How to Decorate a Living Room with Taste

Given the fact that your living room will likely be the most popular room in your entire apartment (or, at least, the room seen and utilized most by visitors), you may want to know how to decorate a living room with taste. Feel at ease with your living room decor by designing a room that will not only appeal to guests, but will also provide you with pleasant surroundings.

Set Personal Preference Aside

Your apartment is just that-yours. You should feel comfortable decorating the entire place in such a way that makes you feel happy and at home. However, whether your personal preferences are traditional or somewhat more extreme, decorating a living room with taste means erring on the side of conservative design and thinking more about what looks pleasing to most people-not just you.

Anything too funky, like clashing colors or abstract mismatched furniture, is generally seen as distasteful. So, if your preferences lean toward the wild and experimental side, tone it down so that the room doesn’t come off too strong. A good rule for decorating a living room with taste is to practice restraint. Keep it simple and clean and you’re halfway to a tasteful room.

Leave the Dorm Room Design Behind

Part of tasteful design is creating an aesthetic that looks deliberate and mature. Think back to your dorm room or first apartment. Chances are you hung posters on the wall, displayed all kinds of personal mementos on bulletin boards and made use of fun and inexpensive accessories like bean bag chairs and magnetic poetry. While appropriate in your college years or late teens, these elements do not mix with tasteful design.

Posters can still be used as artwork, but only if trimmed and framed and not hung with tape or push pins on the walls. Personal mementos can be placed deliberately throughout the room, but are best limited to your favorite photographs in picture frames. Remember, less is more. And, by all means, beaded door curtains, lava lamps and your collection of sports memorabilia or stuffed animals should be considered banned in the space.

Look to the Aesthetic in Magazines and Catalogs

Decorating a living room with taste doesn’t necessarily mean keeping the design bland. Tasteful living rooms can be bold and make a statement with unique artwork and interesting design elements. You need only look through any design magazine to see this. However, as you’re beginning in your decorating skills, look to popular retail catalogs, like Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware, to see how living rooms are put together in a classic and tasteful way. It may seem like playing it safe, but these catalogs can serve as a reference guide.

All things considered, a tastefully decorated living room has lasting power and won’t look dated years down the road. Keep it classic and you won’t have to worry about whether or not your design is tasteful.

_______________________________________

Rachael Weiner: I’m a communications professional for a non-profit, which financially necessitates my status as an apartment dweller. Constantly “on-the-go,” I’ve resided in five different apartments across the United States over the past five years. Roommate issues, budgeting, organizing and handling problem neighbors are my specialty.