When designing a home, aesthetics are not the only factor to consider. To many, function is an even more crucial consideration. Function revolves around the purpose of the space. For instance, a kitchen is used for cooking, a bedroom for sleeping, an office for working, and a garage for storing a car and other essentials.
A room designed on aesthetics alone may be pretty, but unlivable. That’s why it’s always advised to maximize your room’s function to create more space for your things and other critical, creative things. If you’re looking to create a cozy, fun, and functional living room, look no further. Here are some tips for you:
- Utilize Vertical Space
The living room serves many purposes in the home. It’s a place of relaxation, entertainment, and even hospitality. If you have a small space, you must be intentional with where you put your living room essentials like your TV, sound system, books, and more.
Do you have the right space for your TV? A TV stand or console usually takes up valuable space on the floor, which, if you’re in a tight space, must be avoided. Why not have your TVs and shelves on the wall?
Doing this isn’t an easy task, so you must contact a professional contractor who can help you with the best built-in structures for your books and TV. Since they must be visible all the time, you can pick out invisible mounts and do some cable management to keep the wall spic and span. For books and other knickknacks, you can pick out shelves that match your wall color.
For more in-depth guidelines, openinsurance.com wrote how to decorate the built-in shelves without stretching.
- Manage Your Lighting Properly
Ensure to utilize your lighting appropriately—the light’s type and size will depend on the room’s function. As for the living room, it’s best to use dimmer lights to make the space more relaxed and comfortable. With lights, you can design a more functional living room; for instance, you can decide to change the dimmer lights to something brighter and place a dining room in the living area.
- Choose Multi-Functional Furniture
Buying furniture that creates comfort, style, and function is the best solution for a functional living room. Select furniture designed to develop various uses, such as a coffee table that can store items on the bottom, a sofa couch that can be a sleeper, or seats with drawers at the bottom.
Doing this not only makes your living room functional but also makes cleaning easier. But, ensure the color of your functional furniture goes well with what and who is around, like kids and pets. Choose a dark woven fabric or leather because of its durability and can easily be wiped out with cleaner. Either way, the living room has different types of sofas.
- Reduce Clutter
Decluttering is one of the common tips for designing a functional living room. Decluttering means letting go of things you no longer need. Organizing your living room helps you achieve maximum space for other functionality. Just as multitasking on ordinary occasions, you can multifunction your living room by creating space for an office workstation, mudroom, playroom, and more. Remember, you can have all these by reducing clutter.
- Use Appropriate Sizes And Number For An Efficient Layout
The size and number of things in your living room matter. To have a great design and an efficient layout, you must consider the number and size of your furniture because too much of it makes the room feel cluttered and overcrowded. Too little furniture and things might also make the room feel empty and unwelcoming.
The appropriate size and number of furniture that balances the space in the living room give an aesthetic look. Don’t feel like you have to use all the areas in your living room to make it functional. Make every piece in your space count without cluttering it. In short, balance everything, including the décor.
Conclusion
When designing a functional living room, remember to maximize your space and make use of vertical areas, like shelving and mounts. Pick the right size for your furniture, nothing too big for the area or too small for your needs. You, as a homeowner, get to decide the purpose of your living room and work around that. Remember not to neglect aesthetics, too, by choosing the right colors and textures. After all, your living room is where you unwind and bond with members of your home. Remember the tips above and you are on your way to designing a functional living room.
Iskra Banović is our seasoned Editor-in-Chief at BlueFashion. She has been steering the website’s content and editorial direction since 2013. With a rich background in fashion design, Iskra’s expertise spans across fashion, interior design, beauty, lifestyle, travel, and culture.
