Styling a large living room

I have visited homes where one part of the living room is neglected.

The furniture is squeezed into a corner while the rest of the space is storage for shoes, toys, among other things.

In short, it’s so unappealing to the eye, so unwelcoming. So how do we turn a large living room into an appealing space?

1.Zoning: Instead of living it as just a large sitting area, get creative with how you utilize the room by designating different zones.

Have a conversation zone, an entertainment zone, a reading area or even a dining area. A sofa that faces away from the dining room, for example, will define the conversation zone.

2.Visual division: Create divisions in the room using half wall pillars, area rugs, or curtains to create visually appealing spaces within the large room. A sofa with its back to another space, a large bench, and tables between chairs, an attractive room divider, large lamps, or plants can help divide the spaces.

3.Room anchors: Large living rooms look cluttered when many small items are placed all over. Try and have an anchor piece that stands out. It could be an L-shaped sofa, a large square coffee table or even a piano.

4.Lighting: Lighting makes all the difference in how a room feels. The advantage of large rooms is that they have large windows too. For a large room, avoid just relying on the light at the centre of the ceiling. Get two or three grand lamps for the floor and walls so that there is light all over the room.

5.Avoid hugging wall: Avoid pushing your sofa against the walls as this leaves too much open space in the middle making the room look like a hall. It also makes your guests feel far apart from each other and out of place.

Instead, create a face to face conversation area by pulling the seats away from the wall and placing them facing a focal point like a fire place, coffee table or TV. For the empty walls that remain when you pull away the sofas you can hang beautiful wall hanging, place a console or a bookshelf.

6.Bold is beautiful: Your accessories including furniture, framed art work among other pieces should be bigger and bolder. Group larger pieces of art together to create a warm ambiance and complement the other accessories in the room. Choose large accessories with bold patterns and use warm colours such as red and yellow to enhance the cosiness of your room.