The living room is often the heart of the home, catering for the whole family and providing the perfect base for relaxing in recliner chairs, spending time together, working and entertaining.
After a busy day, you may be longing to curl up on the sofas and settle down with the family in front of the television, but have you thought of modifying your living room so that it becomes a multipurpose space, suitable for relaxing, entertaining, working and indulging in interests and hobbies?
Most living rooms have fundamental pieces of furniture, which serve to create a calming, comfortable living space, but adding a few design touches and some innovative pieces could transform your living room into a multipurpose area that looks great, while satisfying the needs of all the members of the household.
If you are lucky enough to have plenty of space, you may prefer to dedicate the living room to rest and relaxation. However, most homes are busy households with lots of people doing lots of different things on a daily basis, meaning you have to struggle for space. If this sounds familiar, it may be worth investigating ideas to maximise the space you have and make it work for your needs.
Creating a relaxing ambience is key but if you are stretched for space, the living room may have to double up as a play room, music room, office or dining room and there are ways of achieving the seemingly impossible when it comes to combining all the possible uses of the room.
Open up your living room
In recent years, open plan living has become very popular and many people have been inspired to open up their living space by television design shows and home and interior magazines. Opening up your living space will make your rooms look bigger and lighter, as well as making it easier for you to maximise the space available to you and create different areas, which correspond to different activities.
You can divide your living space into functional areas very simply and effectively by using key pieces of furniture such as sideboards, sofas and coffee tables and different designs, textures and colours; lighting can also be used to differentiate between areas. If the living room doubles up as a study for work or homework, you can section off an area using an eye-catching, sturdy piece of furniture, such as a shelving unit, to separate work from play and ensure that unsightly office accessories are out of view. If you don’t have space for a dining table and a study area, a dining table can double up as a perfect area for homework.
Storage is essential if you are thinking of creating a play area and you can have fun with colourful prints, different textures and soft furnishings; the key is to create a space that can be cleared quickly and easily so that you can enjoy your living space once all the toys have been tidied away and the children are in bed.
If you want your living space to incorporate your hobbies; for example, if you are passionate about music, this can be done very simply by using a decorative screen to corner off an area and adding atmospheric lighting to allow you to sit back and indulge your interests.
The living room is often considered the calming oasis of the home, but if you’re looking to create a more functional space, there are some inspiring design ideas out there. Your living space need not be limited, so be creative and you may be surprised at how much you can achieve.