There are times when just flipping through magazines, or scrolling through Pinterest for home inspiration just isn’t enough. You know what kind of living room you want, but don’t know how to achieve it. During those times, you need to turn to the pros for living room hacks! Interior designers and decorators have so many simple tricks packed with effective punches.
Read on for useful living room hacks straight from the pros.
15 Living Room Hacks From Interior Designers and Decorators
Get Living Room Hacks From The Pros
Like you, I love looking through Pinterest and design magazines for inspiration. But sometimes when I see a gorgeous living room, I don’t know how to do the same for mine. In cases like these, you’ll need more than inspiration to make your dream design a reality. So why not get living room hacks straight from interior designers themselves? A lot of them are kind enough to share their knowledge and tips with me. So I’m sharing with you my favorite living room hacks for furniture, design, and more.
1. Style Your Mantel
image via Style By Emily Henderson
Your mantel is a great decorating opportunity, so take it! Emily Henderson’s mantel styling tricks include sticking to a color palette, using a large item as a focal point, and adding something organic like a plant.
2. Hang Your Lights Right
image via Studio McGee
No, you can’t just hang your lights up wherever!
Studio McGee has a useful technical guide for how high, and how wide your lights should hang. For living rooms with 2-storey ceilings, hang at the center of the room, or at the center focal point. And make sure your lights aren’t lower than the point of the second floor.
3. Choose Indoor Plants
image via Studio McGee
Other useful living room hacks from Studio McGee include which plants work indoors. Their favorites are fiddle leaf fig trees, rubber fig plants, and cacti. Check out their list, which also has instructions for watering and sunlight!
4. Create A Gallery Wall
image via Style Me Pretty
Gallery walls are all over Pinterest, but I’m sure we’ve all experienced the frustration of trying to do it ourselves. The first time I did it was a bit of a disaster!
Living room hacks from Style Me Pretty can help you do it right. Remember, leave at least 5cm between your shelves.
5. Child-Proof Your Living Room
image via Sarah Sherman Samuel
Child-proofing a living room doesn’t mean losing your style. In fact, it can be an excuse to get one of those super trendy round ottoman coffee tables!
According to Sarah Sherman Samuel, all you really need to do is secure your furniture, get rid of sharp edges, and create more open space.
6. Start With a Rug
image via Sarah Sherman Samuel
You may think a rug is one of the last things to consider when you’re decorating a living room. But actually, it’s one of the first! You’re literally setting the stage for all your other decor.
7. Style Your Shelves
image via Style Me Pretty
Shelves are for storage first and foremost. But if they’re on display in your living room, you want them to look nice too!
Style Me Pretty has living room hacks for mastering those #shelfies, which include adding color, personalizing what you place on and in them, or even sprucing shelves up with some wallpaper.
8. Try Modular Sofas
image via Ikea
Modular sofas are great for people like me who can’t seem to stick with a living room design or floor plan for long. If you’re just as indecisive as I am, they’re a great investment. Ikea has living room hacks to make the most of modular sofas.
9. Plan and Coordinate Your Colors
image via eHow
For design pro Amber Lewis, starting with a neutral color foundation is a must. After you’ve decided on neutral paint, and even some neutral furniture, that’s when you can start adding pops of color.
10. Show Your Personality
image via The Inspired Room
Melissa of The Inspired Room says every home must have personality. And I completely agree. Her living room hacks to show off your personal style incorporate items, colors, patterns, and furniture you love, or have sentimental value. Then mix them in with more trendy or current items for a well-balanced space.
11. Add Some Contrast
image via Rue Mag
For interior designer Jacquelyn Clark, “some of the most interesting homes around are the ones that play up the contrast.” So don’t be afraid to mix and match different styles!
12. Scale Properly
image via My Domaine
Finding the right-sized furniture is one of the biggest issues when decorating a living room. Designer Jacquelyn Clark stresses the importance of placing furniture just right for your living room. The trick? Measure your space, and make your own floor plan like pros do.
13. Use Wood Ingeniously
image via Garrison Hullinger
Wood isn’t just for floors or furniture anymore these days. Use them as accent walls, on ceilings for added drama, or use reclaimed wood. Collin Kayser from award-winning Garrison Hullinger Interior Design shares his top living room hacks for using wood.
14. Pick The Right Sofa
image via West Elm
Interior design professional Jane Lockhart has 5 questions you have to ask yourself before you buy a sofa. It’s important to consider how tall you are, what your lifestyle’s like, and how long you plan to keep your sofa before you make the purchase.
15. Dress Your Windows
image via West Elm
Just when you thought you’ve covered all bases when it comes to living room hacks, think again! Take some time to dress up your windows as well. Whether it’s a new set of curtains or a complete makeover, it’s sure to add another design element to your space.
Watch this video from House & Home for more living room hacks from the pros:
I hope you learned a lot of living room hacks from these amazing interior designers and decorators. If you have any more living room hacks to share, let me know by leaving a comment below!
Want more living room hacks? Check these out!
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Originally posted on August 26, 2016 @ 12:50 AM
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