If recent COVID-19 lockdowns and the new remote working culture have taught us anything, it’s that the state of our living space can have a significant impact on our quality of life from day to day. Keeping our living rooms tidy and clutter-free is a great first step to take in creating extra space, but how can we best go about designing and creating a modern, up-to-date living room?
Choose fitted furniture to optimise space – When designing your new living room, consider investing in fitted furniture to compliment the layout. As well as providing versatile storage space for bulky household items such as books, televisions and gaming consoles, made-to-measure fitted living room furniture is also useful for filling up awkward spaces in those rooms with irregular dimensions.
Choose the right coffee table – Seeing as the coffee table is often the focal point of modern living rooms, it’s essential to choose carefully when shopping for furnishings. Aim for a coffee table that not only matches your other furniture and the ‘theme’ of the room, but also one that is relatively minimal and easy to clean. One of the best ways to reduce clutter accumulation is to invest in a coffee table with plenty of drawers or inbuilt storage space.
Don’t overdo it with posters and prints – While it may be tempting to fill up wall space with posters and prints of your favourite artwork and movies, try to go for minimalism when designing your modern living room. Over-filling the space with colourful artwork can overwhelm the eyes and make the room feel smaller – try to pick out your favourite pieces and hang them sparingly to achieve a sleek, modern look.
Add some plants to create a relaxing atmosphere – Owning houseplants has numerous benefits and can directly affect your mood and wellbeing. If you’re looking to inject a touch of class and modernity into your new living room (whilst improving the quality of air in the space), consider investing in some perennial houseplants and herbs. Some of the most popular indoor plants include peace lilies, aloe vera, spider plants, money trees and ferns, whereas easy-to-maintain perennial herbs include rosemary, thyme, sage, basil and mint – these can add colour and vibrancy to any living room or windowsill.
Choose a rug that matches your sofa – In the same way that your hard furnishings and choices of artwork should compliment each other, try to choose a rug that matches your sofa – this could be in terms of texture, material or colour scheme. If possible, go with a rug that will be easy to clean and maintain without accumulating too much dust and household dirt.
Stick to a palette of colour – When aiming for an overall colour scheme or palette of colour in your modern living room, try to go with a neutral tone that you’re unlikely to grow tired of. Remember that you’re designing a long-term living space and that the colours you choose can have a direct effect on your mood, as well as the quality of light and perceived size of the living room.