How to Choose Your Living Room Furniture: And Why it Matters

How to Choose Your Living Room Furniture Correctly

A living room should be inviting; good furniture choices should make the room look larger, never smaller. It should be conducive to conversation, and the seating should be close, but not too close to each other. The best rooms include furniture that can be pulled up, dragged over or gathered around. 

The key is moveable seating. Swivel chairs are a popular choice, especially if you’re able to fit them facing the sofa, TV, or yard. Stools and benches are a second favorite, as they can be easily moved if extra seating is required.

Every living room should have a focal point. A focal point is the spot that we look at first when we walk into a room; it can also be a large piece of art. A focal point is the first impression the room will make on your guests. Don’t be afraid to have your furniture placed in the middle of the room. A decent-sized area rug will ground it and create a more comfortable feeling.

You should begin with upholstered pieces of furniture. Try using two matching sofas (facing each other) with two arm or slipper chairs. Ottomans are a wonderful addition when it comes to seating, and the right one can really pull a room together. 

Ottomans, coffee tables, occasional tables and other portable surfaces lend the room a congenial atmosphere, ensuring that there’s always a surface nearby for a book, drink, lamp, tray or vase. The living room furniture should be durable; there’s no point in having a $6,000 couch if you are going to cover it with a blanket all the time, or not let anyone sit on it. You shouldn’t be afraid of your furniture.

Different styles include bridge water, camelback, Chesterfield, club, Knole, Lawson, midcentury modern, slipper, and tuxedo. Some fabric options may include cotton, linen, wool, microfiber, velvet, cotton/poly blend, and faux suede, leather.

When furniture shopping, keep in mind: stain resistance, durability, pets, loose or attached pillows and cushions, filling (often foam wrapped in polyester or down). Additional seating options are love-seats, sectionals, sleeper sofas, chaises, and settees. 

Armchairs styles include barrel-back, club, slipper, and wing chairs. Some of the fabric options are cotton, linen, leather, microfiber, silk, velvet, wool, cotton/poly blend. When it comes to armchairs, you should be on the lookout for comfort, stain resistance, and durability. You can also go with rocker chairs, recliners, swivels, gliders, or a chair-and-a-half.

Ottomans come in rectangular, square, or circular shapes. Fabric options are cotton, linen, leather, microfiber, silk, velvet, wool, and cotton/poly blend. When ottoman shopping, keep in mind its storage capabilities, portability, stain resistance, durability. 

When it comes to console tables, you can choose either rectangular, square, circular, or oval. Of course, there are many different options, but these are the most common. Once you get into other shapes, the price is going to go up, as those are usually custom pieces rather than mass-produced ones. You can choose from wood, Lucite, glass, metal, woven fibers, shagreen, mirror or any combination. You should be on the lookout for one that has storage capabilities, shelving, durability, and portability.

You can also use trunks, garden seats, stools, nesting tables, or multiple small tables in place of one large coffee table.

2 thoughts on “How to Choose Your Living Room Furniture: And Why it Matters

  1. April

    How your furniture is arranged definitely makes a difference, especially to your guests. You always want your furniture to look to scale, i.e., proportional. If you have a large room for example, you need more than one sofa. If you have a small room, you cannot have a gigantic sofa, you may be better off with a loveseat and an armchair.

     
    Reply
  2. Margie

    Agreed. People often like to copy what they see in magazines and whatnot, but don’t realize that they have to do what works best in THEIR space. Every space is different.

     
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *