Interior Design Living Room Ideas

Interior design living room ideas can really transform the look of your space even if you don't hire a decorator. This allows you to get a custom look fit just for your room without consulting a professional. Your friends might even think that you hired someone to decorate your room for you. This ensures you get the look and timetable you wanted because you have control.

You can basically decorate a living room for free; even if you have a specific theme or style in mind. For a cottage look paint all of your furniture with a distressed finish and paint the trim a bright white to give it new life. Then you can just bring in crisp white curtains and then balance them out with some bright white accessories. Florals can be found in thrift stores and online classified ads because they aren't the typical modern sofas. This will give your room a unique look that is feminine while the same time staying true to your budget.

There might not be anything really special about your living room, this is why it's really important to create a focal point. While that sounds like a fancy designer term it is something that everyone can do. You need to add height to at least one piece in your room to get a dramatic look. You can do this by building up your fireplace mantel so the stone goes from floor to ceiling, or just hang your curtains higher. The focal point should be the place where you want everyone to gather around and be impressed, it shouldn't just be your TV.

You might just be working with this same neutral couch that seems to be in so many homes. A lot of new construction homes lack character and architectural details. This is why you really need to focus in on pattern and color to add some life to your living room. One of the least expensive ways to do this is with throw pillows. Yes, this is very common way of decorating that you can do in nontraditional ways. Try mixing a lot of different patterns and colors to really liven up a room. You could pair purples with red and blues a very lively and powerful look. You can try mixing different geometric prints and patterns to really make a statement in the room on a budget.

Gather your collections together. This will help reduce the look of clutter and will also showcase your favorite items in the room. Try hanging smaller pieces of artwork next to each other so they really have a dramatic impact that you can appreciate. This will update your favorite items in the room and also turns them into the focal point.

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Family Room Interior Design Ideas

Family rooms are a very popular space in the home where the family relaxes and come together to enjoy TV, study and other activities. Since the room is well used and lived in, the furniture undertakes heavy usage and the décor looses its freshness quickly.

Since the family room has to cater to adults and kids, it should contain elements that all family members enjoy. Scour your home from storage to other rooms and find things than can be use in your family room. You can decorate the room with old furniture after having it reupholstered, matching it with a throw rug that can animate the effect of the vintage furniture.

Interior decoration ideas provide good guidance for family rooms you can use one decorative piece or piece of furniture as the focal point and decorate around it. One high quality piece of furniture, electronics or a painting can carry the effect of the whole room and you can decorate around it. Be careful and don't over decorate, since all the family members will spend time there space is important. A good suggestion is having multi-tasking furniture that can be opened and folded back to save space.

Rather than buying expensive furniture and décor that match, look for diverse pieces with a unifying theme, color and style for the family room. A popular trend is cushions that don't precisely match the couch. You can use the basic couch, but have slipcovers custom made for the cushions and replace them. You can always use the original covers later, always use a vibrant and exciting shade in fabrics.

If your family room already has a monochromatic color scheme, use other colors. Move away from standard accessories for color and add a chair, a bean bag or a rug that is full of color which brings a new energy to the room. You can add a study table with book shelves or a TV theatre system, whatever the add-in it should be vibrant and should appeal to the whole family complementing the color scheme at the same time.

A simple change in furniture arrangement gives any room a new look. If you can change the traffic flow of the room you'll find it has a different feel altogether. If there are multiple focal points in your room change focus to from the old point to a new one.

The family room is usually arranged around a focal point, so by changing the way the main feature appears can change the look of the room. A new entertainment center or a LED television can make this change, and other tricks can be retiling the fireplace or replacing the mantle. If the window is the focal point redecorate the windows.

All changes in the family room should be in line with the needs of all family members. So, you should generally choose the bigger room to include most activities like books and reading table, TV & entertainment system, a place for the PC and an area for babies or kids toys. Storage is a very important point for family rooms to make space. Modern decoration ideas include walls with spaces to place the home theatre system and book shelves with a retractable table for readers.

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Interior Design Training: Principles of the Four Basic Style Categories

If you are beginning your coursework or self-training to become an interior designer, you want to have a firm grasp of the basics. Whether you're decorating a dorm room or a whole house, a bungalow or a penthouse, you'll find the many specific design styles fit into four broad generic categories. This overview guide will define the Casual, Formal, Traditional and Contemporary styles so you may proceed in your studies and your career with an understanding of each categories' design principles.

Formal

Formal is the look of elegant Ritz-Carlton hotels and public government buildings like the White House. While homes today are not usually constructed with 12" high baseboard moldings, hand-laid herringbone-patterned wood floors, or elaborate carved plaster ceiling and wall decorations, there are elements of the formal style of decorating that you and your clients may want to utilize in a project.

