Decorate your large living room to showcase the space.
Although your large living room may be the envy of your family and friends, decorating such a space can be a daunting task. Working with and balancing the large space with paint, trim and other decorating techniques can give you a well-grounded, personalized design that works for your lifestyle as well as your home.
Instructions
1. Play with paint colors. While smaller spaces tend to require specific paint schemes in order to not feel too closed in, the freedom to choose whatever strikes your fancy when it comes to painting is one of the perks of having a large living room. Go dark, bold or light and airy; just about any color tone looks good in a large space. Apply two to three coats of your favorite color to each wall, painting off any existing molding, baseboards, window trim or the space between the ceiling and walls for crisp, clean lines.
2. Install crown molding, chair rail, larger baseboards and other types of trim throughout the room. Tall, long, monotone walls in a large space tend to be overwhelming, even when you're looking to maintain that wide-open, expansive feel. Installing trim pieces such as these if the room is currently bare can give the space balance and provide an essential design element. White trim is a classic choice, although you can definitely go for a rich wood tone or even black. Most trim can be installed with construction adhesive and finishing nails, as well as a miter saw and coping saw for creating clean joints.
3. Focus on the windows. Large rooms, without natural lighting, can seem overwhelming. Avoid this issue by making any windows in the room a focal point without blocking the natural light. Quality blinds framed with cloth curtains or draperies can draw the eyes to the outdoors while still giving you privacy as well as light.
4. Arrange the room in sections. Another perk of a large living room is the ability to create several types of useable space in one room. You can form a small nook with comfortable chairs and lamps for reading, an arrangement of sofas or other seating for a conversation area, and a separate space for the television. When you don't have a playroom and your family spends most of their time in the living room, you can delegate one corner for your children's toys so they can be in the same room as everyone without having toys strewn all over the place. For households without children, large living rooms can accommodate a bar, pool table or entertainment items other than a television, without making the living room look like a game room.
5. Utilize various types of lighting throughout the space. A single overhead light in a large living room will do next to nothing to illuminate the space. A collection of table and floor lamps throughout the space coupled with lighted ceiling fans, recessed lights, or both can give the room a cozy feeling and ensure there's always adequate lighting for any activity. If you are not experienced with electrical work, do not install any lighting on your own; instead, hire a professional to prevent injury and damage to the home.
6. Accessorize to taste. Hang your favorite family photos or artwork around the room, add some potted plants to freshen the air and bring some of the outdoors in, and have fun with different design elements -- whether neutral toned, country Americana, Asian-inspired, or anything in between. Depending on the size of the room, you can often opt for larger pieces like sculptures or large potted plants, and bigger-than-normal artwork or wall designs. As with accessorizing any room, take your time and only add things to the room that you absolutely love. Decorating the entire space in one afternoon with matching items throughout can work for some; however, when each piece in such a large space has some sort of meaning or memory, it truly makes your large living room shine.
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