Large Living Room Ideas don’t have to feel empty or impersonal.
Living rooms are meant to be cozy, communal areas for hanging out with friends and family or relaxing with a book or favorite movie. If your living room feels more like a ballroom, that easy relaxation can seem less natural. Unless you want to add a wall, there’s not much you can do about the actual dimensions of the room — but you can make it feel homey and manageable through your decorating scheme.
Tips for Large Living Room Ideas
Large Living Room Furniture
Small items in a large space just draw attention to the emptiness around them. When you’re working with a large room, everything you put in it should suit the scale of the room. Choose long sofas, overstuffed arm chairs, large floor rugs and a broad, solid-looking coffee table. If it’s within your budget, add built-in furniture along the walls; floor-to-ceiling bookcases, cabinets and benches can make the room look considerably smaller. If you frequently entertain, consider adding a wet bar and counter in one corner to shrink the room further.
Large Living Room Arrangement
A designer trick to handling Large Living Room Ideas is to functionally divide it into two or more smaller rooms. An oversize living room might have enough space for a den, an office and a breakfast nook, and by grouping the furniture to suggest these different functions, you break the room into more manageable chunks visually. Station the sofa and armchairs around the television or fireplace, put a desk in an opposite corner and stand a bistro table set in the area nearest the kitchen. When you look at the room, your mind will see each section individually instead of one large room.
Large Living Room Color
The more light a room has, the bigger it feels. This doesn’t mean that you should block all the windows and light the room exclusively with wall sconces, but you can make the space feel cozier by opting for darker, less reflective colors, particularly on the walls and floor. Instead of painting the walls white or cream, use rich, dark colors such as maroon, deep gray, forest green and dark brown. You can keep the scheme calm or add visual interest by painting an accent wall in a vibrant red or purple.
Pattern and Material for Large Living Room Ideas
The idea of matching the scale of the room extends to your decorations as well as your furniture. Opt for large, dramatic patterns in your upholstery and drapes rather than small, detailed patterns, and if you’re thinking about wallpaper, consider wide stripes or large floral prints. When you choose woods, metals and other solids, go with nonreflective materials. Avoid lacquered wood, and opt for stained or painted wood instead. Use dull brass or wrought iron instead of chrome or shiny copper. Forgo glass and mirrored surfaces, and instead select stone, wood, fabrics and paintings for decorative materials.