Furnishing the living room, avoiding typical furnishing mistakes

The living room is our retreat from stressful everyday life. It's where you want to sit comfortably on the couch and perhaps enjoy the evening with a glass of wine and a good book. Reason enough to furnish the living room so that relaxation is not a problem. But what makes a good arrangement and how do I avoid typical furnishing mistakes? We'll tell you how to furnish your living room properly and turn life within your four walls into a whole new experience.

1. the right size of furniture

Do you know the stereotype of the older woman who has crammed her living room full of large, bulky furniture and then doesn't exactly spill the beans with decorations and plants? Or the typical image of the eternal bachelor who owns just two pieces of furniture and a plant that is close to death. Certainly a sparse picture. The right size of furniture is the key word here. Make sure that the room is not too full, but also not too sparsely furnished.

For example, think about the size of the sofa: how many people need to sit on it on a normal day? If you live alone with your partner, a corner sofa with 4 seats is perfectly adequate. If a family with 3 children needs to be able to sit comfortably on it, a living area sofa would be more appropriate.

2. the division of the room

The room layout should always be kept as practical as possible. If you arrange pieces of furniture incorrectly, this can result in traffic being blocked in the room, so to speak. For example, if you place a room divider relatively close to the door, this creates an aisle that impairs the openness of the room. However, an open shelf can be used to good effect if you have a living-dining area and want to create the appearance of a living room partition.

A cupboard or display cabinet, on the other hand, is difficult to place in a room. The closed back wall dampens the feeling of a pleasant atmosphere because you will always have a fixed wall in view. Plan the arrangement of your furnishings very carefully and in a balanced way so that you have the functionality and the feeling of space optimally coordinated.

3. furniture for organizing: The right storage space

When organizing your home, having enough storage space is the key to success. Over the years, we all accumulate a lot of things that we no longer want to do without. Important mementos are simply part of life. And you certainly want to display them. Our recommendation: don't go for the standard sideboard, but treat yourself to a display cabinet. A display cabinet skillfully showcases decorations as well as pictures, books and other important items. The furniture usually comes with matching lighting so that the eye is drawn directly to your beloved belongings.

Of course, you can also buy a shelf and arrange everything important on it. However, the disadvantage of an open shelf is always the amount of surfaces that can quickly become dusty. If you are keen on cleaning, this is of course not a problem. Otherwise, we recommend a chest of drawers or a highboard that is closed with doors. If you reduce the amount of open shelves, you also reduce the amount of cleaning.

4. the right lighting for the atmosphere

Cozy becomes even cozier with the right light! A living area should not appear too gloomy. If the room is not sufficiently illuminated, it will also put you in a bad mood. In the living room in particular, it is an advantage to use indirect and warm lighting. This will cast a warm glow over the entire room, creating a pleasant atmosphere, especially in the evening. Putting your feet up and relaxing becomes a pleasure.

We particularly recommend floor lamps in the corners and upward-facing wall lamps. These emit their warming light upwards onto the ceiling or diffuse it very subtly onto the floor. In this way, the room is bathed in a special light that will increase the comfort and feel-good factor in your living room.

5. the harmony between material and color

Chaotic rooms often appear chaotic because patterns, colors and materials are wildly combined. Check with circles, textile and leather with steel, green walls, blue sofa, red carpet - the overall picture quickly becomes overloaded and does not create a relaxed atmosphere. Do you also sometimes not know exactly what can be combined and how?

Don't worry, you can learn to develop a feel for colors and shapes. Or at least get advice and inspiration from the many sites on the Internet. And if you start by styling something the way you saw it in a magazine, that's a good first step. Or you can ask the furniture professionals at MöbelFirst and let us give you comprehensive advice! We are passionate about helping you create a feel-good living room in a class of its own!

The bottom line on living room furnishings

Now you know our tips for good living room furnishings and the typical mistakes that everyone makes when furnishing. No master has ever fallen from the sky and that's a good thing. Try out our tips. You'll see that you'll like your living area twice as much.