The process of decorating or styling a space in your home can feel daunting. Before you even start, it’s important to think about your style and how you want your living space to function for you and your family. With this blog I’m going to share with you five tips to help style a living room successfully and I will also share with you my choices that worked for our space.
Colour – think about your colour scheme. You don’t necessarily have to stick to one colour but it’s vital that you create a mood board to see if your colours mix well together. A good way to check this and to get a feel for your colours is to paint two coats of each colour on a separate A4 piece of paper. Then place the pieces of paper on the wall beside each other to see if your colour palette works well together. The palette that you decide matters a lot in your final result so don’t rush this process. When I was deciding on our colour scheme for our home, my focus started with our kitchen. As we have an open plan living space it was vital that the colour scheme flowed from one space to the other. Our kitchen has light grey units with a dusk grey island, so I went with dark grey bar stools, a grey bench with two grey dining chairs and I then added two blush pink dining chairs for a little pop of colour. Our walnut dining table also tied in well with our walnut doors. With the simple addition of furniture my colour scheme was starting to come together and my focus turned to our living space. I created my mood board of colours – a mix of greys, blush pink, navy, black and some soft neutral colours.
Wall paint colour – Heavens Breath and Peppercorn by Fleetwood
Feature Wall paint colour – Peppercorn by Fleetwood
Beams paint colour – Pebble Grey by Fleetwood
Furniture – the first essential piece of furniture should be your sofa. Before you choose your sofa make sure you look at the dimensions. Think about the space your sofa is going to occupy. A little tip we found very helpful was that we measured the sofa out on the floor in the space with newspapers. It let us see exactly how much space the sofa would take up and what space we would be left with in the room. Before investing I would always advise to test out the sofa and make sure it is comfortable. Check you are happy with the fabric quality and is the sofa easily cleaned. We wanted to create a comfortable space, somewhere where we could relax at the end of every day and when we found “The Emperor Sofa” in Castle Davitt Furniture in Sligo/Castlebar, we knew straight away it was the right one for us. Once we decided on our sofa if was just a matter of choosing a fabric colour that tied in with our colour scheme.
Sofa – The Emperor Sofa @castledavitt
Rugs – I don’t think a room is complete without a rug. In our open plan area the use of our rug helps to define and zone our living space. The colours are vibrant and adventurous and it also adds a little splash of fun to the space. Having a mix of textures can add some personality to the whole look and feel of a space, so it doesn’t feel one dimensional and dull.
Rug – The Amelie Rug @castledavitt
Cushions and Throws – you can never have enough cushions? The simple addition of cushions or changing cushions on a sofa can have a huge impact. They are definitely a must have when styling a living room. They are the perfect way to introduce more texture, more colour and some patterns. Although our sofa was perfect for our space, it needed some cushions and throws to style it and give it a warmer feel. You need to decide on how many cushions you want and mix them in colour and size. Don’t be afraid to play with patterns and textures. With our cushions I wanted to draw on the colours from my mood board, so the colours would be complementary to our furniture pieces, accessories and other soft furnishings. Without soft furnishings, a space can feel cold and unwelcoming. Adding some soft furnishings like a simple throw on your sofa can add warmth and texture to snuggle into. Just like cushions, throws are a quick and simple way to refresh a living space.
Cushions – Scatterbox @castledavitt
Throw – @castledavitt
Coffee Table – once we had our living space zoned and our textures added, I wanted to get a coffee table that worked with my style and the space available. As our sofa had a L shape I felt a rectangular table would define the lines. When thinking about a coffee table it’s important to consider the scale and measurements. You need to leave enough space around the coffee table for leg space. Figure out what works best for your home. Are you wanting extra storage? Is it just for styling? Will it be used daily? The best coffee table for you is one that meets your needs in regard to price, look and function. I went with the Jet Coffee Table because I liked the modern, contemporary, sleek look. It has a concrete-style table top with black industrial legs, which fits in perfectly with my style.
Coffee Table – Jet Coffee Table @castledavitt
When it comes to designs and ideas, the possibilities are endless. Many people find interior styling difficult and I get messages on a daily occasion on my Instagram looking for advice and ideas. I hope this blog has helped in giving you something to think about. Feel free to drop me a DM @emilyindonegal, I’d love to hear from you.
So many helpful tips Emily & so beautifully laid out, looking forward to your next blog 😍
Thank you so much Kim x