Creating a Living Room They Love

My client had a very pleasing, open living room but felt it wasn’t quite right. When I asked her how she used the space she said, “We don’t! No one feels like using it, and our guests seem to avoid it, too.”

Her family members entered the front door and walked right by it to get to other spaces in the house, treating it like a hall instead of a place to linger. She had painted the room a few months before and had been stumped by what to put over the fireplace. Her collection of blue-and-white porcelain was stored in the display cabinet, but she wasn’t sure it was being shown to its advantage there.

I find that most families who live in a home with a family room and a living room don’t use their living rooms. (OK, maybe twice a year, when they force their guests to sit there at Thanksgiving or Christmas!) And, they all feel guilty about it.

It seems a waste to let the biggest room in the house go unused. I say, “Get over it!” Either put what you need room in your living room so you will use it and start training yourself to go there, or resign yourself to having a beautiful space that simply makes you feel good when you walk by it.

To make a living room a space you’ll use, you’ll probably need to add a TV and music, a good reading lamp, Internet and phone access, and maybe a desk or something to store paperwork or hobby materials. To make a “walk by it and have it look pretty” room, you may need to rearrange the furniture, or buy one or two new pieces, invest in art or new houseplants. Just do one or the other and stop feeling guilty!

Since the homeowner already had a family room where she watched TV, listened to music, played games and paid bills, she didn’t want to bring in any of those activities to her living room. So, she decided she wanted it to be a little jewel of a room instead.

Before

• Although this was an open and functional arrangement, the couch blocked passage to the dining room and threw off the room’s balance.

• It was hard to see the China collection in the display cabinet. It also looked a bit awkward towered over the chairs.

• The end table was too crowded with family pictures.

• We needed something over the fireplace and on the mantel.

After

• We positioned the couch so that it faced the fireplace and put the red chairs across from it. This brought more attention to the fireplace and created a cozier conversation area.

• We removed the display cabinet and moved her collection in another room, where it could be appreciated.

• The homeowner had never liked her old coffee table, and when I saw her beautifully sculpted end table I knew it would make a great substitute. Its round shape fit the new conversation area better and you could now see its intricate sculpting. We moved her family photos to shelves in her family room.

• I usually prefer a piece of art to a mirror over a fireplace, as it can add color and mood to a room. We went “shopping” throughout her home for a strong piece of art. We found a colorful painting that she loved, and then hunted for accessories that echoed the room’s color scheme and Asian-inspired theme.

“I love this room now!” exclaimed my client, after we’d finished rearranging the room. Although she wouldn’t use her living room as much as other spaces in her home, she knew she’d be happy looking at it any time she walked by it.

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