Designing a Perfect Family Living Space (Inside and Out)
The living room – a multifunctional landing zone for a variety of tasks ranging from book reading, to movie night, to dance parties. Needing so much flexibility in function, living rooms often become spaces that are catchalls for accessories and décor, such as blankets, the popcorn bowl, the macaroni picture frame, and the bowling trophy. But your living room should also be a place to reset, relax, and recharge. So let’s learn how to design the perfect living space.
Design the Purpose
First you need to decide how you want your space to function and what the room needs to do for you. For example, are family movie nights an important weekly staple in your house? Then you’ll want to ensure there’s space for a sufficiently-sized TV, enough comfortable seating for everyone, and the proper viewing distance from the sofa to the TV.
Do you love to read books by the fire? Ensure you have a comfy reading chair, a side table for your hot drink, and an easily accessible reading lamp.
Really think through all the end-uses of your living room, and then don’t be afraid to refine your idea of how the living room will perform. Your living room is multifunctional, but it doesn’t need to serve all the functions, so figure out which functions could be better served elsewhere. Maybe you can’t fit a good reading chair in the living room, but it’ll fit perfectly by the large window in your bedroom.
Declutter
Once you’ve refined the end-uses of your living room, remove the items that aren’t meant to be in the space and put them where they will belong from now on. You want to ensure to make enough space to fit the new furniture items that will help you achieve your end goals for your living space. Also, don’t carry over décor or other design elements that no longer inspire or benefit you.
Selecting Furniture
In a multifunctional space such as your living room, you need to select furniture that is not only dual purpose, but items that will also last the test of time. Cheaper products go through a process called value engineering in order to produce a beautiful-looking result for as little cost to the manufacturer as possible. This is where the mantra “you get what you pay for” comes in.
Many clients come to us because after 1-3 years their new sofa has fallen apart and the retail company is not willing to help. This is why our focus for staple pieces, such as the sofa, is on something higher-end that will last, typically custom. This means that the pieces will be tailored to you and your space. Fabrics will be based on end-use, such as whether your children are younger or older, how many pets you have, and how often that specific piece of furniture will be used. By investing in custom pieces with a higher-quality frame and fabrics, you ensure that the piece will last for years.
Does this mean every piece in your living room needs to be custom? No, definitely not. For example, your coffee table doesn’t need to be extravagant as it usually doesn’t get as much wear and tear as something like your sofa. It’s easy to style the table with books and plants, really elevating the entire look.
To learn even more great tips, download our free guide with 6 tips to design your living room.