Design How-To: A Guide to Living Rooms

Beautiful living area with light and airy feel and luxury pieces.

Do you ever get overwhelmed with the living spaces in your home? Confused on what decision comes first? We are breaking it down in today’s blog post to arm you with a plan for your next furnishings project. You got this!

Corner of living space with natural light, built in book shelves and classy aesthetic.

Budget

Identify where you want to save and splurge. Thinking of adding a custom built in? Play with a mixture of high and low price point items to keep your budget in check.

Beautiful living space with light furniture and blue accent walls.

Dimensions

Measure twice, purchase once. This applies to everything, especially rugs and sofas. Those are two pricer items that are more difficult to re-home or return if need be.

Layout

Start with the largest pieces and work your way to the smaller ones. That sets the foundation and helps determine the floor plan.

Furniture

We often use a mix of sofa, 1-2 side chairs and a coffee table. Add drink/side tables where necessary to make it equal parts functional and airy.

Cozy living space with purplish sofa and high end rug.

Did I mention to check your dimensions?:) Use this as your order of operations for rugs:  

1. Determine the best size for your room. We like to have all furniture with front legs 6-8″ on the rug and back legs off. If you have a swivel, the rug needs to go past the base of the swivel chair. Nothing worse than a tottering chair.

2. Assess the functional needs of the room. Read: materials matter. See pro-tip below!

3. Consider the style and overall feel you want the room to have.

4. Get a rug pad cut to fit the rug size.

Finishing Touches

Family heirlooms, travel treasures, personalized pieces…they all serve as the perfect finishing touch.

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Reveal: Leclaire Family Room (A Slow Burn)

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Reveal: Leclaire Pantry