Decorating a living room sounds easy in theory. You just have to paint the walls, place a sofa here, a few potted plants there, and hang a few frames on the walls and you’re done, right? 

Home decorating only sounds easy. When most people are in an empty room tasked with having to decorate it, they panic and make crucial mistakes. In fact some of the most common mistakes are:

• Improper layout 
• Over-using certain elements
• Overlooking essential decorative elements, etc. 

But don’t worry – we’ve compiled a step-by-step guide to decorating a living room. From choosing the perfect color schemes to incorporating the best lighting elements. Here’s our guide on how to decorate a living room!

The 6 Steps for Decorating Your Living Room

• Step One: Take Measurements

 

Source: Pexels, Taryn Elliot

• Plan

Before you make a run to the nearest store to pick out decorative elements for your living room, you need to start off with making a plan. This step might sound boring, but it can actually be a lot of fun! Use a measuring tape to measure out the length and width of the room. If your room isn’t a perfect square, measure various parts of the room individually. 

• Prototype

Next, transfer these measurements onto a designed layout of your room. The design is similar to an architectural sketch of the living room. Nothing too fancy, just straight lines that depict the living room for two-dimensional viewing. 

• Apply

Once you’ve transferred the measurements onto the layout, measure existing structures in your space. For example, the length and width of the couch or the ottoman. Elements that you’ve already decided on placing in your living room. Add these measurements to a separate column on the same sheet. 

• Pre-Arrange

Why? Moving stuff around can take up the entire day. You wouldn’t want to waste time and energy moving a couch if it needs to be readjusted the next day. By mapping out beforehand where the couch can and cannot go, you’d be saving yourself a lot of trouble.

• Step Two: Choosing A Color Scheme

Product in Image: Mikkeline Contemporary Storage Shelf Floor Lamp

The world could be your oyster if you’re decorating your living room from scratch – picking out new furnishings and choosing a color palette based on what you like. However, you’ll be limited to certain color themes if you already own a few furnishings such as tables and chairs. 

• Analyze Your Current Color Scheme

The best way to choose a color scheme would be to choose from what you already have. What colors work best with the dominant colors in larger furnishings that you own? For example, a lighter contrast for the walls would work best with a darker couch, and the whole room could be accentuated with dark wall hangings. 

If choosing a color palette isn’t your forte, don’t worry. There are several applications available that take your desired or existing color choices into consideration and come up with themes that suit what you have or what you want. 

• Strike a Balance

Ideally, everything in your space should accentuate one another. That is, nothing should look out of place. You could feature any element in your living space so long as it follows a theme – the easiest theme to follow would be a color theme!

• Step Three: Treatments and Finishing

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You’re probably aching to move furniture into your empty living room by now, but you’ll have to wait for a few more steps! Next up are treatments and finishing – enhancing the quality of your walls and floors. Treatments and finishing can not be delayed. Once you move stuff into your space, you’ll have to cover it and add another task on your list. 

• Treatments

Wall treatments not only enhance the aesthetic of a living space, but also ensure that the paint stays on longer and looks better. Treatments keep paint from chipping and appearing uneven. Special treatments lock in moisture and keep the wall from looking patchy in places. 

• Floor Furnishing

Floor finishing are equally as important, if not more. They could be tiles, planks, or resin coatings on the floor that mimic designs, and improves durability.

• Step Four: Choosing An Aesthetic

Source: Pexels, Yelena 

Now it’s time to choose an aesthetic for your living room. While most decorators would suggest keeping the aesthetic uniform throughout your home, some believe that you should allow yourself the freedom to mix and match with different aesthetics. 

We believe in the latter too – it’s your home after all!

However, you shouldn’t play around with various aesthetics in the same room. If you’ve decided on a contemporary living room, then everything in that room should fit a contemporary aesthetic. 

For lighting solutions of all aesthetics, visit Light Vault – we have lighting elements in all shapes, forms, and aesthetics with the best guarantees and the most competitive prices!

Step Five: Choose Furniture

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You can finally choose furniture for your living space after deciding on an aesthetic. The aesthetic precedes buying furniture because it streamlines your decisions. You’ll find yourself being more conscious of your choices. 

Another way to stay mindful of your choices is by creating a budget. Make sure the budget is as realistic as possible. That is, not too stingy and not too over-indulgent. Make sure that you delegate enough in certain areas to meet the essentials, while giving yourself enough leeway to splurge.

Step Six: Choosing Lights

Product in Image: Hendrika Luxury Elegant Glossy Crystal Chandelier Light

Lastly, no room can come together without proper lighting. Proper lighting includes all three lighting types; ambient, accent, and task lights that are layered with one another for maximum optimization. Choosing the right lighting elements might sound easy, but it’s anything but easy. 

There are several factors to consider such as:

• Lighting needs versus lighting wants
• Natural versus artificial lightings
• Lighting elements to mix and etc

Sounds exhausting, doesn’t it? But don’t worry! Light Vault has an extensive catalog that features several lighting elements in a variety of interiors to make step six as easy as possible!

For all your lighting concerns, head on over to our website where we’ve featured hundreds of lighting elements and categorized them by type, aesthetic, and aims to streamline the process. Choosing lights doesn’t have to be daunting, especially not if you have Light Vault by your side! Check out our website today!