Tips

4 Formal Living Room Design Tips for Elegant Relaxation

Formal living room design is evolving as much as any other interior design. The tradition of a formal living is one of being a bit of a showpiece. And, at the same time, they have an elegance and design that reflects your personality, vision and needs for a beautiful space in your home. One in which you can entertain or retreat in a way you can’t do in a family room or less formal living room.

Designing any room can be a challenge. It can help to begin with a certain design style to help guide your decisions. And, with the idea that formal living rooms don’t have to look like something out of Downton Abbey, almost any design style can be an inspiration. These include traditional, mid-century modern, minimalist, coastal, transitional and more.

With that in mind, here are some tips to help guide the rest of your formal living room design.

Avoid Clutter

If there is one thing you should consider avoiding in any formal living room, it is too much clutter. Of course, untidy clutter, like mobile devices, the mail and your latest read, should be minimal or non-existent in a formal room. But clutter can happen even when you don’t realize it. To get an idea of the influence clutter can have on any room, try to imagine the room with fewer things in it. Very often, you don’t need as much seating as you may have, or things on the walls, or occasional tables. Your formal living room and everything in it should be in balance. Not too much, not too little. Everything should have breathing space.

Choose Your Sofa Style

Generally speaking, your sofa(s) will be the largest practical piece of furniture in the room. So they exert a lot of influence on the look and feel of the room. Choosing the first can also help show you the way for decorating the rest of the room. While there’s no real limit on the style of sofa you choose, be careful to not choose a style that takes away from your goal. For example, while a ‘big comfy couch’ can be a great place to flop, it can take away from the tidy, low-stress vibe of a formal living room. It can look cluttered all by itself, and make your entire room look cluttered.

Mix Your Styles

If there is one overarching trend in interior design, it is moving away from using any one style throughout the room. That’s a good thing too because it can make decorating your room more fun and creative. Still, in a more formal room, you will need to mix styles with more care. And it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use a single design style as a guide, as we mentioned. That style can be the framework for including other styles.

One way to mix styles is with a character piece. For example, you may have a treasured antique chair that can add a unique touch to your contemporary living room. Other ways of mixing styles include coordinating them with complementary colours or using contrasting textures and patterns.

Add Art & Accessories

If a single sofa has a strong influence on your room, its artwork, area rugs, occasional tables and other accessories can be a powerful influence too. So, especially in a formal living room, you shouldn’t choose them just because they ‘go’ with the room. This is your chance to be bold. To add colour, character and ambience. But, remember, keep it all in balance. Too much of a good thing doesn’t always make a room better.

Ultimately, your formal living room can be more than a showpiece. It can add another dimension to your home that adds to your overall comfort and enjoyment of it.

If you found this post helpful, check out our recent article How to Choose Colour Palette for Your Room.