The living room is the heart of the home and is often used as a multi-purpose space that the entire family (or group of housemates) can share.
However, it is very easy for people to overlook their own living room, and a badly-decorated or poorly-designed space can really ruin the mood.
When it comes to living room interior design and home improvement, it is a good idea to consider the small and easy steps that can make a big impact.
You do not need to redecorate your entire home – a single piece of furniture or a new coat of paint might be all that it takes.
1. Improve the Lighting
Almost every room in your home can benefit from better lighting.
Whether you are having issues with the space being too dark or finding that the light balance favors one side of the room over the other, better lighting can make a huge difference to the overall look and feel of your living room.
Replacing your ceiling light can work, but it is also sometimes a good idea to add new lamps, stick up some light strips, or even use mirrors and bright wall paint colors to try and bounce more light around the room.
A well-lit living room can look a lot nicer than a dim one.
2. Repaint The Walls
If you are not happy with the general tone of your living room, repainting the walls (or using new wallpaper) can make a huge difference.
No amount of furniture can help if you do not like the colors of the walls, and sometimes changing to a slightly different shade can make a big difference.
Just make sure to test out colors before you commit to a full repaint.
You do not want to get halfway through repainting the room only to realize that you hate the shade you have chosen, especially not if it costs you a lot of money to get the paints in the first place.
3. Change Wall Decorations
If you like the wall color, then it might be decorations (or a lack of decorations) that is bothering you instead.
Paintings and wall art can look great in the right situations, but you do not want to be filling your walls with artwork that does not really fit with the tone of the room.
Like any other part of interior design, you want to match decorations and wall art to the space itself.
Even just changing their positions or swapping paintings between rooms can make a significant difference, especially if you can find a very aesthetically-pleasing combination.
READ MORE: Easy Ways to Fill an Empty Wall with Wall Décor
4. Add Practical Furniture
Most living rooms need a solid balance of form and function, but it is very easy to get too focused on the “design” part of interior design.
Functional furniture and decorations with practical uses can be a good way to make a living room have more of a purpose behind it.
For example, more shelving and storage can always be useful, as can extra chairs.
Stylish seating can look great and make it easier for more people to use the space at once, and it will not necessarily take up that much more floor space in a larger living room.
5. Add a Coffee Table
Coffee tables are a very underrated piece of living room furniture.
Whether you are looking for a practical surface to rest things on or just want somewhere that you can display items in the middle of the room, a good coffee table can make a huge difference to your living room.
Of course, like any surface, you want to choose a coffee table that you like.
Materials, colors, design elements, and the general shape of the table can all matter, so be sure to look over a range of ideas for coffee tables before you decide to purchase a specific option.
6. Move The Television
Most people have their home’s main (or only) TV set in the living room, and that often makes it a focal point of the space.
Moving it around can completely change the way that the room flows, especially if you put it against a completely different wall.
It is very easy to get your idea of your living room set in stone, but sometimes you should try something new.
Even shifting the television to a slightly different angle can force you to rethink the seating, which might dramatically change the entire room’s atmosphere and practical shape.
7. Add Cushions and Blankets
Having extra blankets and cushions can really make a difference to the seating in any room.
Not only are they comfortable as a whole, but they can also make a living room feel a lot more inviting and can serve as an easy way to add some extra colors to a space.
Blankets are especially good for making a single-color couch feel like a more deliberate fashion choice, even if you are just draping a black blanket over tan-colored seating.
Sometimes even small additions or changes can really elevate your living room.
8. Replace Carpeting and Flooring
If you are looking for a very direct change to your living room, then replacing your carpeting might be the easiest way to do it.
If you do not have carpet down, then replacing flooring materials is also an option, although it can be a much more complex one.
In either case, changing out your flooring (whether you keep the same kind of material or use a completely different one) is like repainting the walls: it makes a major impact, but you need to test colors and materials before you commit.
If you are not happy with your current flooring, this can be worth considering.
9. Try New Things
Interior design and home improvement are all about exploring your options, so do not be afraid to try new things and see what you can come up with.
There is nothing wrong with playing around with colors and materials or putting furniture in different places to see how it all fits together.
The only limitations are your budget and the amount of space in your living room, so spend some time thinking over your options and playing around with the furniture that you already own.
