3 Ways to Make the Most of Your Living Room (That You Might Be Missing)
Our living rooms are the heart of our home. One of the first rooms we see when we walk in. The room we often entertain guests, friends and family. And a large part of the square footage of our homes. Are you making the most of your living room? Check to see if you’re missing in any of these three areas.
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1. Focus on furniture you want to sit in
How often do you sit in your furniture? Like all your furniture? Be honest. Sometimes we choose furniture based on what looks good and don’t learn until a little later that it’s not the most comfortable, either because of its cushion softness (or lack of softness) or because the dimensions don’t fit you well. It’s worth it to invest in new pieces that will be comfortable to you so you’ll use it more. Or you can toss out new furniture of lesser quality for vintage furniture you update.
“When I first moved in I had the Sater sofa from IKEA. One day I asked myself why I wasn’t spending more time in my living room, and I realized it was because the sofa wasn’t comfortable. I started looking for a new sofa on Craigslist, but I quickly stressed out realizing I could spend anywhere between $200 and $800 and still end up disappointed. So, on a whim, I decided to reupholster my late grandmother’s sofa, all 90” of which my Dad and I had lugged down seven flights of stairs just a year before. It took about a week (I worked on it off-and-on) and cost about $300 in materials. It didn’t turn out perfectly, but it looks good enough and it feels exactly like I remember. Growing up, it was the most comfortable sofa I had ever sat on, and now I sit in my living room all the time!”
2. Design it for the way you want to use it
If you really, really love watching movies, don’t design a living room that’s only made to encourage conversation while making people cram their necks to see the screen. If you really love crafting and don’t have your own craft room so your supplies end up littering your living room, invest in storage where you can tuck away your supplies when not in use but get to them easily when you want to get creative. Make your living room fit you.
3. Actually use it
Yes that’s right…are you actually using your living room? Or do you just breeze by it on your way to the kitchen after work? Do you craft in it? Watch movies? Work out in? Entertain guests in it? Do you ever enjoy morning coffee in it? Do you ever just sit around and enjoy being in it, without being distracted by other things?