and argument about its proposed uses and functions otherwise the design is usually ridiculed.  

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Living Rooms Today

Living rooms in today’s modern world may also have many functions or be limited to just a few and we often see homes with two living areas. One for the family and the other for “formal entertainment” or socializing. Not everyone advocates open plan living and there are many examples of the spaces divided into separate rooms. In fact with modern day living the need for separate media rooms, studies and dining areas has become more and more prevalent and there seems to be a trend to have the main living rooms and dining rooms connected but separated by movable walls and large opening doors.

Family Living Rooms

The family living room has to cater for all those using it. This not only includes the adult family members but also children and pre-schoolers and more often than not is attached to the kitchen where the parent may be working. Considering this, site lines and storage also need to be considered as well as the different methods or techniques employed to define the areas.

Decorating Living Rooms

More often than not, the television becomes the focal point of the living room. This is great if you spend all your time watching TV, but not so good if you want to make your living room multi functional. Some people have the luxury of having a family room, here they keep the television and leave the living room for more formal occasions and entertaining. Whatever the case, the living room is often the room in which people judge our design taste.

So the living room should portray you and your family’s personality, what you are interested in, your collections, your artwork, your travels, all the things that make your living room feel like home and comfortable to you. It should house all the things that you love to have around you. Not things that you think you should have because they are in fashion or the style of the moment.

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