The living room is where most families spend most of their time, whether it’s watching TV, playing games together, or entertaining guests. It’s a pivotal room for your home, so it should also be capable of making a great impression—and making you feel more comfortable.
Unfortunately, even the best living rooms can grow stale over time, especially if you’re spending hours every day staring at the same walls. The good news is, with a small investment and a little bit of time, you can spruce up your living room and breathe new life into this important center for your home.
How to Spruce Up Your Living Room
These are some of the best ways to improve your living room, even if you’re working with a limited budget:
- Invest in a fireplace. One of the best changes you can make is installing a fireplace, complete with a beautiful fireplace mantel. The fireplace itself can add a radiating warmth, a soft glow of light, and a gentle crackle of firewood all at the same time, and these effects are especially cozy in winter. Plus, you can decorate the top of the mantel however you want, adding tasteful décor that matches the rest of the room.
- Paint the walls. It doesn’t cost much to buy a couple gallons of paint, and you can do the work yourself if you have a few hours. Adding a fresh coat of paint can instantly make your room seem cleaner, newer, and more alive—plus, you’ll have the opportunity to pick the perfect color for your mood and personality.
- Add new accents. Similarly, you can add more personality to the room by adding accent colors to your window trimmings, or even to one wall of the living room. The contrast of the colors can make the room seem bigger and allow it to leave a bigger impression.
- Install peripheral lighting. Lighting can make a big difference in how your living room “feels,” so consider upgrading your current lighting, or adding peripheral sources of light to conjure a different vibe. For example, you could install track lighting that highlights your favorite piece of furniture or a centerpiece of the room.
- Put up more mirrors. Mirrors are a useful tool for making a room seem bigger, so if your living room feels cramped or otherwise limiting, consider hanging a full-length mirror on at least one wall. There are several techniques worth trying here, so experiment with the size of the mirrors you’re using and their ultimate placement.
- Rearrange the furniture. Some people choose to upgrade their living room by getting rid of their existing furniture and investing in a brand new set. While you can certainly do this, you can get some more value out of your current furniture by rearranging it. Consider a new arrangement, and give your living room a different look and feel.
- Add a centerpiece. Does your living room have something that draws people’s attention? Consider switching in a new centerpiece, or adding one from scratch. Many people love the idea of a high-quality coffee table with a bouquet of flowers, or something similar, to tie the room together and draw the eye.
- Hang more art. Your living room can become more inviting (and more interesting) with the simple addition of some art. You could, for example, hang an abstract painting over the couch of your living room, or invest in sculptures to feature on your end tables. These work as great conversation starters for company, and can bring a unique mood to your environment.
- Get the right speakers. Your living room isn’t just about visuals—it’s also about audio. Invest in better speakers, and place them around the room so you can fill the space with the right music and sounds.
- Change the window treatments. As another simple change, consider upgrading your window treatments. Investing in a new set of curtains, or a set of nice wood blinds can instantly make your living room seem new, fresh, and inviting. While you’re at it, you can invest in other touches of décor, such as new throw pillows for the couch.
The Importance of Experimenting
Some of these changes on this list are meant to be permanent, but they don’t have to be. If you don’t like the way something looks or feels after you install or add it, you can always revert the change. The important thing is to keep experimenting, so you can learn more about your personal taste and see how your ideas play out visually in your space. Eventually, you’ll get a better sense of your personal style, and your living room will come to life before your eyes.
