Whether you’re with the family, hosting a gathering, or relaxing by yourself, you want your living room to look and feel its best. It should be so comfortable you won’t want to leave, and stylish enough so that folks will ask to be there.
Also called family rooms, furniture rooms, and great rooms, the opportunities to update your living room are virtually limitless, whether it’s just an item or two or it’s a complete room makeover. From furniture and lighting to heating and room décor, Build.com has decorating ideas for your living room remodel.
Furniture
In many ways, a living room is defined by its furniture—what’s available, where it’s placed, and how many people can sit comfortably. You can go casual or proper, large or small, depending on your needs. For instance, sofas are extremely versatile. Choose formal with a leather sofa or informal with a reclining sofa. Traditional sofas are still some of the most popular pieces of living room furniture, and sectional sofas are extremely prevalent with families. Sleeper sofas are also versatile since they can easily be converted into a guest bed.
If your living room décor calls for something smaller, a love seat or chair is an ideal addition. If you’re looking for something more decorative, a bench can include a compartment for storage. Ottomans let you put your feet up after a long day and can complement sofas, love seats, and chairs.
Entertainment plays a significant role in our home and our lives. Entertainment centers hold our TVs and stereo equipment, while media racks store all of our audio and visual stimulants. Want your TV and audio equipment separate? No problem. TV stands and audio stands can do that. Cabinets are excellent living room décor ideas to hold dishes and silverware, books and photos, and wine glasses and your favorite bottle of vino.
Tables can serve all sorts of purposes in living room décor. Coffee tables and end tables are the most common types, while sofa tables can stage accent pieces.
Accent pieces
After you’re finished with the largest pieces to your living room remodel, take some time to think about the smallest. Accent pieces can also be considered living room accessories. From decorative bowls and candle holders for a table, to art and mirrors for the walls, to coat racks and magazine racks for the floor, accent pieces can help transform a bland living room decor into a place of elegance and conversation. And fireplace screens and wood racks double as functional art, protecting as they decorate. Finally, accent tables can be a place for picture frames or stand alone.
Lighting
Living Room Lighting is essential to your living room décor. It’s also an excellent opportunity to tie in the lighting in the dining room or kitchen. In your living room, you’ll need to provide enough lighting for every corner where people might sit, as well as mood lighting for those quieter and more relaxed times.
Chandeliers are probably the most popular style of living room lighting. They can range in size from a three-light mini chandelier to something extravagant enough to make a Disney princess proud.
Close-to-ceiling lighting, also referred to as semi-flushmount lighting, combines flushmount lighting (which sits flush against the ceiling) and a low-hanging fixture.
Pendant lighting typically features one shade and hangs from the ceiling. Popular options are single-light mini and bowl pendants. But multi-light pendants also provide ample illumination, while offering a unique look.
Recessed lighting is installed into an opening in the living room ceiling. The result is a crisp, clean look and the light appears to shine from the opening.
Track lighting is set along a track (also called a run). Because these tracks can be rigid or flexible, you can customize your lighting and to work with what you already have in the living room. For track lighting basics, visit our article here.
Wall sconces are wall-mounted fixtures that provide general, task, or accent lighting in the living room. They can be directional or emit substantial light, and much of the time they’re reversible and can be mounted for up or down lighting. Swing arm fixtures are more versatile than other wall sconces, since the light source itself can be moved. Wall washers flood a specific area with light, perfect for complementing other fixtures in the living room.
Lamp lighting is a rich and practical way to illuminate any part of your living room. Table, desk, and piano lamps are ideal for smaller areas where you might read or write, while floor, buffet, and torchiere lamps provide more lighting.
Picture wall lighting is specifically designed to direct a narrow band of lighting to an area of a painting or picture, usually at the top or bottom.
Accent lighting is a great way to provide ambient lighting from above. Also called spot lighting, this is a versatile way to lighting a living room, since many fixtures are available with several lights and can be multi-directional.
Fans
Ceiling Fans help to keep your living room comfortable. Indoor ceiling fans are great decorating ideas and your options for customizing are almost limitless. Specialty ceiling fans are artistically ambitious and would become focal points in your living room. Ceiling mount fans are pretty self-explanatory, and are ideal for mounting in a corner of the living room ceiling. The portable fan many of us remember from our youth is still around along with the benefits of modern designs.
Don’t forget to outfit your living room ceiling fan using our selection of accessories, including lighting kits, blade holders, controls, down rods, and fan blades. Technology has given us a huge variety of ENERGY STAR-rated ceiling fans. These environmentally friendly fixtures will help save money without sacrificing power in your living room remodel.
Heating and cooling
When you’re serious about keeping your living room comfortable, there are a few other ways to provide a little heat or a break from it.
There’s nothing like gathering around the living room fireplace on a chilly evening. They’re a practical and functional addition to room décor, and are available in wood burning, gas, and electric varieties. Similarly, stoves provide ample warmth for the entire living room. Wood burning and pellet stoves are the most popular, and gas stoves also work extremely well. When you’re planning your living room remodel, just consider how much space you have and what you need. If you’d like your heating source to be in the wall, choose the fireplace. If you’d rather have a free-standing heating fixture, opt for the stove.
When you’re ready to cool your living room, air conditioners and thermostats are natural choices, and can also help regulate the temperature of the entire house. Window and through-the-wall A/C units are the most popular, and portable air conditioners provide plenty of power in a smaller, moveable package. Thermostats are available in both programmable and non-programmable units.
Tools to help install
Once you’ve planned your living room makeover, you’ll need some tools, Depending on the size and scope of the remodel, you might need a few tools or more than a few. And if you don’t already have it, we do. Manufacturers have simplified installation instructions so that their products can be installed by virtually anyone.
NOTE: This is just a general list of the tools you might need to install the products in this article. Please consult the installation instructions provided on the product page or those that are included with your product.
Furniture
Most pieces of large living room furniture will arrive pre-assembled, but some may require that you assemble them. In that case, you’ll need:
- Screwdriver
- Measuring tape
Accent pieces
Living room accessories typically need no assembly, but, just in case, be sure to have the following handy:
- Screwdriver
- Measuring tape
Lighting
- Wire cutters
- Keyhole saw
- Drill
- Electrical tester
- Flat-head and Phillips screwdrivers
- Adjustable wrench
- Pliers
- Measuring tape
- Ladder
Fans
- Electrical tape
- Electrical tester
- Ladder
- Linesman pliers
- Wire cutters
- Flat-head and Phillips screwdrivers
Heating and cooling
Heating items may require a certain amount of framing in your living room to be done prior to installation. Due to the technical nature of this installation, it may require a licensed professional to complete the job.
Air conditioner units may require some of the following:
- Reciprocating saw
- Level
- Measuring tape
- Screwdriver
