You don’t have to be rich to bring a sense of class and luxury to your living room. A few small tweaks can immediately turn a plain or tacky lounge into a showroom certain to impress guests, as well as giving you more pride in your home. Here are a few features that are sure to add a touch of sophistication.
Embrace art
Art can be a great way of adding more personality and energy to your room. Find a painting that reflects you and your outlook and use it to spice up a plain wall. Small sculptures can also help to bring more dynamics to your room – although avoid cluttering up with sculptures. Create a balance of practicality and aesthetics.
Tone down your TV
Don’t make the TV the main focal point of your living room. This will tell guests that the most important thing to you is watching the box. Whether this is true or not, you should try and use your living room to show off you as a person. A wall painting, poster or blown up photo that means a lot to you can help show there’s more to you than the TV.
Dabble in designer furniture
Furnishing your entire living room out with designer furniture won’t be cheap – however you can try adding one designer feature to give your living room that extra sense of luxury, whether it be an armchair or a coffee table. There are many places that you can shop around for such as furnishings (check out www.thelongeststay.com/designer-furniture as an example). Make sure that your designer piece fits the remaining décor of the room – if your room is retro themed avoid modern designs that could look out of place.
Include a piece of history
Stay in touch with the past and add a sense of wisdom to your room with a historical feature. Find an old side table that looks like it’s straight out of medieval chateau (even if it isn’t) – it will give your room a sense of earthiness to contrast all the tech and gadgets. If you’re able to make the piece of history meaningful, it can make even more of an impression. This could include an old tapestry relating to the place your family originates or an old toy or ornaments that’s been handed down through the generations.
Get cultural
If you’re well-travelled or have cultural ancestry somewhere, why not add a feature to show this side of you. Souvenirs, holiday photos or exotic furniture can create a talking point for guests. Popular cultural touches include Buddha statuettes, tribal masks and skyline landscapes, but you can get creative and decorate your lounge with anything that takes your fancy. You can even show off your local culture with paintings of your local town or photographs of local events. All this will personalise your living room, preventing it from coming across as cold and faceless to guests, and also reminding you of the cultural traditions and experience that are important to you.