Small living rooms have their own set of difficulties owing to their restricted size, but larger living rooms have their own set of issues. Larger rooms are great for entertaining, but they aren’t as cozy or useful for day-to-day life.
So, what’s the greatest way to make the most of a huge living room? Even if your room isn’t large, it might be tough to furnish if it’s oddly shaped or connected to another space in some manner, so these suggestions or inspiration photographs may be applicable to a range of room sizes and shapes or great spaces!
Today, I’m sharing ten of my favorite styling suggestions for a larger living room!
Establish zones.
In a limited space, you’ll probably only have enough place for one discussion area and no other furniture groups. Huge rooms may be used for much more than simply a large sitting area, but you may need to get creative in order to make the most of the space you have. Determine the room’s various functional zones, such as a discussion zone (or two or three)..
Visually divide the space.
You may utilize ceiling beams, partial walls, or pillars (like the one between my family room and kitchen) to visually separate a room in semi-permanent ways, or you can use area rugs, curtains, wallpaper, and furniture arrangement to help create visually comfortable areas inside the larger room for flexibility. A sofa with its back to another area, a chaise lounge, a wide bench, tables between seats, an appealing screen, huge lights, curtains, or plants may all be used to help divide the spaces.
The room’s focal point.
If you have too many little items in your great room or large living space without a couple of anchoring pieces, the room will seem congested. A sectional, huge couch, large coffee table, and even built-in bookcases or a piano will help center a space, allowing smaller accent items to be tucked in as needed.
It’s all about the scale.
Do you have a space with high ceilings that feels unbalanced? When possible, use higher furniture. Your ceilings will feel excessively high and your furnishings will be dwarfed if all of your furniture is short. Consider a higher bookshelf, armoire, chairs and couches with longer backs, and taller accessories.
Lighting that is unique.
Lighting can make a big impact in how a space seems, no matter how big it is. Fortunately, because a large space generally has more windows, lighting is less of an issue during the day. However, at night, shadows and dark nooks may make anyone feel apprehensive. If you only have one central ceiling light, you’ll probably want to supplement it with lamps. However, having too many lamps may make a space appear uncomfortable, so here are some lighting suggestions for a large area.
Photo by Marcel Page Photography
Choose two or three bigger lights in similar hues and mix in smaller, less conspicuous metal floor and wall lamps to provide lighting throughout the space. Lamp overload can also be avoided by mixing in glass lights. If plugging a light cable into the wall isn’t easy, a floor outlet along the perimeter of a conversation area can be installed.
Make use of color.
Color and pattern may be utilized to break up large swaths of wall in a living room or to reduce the height of a tall wall to a more comfortable level. Paint various shades of neutrals or colors above and below the molding to create wainscoting. If your room has a high ceiling, you might want to attempt a simple method to warm it up. If you paint the ceiling a shade or two darker than the walls (or use paneling! ), the ceiling will appear lower and the space will feel more intimate and comfortable.
Photo by Classic Rug Collection, Inc.
Increase your wager by double.
If you can’t locate a coffee table big enough for your area, pair two identical square or rectangle ottomans side by side to make a bigger discussion. Alternatively, use a coffee table with two ottomans pushed up against it. Instead of one huge area rug, two smaller ones might be used for two different conversation spaces.
Photo by Shinberg Levinas Architectural Design
Instead of simply two seats, combine four plus a circular ottoman or table to make a bigger statement. Chairs are less visually disruptive in a room than a couch, allowing them to create a nice flow and discussion area in vast spaces, tiny rooms, or difficult traffic patterns. The impact will be stronger whenever you can utilize multiples of something, such as two footstools, two lamps, taper candles, or two sets of chairs.
Avoid ‘hugging’ the wall too much.
A spacious room with the sofa pushed back against one wall and the chairs on the opposite side of the room against the other wall, leaving too much open space in the centre, strikes me as amusing. If you have to yell to have a discussion with someone sitting across the room, your furniture is most certainly too far apart.
With a bigger space, you may draw chairs away from the walls to create a cozier discussion area around a focal point such as a fireplace. Don’t be afraid of blank walls; they may be used for art, buffets and consoles, seats and bookcases, or extra discussion places where the furniture can be pushed closer together.
Bold is best.
In a large room, art and accessories should be larger and bolder. If you’re framing pictures or images for your walls, choose a size larger than the conventional 8 x 10 or 5 x 7 frame. Rather than scattering smaller pieces around a space, combine larger ones together to make an even bigger impact.
Layers cozy up the space.
If your room is cold, sound echoes, or the mood isn’t warm enough, it’s possible that you just need additional layers rather than a larger space. Hang curtains, add baskets for texture and sound absorption, and soften the rooms with area rugs (you can even layer two rugs together for even more texture). Softer environments are more appealing, so make sure you have plenty of cushioned furniture!
Photo by Andrea Schumacher Interiors
Repetition.
There is more furniture and accessories in a large room, which might make it feel a little chaotic. Repetition is one technique to bring a large space of furniture together and unify your design. Fabric patterns or colors that are repeated on chairs or throw cushions can assist to draw your attention around the space and make it feel more aesthetically attractive.
