Mishaps in living room decor
From low sofas to clinical showroom style, here are designs to avoid
Just like a beautifully directed movie, a well-decorated living room is at once engaging and impressive. Yet it’s also familiar and safe. As much as we try to recreate the feelings we’ve experienced in certain rooms that we’ve visited — and loved — there’s usually something not quite right. Sometimes, what’s wrong can be as simple as a painting hung too high or a lack of eye-level lamps. Mistake 1: Selecting the wrong sofa “So often I come into a house and the owners have good taste, but they already have a sofa that they want to work with,” explains stylist and HGTV host Emily Henderson.
“Our tip for getting it right is to pay attention to sofa seat height (a low seat is hard to get in and out of ) and to draw a furniture floor plan before purchasing,” says David John Dick of DISC Interiors. “Buying on impulse … can be a very costly mistake.” Mistake 2: Falling into the showroom look “It’s important to us to mix new and vintage elements in order to create an interesting, eclectic and individualized room,” New York-based architet Elizabeth Roberts says.
“The small pieces are what add personality,” Roberts says. “We also prefer to light the living room with low lighting instead of overhead light. Floor lamps and table lamps are best for living rooms.” Mistake 3: A rug that’s too small Huge rugs can be expensive and can be a scary commitment, but according to Henderson, it’s one of the most important aspects of a room.
“Living rooms almost always need at least an eight-by-10-foot (if not a nine-by-12-foot) rug. Unless you have a tiny living room, stay away from anything under six-by-nine-feet,” she advises. Mistake 4: Poorly planned layout “It’s important to consider and create conversation groupings, especially if the room is long and narrow like many town- houses and lofts,” Roberts says.
“In a large open room, it’s nice to be able to sit on a favorite piece while addressing the rest of the room. In a small room, it’s important to consider necessary window views,” she adds. Mistake 5: Hanging art incorrectly “Art hung the wrong way on a wall is like a character in a movie wearing a really bad wig,” Henderson says. “It doesn’t ruin your experience, but it’s just terribly distracting.”
While some agree that art should be hung at eye level, the stylist stresses that this doesn’t apply in every case. “If the wall were cut up vertically into four sections (going from bottom to top), think of the art being in the third quadrant,” she says. Mistake 6: Too precious to live in Roberts insists on selecting “textiles and rugs that can take the wear and tear of everyday living.
“There are some great outdoor fabrics that we’re using indoors that dogs and kids cannot destroy. Beware of the seductive silk rug — wool is a much better rug for a family.”