Living room design tricks

How to choose a theme
For a great looking living room, choose your theme and colour scheme and work everything else around it. Once you know what your theme should be, it’s much easier to paint walls, add new features, choose lighting and decide on fabrics for sofas, chairs and curtains or blinds. If you’re concerned a theme may date quickly, focus on accessories like throws, cushions and screens that you can change easily.
Make sure you settle on a theme that reflects your taste and personality. Inspiration can come from many places – it could be a painting, a film, a traditional design style such as Art Deco or just a memory of a time and place when you were happy – a time spent by the sea or out in the countryside.

Making a small room feel larger
Colours like white, cream, lemon, light blue and lilac make a room lighter, but for maximum impact paint your skirting boards and picture rails a lighter shade than the walls. Paint shelves and fittings such as radiators the same colour as walls to make them less intrusive. Vertical stripes can make ceilings seem higher and well-positioned mirrors are perfect for creating the impression of more space. You could place a large mirror along one wall at eye level, or position one near a window to reflect the light from outside – the same trick works with a lamp in the evenings. When it comes to furniture, choose sofas and chairs with exposed legs so you can just see part of the floor underneath. Finally, choose accessories carefully, avoid overpowering patterns, styles or textures and keep the room free from clutter.

Making a large room feel smaller
Sometimes a living room can be too big to feel really homely. High ceilings can make a space seem bright and airy during the day, but cold and empty in the evening. A good trick is to paint your ceiling a slightly darker colour than your walls, or divide your walls in half with a dado rail and use a darker paint on the lower section. Pay close attention to flooring too – if you’re stuck with light wood flooring or a pale carpet, add a large, darker coloured rug. Lighting is also crucial. In a large room concentrate light into the centre rather than round the edges.

Creating a cosy living room
For an informal, relaxing atmosphere, assemble furniture of varying sizes, and combine with a range of different textures, fabrics and patterns. You can then enhance the whole effect with the right lighting. Layer your lighting, providing as many ways as possible to light your room. Uplighters and table lamps, which create a softer, warmer glow, are a great investment, as are dimmer lights.

The darker the colours, the smaller and cosier the room will feel – a feature wall is a way of introducing a rich, deep shade – go for orange or red undertones. If you don’t want to repaint the walls or you’re not confident enough to go for a high-impact all-over colour, use accessories such as rugs, throws, cushions and lampshades to bring those warmer tones into the room.

Finishing touches
By paying attention to the smaller details, you’ll create a living room that is both coordinated and contemporary. Lampshades are commonly overlooked but they can set the tone of a room – don’t just go for neutral colours because it’s easy – do something different with modern styles and contemporary colours that tie in with your theme. If your living room contains a lot of family photographs, why not change them all at once rather than now and then? Update with more recent photos or dig out a few long-forgotten gems for an instant living room facelift.