7 Common Living Room Design Mistakes And How To Fix Them

by John Griffith
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The living room is one of the most-used rooms in the whole house. It’s the room where you sit down with the intention to relax, have a nice conversation with your family, and watch some TV. However, since it has to be able to accommodate all these activities, it’s important to know how to balance functionality and beauty when it comes to designing it. It doesn’t take much to throw the design off balance. That’s why today we are going to take a look at some common living room design mistakes, so you can easily avoid them.

The living room is one of the most-used rooms in the whole house

living room design mistakes room with couch and rug

Common Living Room Design Mistakes

A well-designed living room will make you feel engaged, yet calm. It’s easy to use and comfy, while still being visually appealing. However, in order to achieve that you first need to know which common mistakes you should avoid at all costs. Here they are.

A well-designed living room will make you feel engaged, yet calm

couch in deep green with cofee table

#Against The Wall

This is maybe one of the most common design mistakes ever. Many people think it is best to have all the furniture pushed up against the walls. While it may seem logical, especially is you have a smaller space and want to make it look bigger, it’s more than likely that you’ll just be achieving the exact opposite. Having all the furniture in the room pushed against the wall will have the effect of limiting the sense of space and horizon. Leave some breathing space between the furniture and the wall. This will give the room a much better sense of flow.

Many people think it is best to have all the furniture pushed up against the walls

gray couch against the wall with rug

#Rug Size

Another common design mistake is getting the wrong sized rug. Having a beautiful rug can be a great way to anchor the design of the room and is a good visual resting place on which you can arrange furniture. However, the biggest mistake people make when buying a rug is getting it way too small. The rug needs to be big enough to have all the furniture comfortable sitting on it without going out of the edges. You want your whole couch to fit, not just half of it. It’s best for it to be big enough that it’s patterns and weave is still seen, yet it holds everything on it.

Having a beautiful rug can be a great way to anchor the design of the room

small rug under table in front of couch

#Too Much Furniture

You want the living room to be a room of relaxation. A room where the entire family can wind down after a hard day. However, having a room that’s packed with furniture can easily make you feel overwhelmed and annoyed due to the fact it’s harder to navigate through it. Make sure to only have furniture you need, and the room has a good flow and mobility. It’s also important to take into account the sofa as it is one of the biggest and most important pieces in the room.

Having a room that’s packed with furniture can easily make you feel overwhelmed

living room with couch and two chairs

#Lack of Focal Point

This goes for pretty much any room in the home, including the living room. Rooms work better if they have a focal point. This is the place on which your eyes will land on when you first enter the space. The lack of a focal point in a room can leave it feeling imbalanced, and it can be overwhelming if there are too many pieces fighting for the attention of the focal point. This only creates chaos and will make the room feel busy. So, make sure you have a focal point. A good example of such a point is a fireplace, as you can arrange around it.

Rooms work better if they have a focal point

living room in white with a fire place

#Artwork At The Wrong Level

Even the best artwork placed wrong loses its beauty. While it won’t be groundbreaking and ruin your experience of the room it will always be in the corner of your eye and distracting you. You need to take into consideration that art needs to roughly be at eye level or with 10 inches between the bottom of the frame and the piece of furniture it’s above. Having it higher will make it feel floating.

Even the best artwork placed wrong loses its beauty

clean white living room design

#Not Planning Your Layout

While it may be tempting to fall into the trap of slapping the sofa against the wall and the TV straight against it and call it a day. However, there is so much more to a living room. A mistake you can make is to not plan or think about your layout before starting to buy furniture and place it. Make sure to consider and create conversation groupings.

Plan or think about your layout before starting to buy furniture

common living room design mistakes orange couch on big carpet

#Wrong TV Placement

Having a TV in the living room is customary. And it’s not a bad thing, however a very common living room design mistake is to hand it waaaay too high up. The TV should be hung in a practical spot where you won’t strain yourself to watch. While it’s common to hang it above the fireplace, you’ll be breaking your neck to actually use it. Be practical when placing your TV.

Having a TV in the living room is customary

dark blue couch with tv on the other side

These were some of the most common living room design mistakes. We hope you found this article useful. Now you can on and easily avoid these mistakes and design the living room of your dreams.

Now you can on and easily avoid these mistakes

common living room design mistakes gray couch and coffee table in white

Sources:

John Griffith

John Griffith is a young, passionate journalist. Writing has been John’s hobby ever since he was a boy. He has worked in some of the UK’s most successful news portals over the course of his professional career but found his forever home at Archzine.