Symmetry is one of the key features of interiors and exteriors of homes designed in a formal style. Windows, furniture, paintings are elements which are most often arranged in pairs with a straight axis dominating each room. A central focal point will define a room, and it might be a beautiful window-wall looking out to a perfect lawn, a large stone fireplace centered on one key wall, or an exquisite piece of furniture. A formal style of decorating suits a home with high ceilings, large and tall windows, and architectural features such as beautifully paneled walls, columns and pilasters.

Formal style interiors are decorated to attract attention and display wealth so they include highly polished woods, glistening mirrors, highly polished brass window and door hardware, sparkling crystal chandeliers and wall sconces, and unique and interesting pieces of fine wood and upholstered furniture.

Furniture and accessories in formal interiors are often antique or fine reproductions. Woods used are generally dark and rich looking, but lighter woods are often used for decoration and inlay. Imported Oriental rugs cover polished hardwood floors. Original artwork is often elaborately framed in hand-carved gilt frames and stone or bronze figurative sculptures will be displayed on pedestals.

Contemporary

Contemporary decorating is for those who like to keep current with the latest styles and enjoy things that are of today. While it's been thought that modern interiors are cold and minimalist, today's contemporary interiors are often comfortable and welcoming without being cluttered and dark. It's a style that is equally appropriate for offices and homes, lofts and stores.

A contemporary style home can be quiet and serene, and may give the appearance of an Asian meditation space. Simplicity, subtle sophistication, texture and clean lines help to define contemporary interiors. The focus of each room is tranquil space rather than furnishings. By focusing on color, dimension and shape contemporary interiors are thought-provoking, sleek and fresh.

Neutrals, black and white are the main colors in contemporary style interiors. The palette is often accented with bright and bold color, and, within a few style variants, ornate patterning and glitzy ornamentation. Black is often used to ground and define a room. With walls painted in a basic neutral, you have a backdrop for bold colored accessories.

Line is a key design element. It's found in architectural details and defined by the use of bold color blocks, high ceilings and bare windows. Geometric shapes are used in wall art and sculpture. Bare space is left on walls, between pieces of furniture, and above in upper areas, and it becomes as important as areas filled with objects.

In contemporary interiors, less is more since space creates perspective and dimension. Each piece of furniture stands out as individual and unique. Contemporary style takes advantage of structural elements as decoration. Air ducts may hang from a ceiling, fabric and bricks provide texture and stability. Structural details may be painted in bold contrasting colors, or simply exposed and painted the same color as the wall to diminish their importance.

Casual

A casual style room is homey, warm, comfortable, and inviting. For TV watchers, it's like walking onto the set of Friends or The Big Bang Theory. Who doesn't want to be comfortable in their own home? If you want to put together a casual style room, learn the basic elements that combine to create an informal, unassuming room. Casual rooms have simple details, textured elements in fabrics and accessories, soft, neutral-colored upholstery, low-luster surfaces, structural elements and furniture arrangements that avoid perfect symmetry.

Details are simple, and elements are rectangular or softly curved. A room decorated in a casual style has simple details, but it is the perfect place to add an unexpected touch of whimsey, such as an old, reconstructed birdhouse or a bowling pin for a lamp base. Casual decorating is easily incorporated into such specific styles as rustic, cottage, beach, French Country, Shabby Chic, or American Country decorating styles.

With people enjoying more relaxed lifestyles, many homes today are totally decorated using the elements of casual decorating. But any home can incorporate the elements into a guest room, country kitchen, TV room, or bath. Elements of the casual style of decorating can infiltrate into most any room and make it feel comfortable.

Traditional

Traditional decorating is calm, orderly and predictable. You may have grown up in a home that was decorated with traditional style furnishings. Furniture is classic and might feel outdated, so nothing is a surprise. Pieces fill up a room and match and are consistent.

Furniture pieces are often reproductions. They are a part of dining room sets, living room sets and bedroom sets, and all room sets are similar in furniture styles. Furniture and accessories are placed in pairs and tend to be centered in each room. There is nothing out of place or of a vastly different style.

Traditional rooms are not ostentatious but somewhat casual so that traditional style homes feel comfortable for any age group. It's a familiar look that you see in magazines or furniture show rooms.

Upholstered furniture in a traditional room shows classic lines and understated details. They may have decorative details but they are functional, unfussy, and restful looking. Edges are soft, smooth, and blend into the whole. Fabrics are generally neither too shiny nor too textured. Plain colors, florals, muted plaids, understated stripes, geometrics, tone-on-tone and small all-over patterns are common.

As you continue your education, knowing the four broad generic categories of Casual, Formal, Traditional and Contemporary, you will lay a good foundation for your career. Once you research these well, and expand your studies into specific styles, their history and their resources, you can confidently guide your clients through their various projects to make each a unique expression of their taste and your design ability.

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