1. ADD HAND-PAINTED EFFECTS
Paint tricks can go a long way to adding easy, eye-catching detailing that makes a living room look so much more beautiful. The hand-painted decorative detailing around the fireplace in this reception room helps to soften the edges of grandeur that might otherwise overwhelm the space.
2. CHOOSE WARM, ENVELOPING COLORS
Picking out the right living room colors, you should always ask yourself: how will this make me feel? Ideally, a living room should be welcoming and warm, so colors on that part of the color wheel are always a go-to.
3. TREAT WALLPAPER AS ART
Shop for living room wallpaper like you would for art and you will need to use less of it to make an impression. Proving that making a big impact in a space doesn’t always require embracing all-over pattern, the team at Sims Hilditch chose to cover selected panels of this drawing room of a historic house with a decorative floral wallpaper by de Gournay.
4. EMBRACE SYMMETRY
Symmetry in interior design is a useful tool, especially when you are trying to make a small living room look bigger. In this sitting room, Christian Bense manages to perfectly walk the line between fresh and cozy, formal yet comfortable. He achieves this through embracing symmetry with the twin chairs and then throwing it out with the mismatched sofas.
5. WEAVE A COLOR THREAD THROUGH A SPACE
Rooms with high ceilings invite being bold with color scales. Here, interior designer Laura Stephens has added color through fabrics and furnishings with a thread of red running through them, and gone for a neutral tone on the walls.
6. ENSURE PLENTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL STORAGE
This room is unusual in that it has entrances on three sides connecting the living room, kitchen and the hallway, resulting in a lot of movement. Essential to its success is the amount of clever living room storage. ‘It acts as a playroom for our two children,’ explains Angus Buchanan, creative director of Buchanan Studio. ‘A huge focus was therefore the need for storage so that toys and games can come out and be stashed away easily to keep the space clear.’
7. DISPLAY YOUR PERSONALITY WITH A COLLECTION
The beauty of this sitting room in the home of interior designer James Mackie is the impression that it has been assembled over time with its mix of patterns. Featuring in Mark Nicholson’s book, At Home in the Cotswolds, James designed the bookcases and panelling to create a room full of light by day but warm and inviting by night.
8. MAKE WINDOW TREATMENTS WORK DAY AND NIGHT
Creating a room that moves effortlessly between day and night is no easy task but it’s one that interior decorator Sarah Brown has conjured cleverly in this sitting room.
The floor-to-ceiling curtains perfectly frame the windows during the day but when they are drawn at night the room becomes a cocooning space for entertaining.
9. MAKE FUNCTIONAL FABULOUS
Functional spaces can make design statements, too, as this vibrant space in a Georgian country house in Windsor demonstrates. The duo behind interior design studio Salvesen Graham were asked to redesign the interiors, which included this butler’s pantry leading off a dining room, out of which they have cleverly conjured this playful bar area.
10. PRIORITIZE VISUAL COMFORT
Cosseting, cozy and filled with light, there’s no better place to enjoy a book than in a window seat. Interior designer Georgie Wykeham dressed this seat with cushions in colors that connect it to the rest of the room, so it also forms part of the wider seating area.