Essential design solutions to help you liven up and fall in love with your living room.
From dealing with an unsightly radiator to not making the TV the focal point of the room, flip through the slideshow for answers to your most nagging living room design dilemmas.
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11 living room design dilemmas and solutions
Problem: I live in an old house and there’s a clunky, unsightly radiator in the living space
Radiators can either be a cool, industrial design feature or a nuisance to your decorating scheme. Hide that heater with a beautiful vintage grill or simply build around it, turning it into a window seat.
11 living room design dilemmas and solutions
Problem: I live in an old house and there’s a clunky, unsightly radiator in the living space
Radiators can either be a cool, industrial design feature or a nuisance to your decorating scheme. Hide that heater with a beautiful vintage grill or simply build around it, turning it into a window seat.
11 living room design dilemmas and solutions
Problem: My new living room has traditional architecture but I prefer a modern look
For an instant modern update in the living room, take paint to the wooden doors and trim. Brush the doors with a clean white and paint the trim the same colour as the walls for a minimalist, seamless look.
11 living room design dilemmas and solutions
Problem: Our living room has wall-to-wall carpet but we don’t have the budget for new hardwood
If you’re game for ripping up that carpet, vinyl and engineered hardwood are more affordable options to pure hardwood. If a renovation is out of the question, spruce up that carpeted floor with large area rugs. They’ll tie the room together and will hide any tough-to-remove stains.
11 living room design dilemmas and solutions
Problem: The living room in our new home has big, embedded bookshelves but I’m not a big reader
You don’t need a big book collection to fill those shelves. Add any books that you do have, then mix it up with baskets for storage, beautiful objects from your travels and treasured collectibles like old cameras or Wedgwood plates.
11 living room design dilemmas and solutions
Problem: I don’t want my TV to be the focal point of my living room – how do I integrate it into my design?
If your wall-mounted TV sticks out like a sore thumb, paint the wall behind it a dark colour like black or deep navy to camouflage. To hide it entirely, conceal it within an armoire.
11 living room design dilemmas and solutions
Problem: My thermostat is in a really awkward spot, preventing me from hanging anything on the wall
Instead of trying to work around your centrally located thermostat, work with it. Create a gallery wall with all different frames and objects so that the thermostat blends in to the design.
11 living room design dilemmas and solutions
Problem: I want to add colour to my neutral living room, but I’m not ready to commit
If vibrant hues or pattern are your decorating phobias, start small with accessories and items that aren’t a big investment and can easily be switched out. Pillows, throws, area rugs and wall art are all easy and affordable ways to add a pop of colour.
11 living room design dilemmas and solutions
Problem: We love to have friends over for game night, but we don’t have enough seating in our living room
Make the best use of your space by using multi-functional furniture that can double as additional seating. That ottoman you use as a coffee table? Clear it off to seat more guests. Same goes for those Chinese garden drums you use as side tables.
11 living room design dilemmas and solutions
Problem: Our sofa has a lovely patterned fabric and I’d love to use it elsewhere in the room
Getting chairs covered in the same fabric might be too matchy-matchy, so try covering some toss cushions for your side chairs or even framing the fabric and mixing it in with your existing wall art.
11 living room design dilemmas and solutions
Problem: Our side chairs have seen better days and need a little love
Instead of sending the chairs off to furniture heaven, breathe new life into them by covering them in a fun new fabric or simply by adding new piping in a bold, vibrant hue.
11 living room design dilemmas and solutions
Problem: We love to throw parties in our large living room, but we have more seating than table surfaces
If you entertain a lot in your living space, ensure there is a table surface within reach of each seat. Besides the coffee table in front of the sofa, set a small side table in between two occasional chairs or a fold down tray table for guests to place drinks.
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