I have thousands of examples of living rooms in my database, from small and cozy to luxurious and spacious, and I'll tell you this; no matter how your living room is, it can always be improved with a few basic elements.

I call curtains “right” when they not only complement the living room, but also act as an element on their own. If the room has plenty of windows, I would advise you to not economize and choose good quality curtains made from good expensive fabric.

Tip: If you do not know how to select a color, give preference to monochrome curtains in neutral shades. Too bright or variegated will draw attention to themselves and quickly get boring. To add individuality to the living room, you can combine two types of curtains in different shades and even textures.

If you and your family spend a lot of time in the living room and want to create a cozy atmosphere, add a dash of magic by using multiple light sources. Install a couple of floor lamps or sconces in different corners of the room, and you'll be surprised how the mood of the room will play out in a new way. Sometimes (at dinner, for example) you can use candles. Many candles! Just be sure to keep fire precautions in mind.

The living room is the best place for houseplants not only because there is usually more space and diffused light, but also because flowers complement perfectly the atmosphere of relaxation, they make the interior “alive” and add natural colors to it.

Organize a flower corner or place for flowers in different parts of the living room, you can put pots with plants on shelves, special racks, on the floor, or hang planters on the wall. Remember! A window sill is not the only place for houseplants!

The living room is meant to be a place to keep your hearty knickknacks, figurines, candles, framed photos and things that hold precious memories. Any decor that you put on your living room shelves should have a meaning, it should also be stylish and say what kind of people live in the apartment.

Get rid of anything that is not pleasing or does not match with the aesthetic of the other items. Let only the most beautiful and soulful things remain in the living room.

In almost any home, the living room is a multifunctional room. This means that it is easy to make a mess, but it can be fixed! Good old-fashioned zoning will save you from chaos and clutter in the living room.

If you consider the living room as a combination of separate zones, you can greatly reduce clutter and increase the functionality of the space. This applies even to a small room.

Before you do any zoning, clean up thoroughly, get rid of unnecessary things and free up as much space as possible. This will make it easier to assess the situation and understand how to allocate zones.

Once your living room is clear, think about how you would move around the room and how you would use it. Following this logic, think about how to put furniture so that everyone can use it comfortably.

Here are the zones you can divide the living room into:

Usually located in one of the corners and shaped with the help of upholstered furniture, poufs, pillows, and plaids. In the perfect world, this relaxation area should have enough seating to accommodate everyone who lives in the house at once.

Often in this area there is also a TV or projector for cozy family movie nights. If a TV cabinet takes up a lot of space, you can install a bracket. When hanging a TV on the wall, be sure to take into account that it must be at eye level, that means that you need to determine the seating position first.

If you and your family like to read, it would be great to organize a small reading corner in the living room, put a comfortable chair and a lamp next to the bookshelves, arrange books by genre on the shelves, put a magazine basket next to them, throw a blanket over the chair and there you have it! A chill out area that takes up little space.

It usually occupies the center of the room and is formed by the dining table and chairs arranged around it.

It is not necessary to splurge on an expensive table made of precious wood. A stylish guest area can be constructed from the simplest dining table (even a small one) and properly chosen decor. You have no idea what wonders a beautiful tablecloth, dining runners, napkins, or chair cushions can do, you can find millions of ideas for dining table decor on Pinterest for very little money, all you need is imagination and desire.

For the living room to fulfill its main function (to bring people together) you can organize a comfortable area where you, your family, and guests can have a fun and interesting time. Depending on the idea, arrange it around a coffee table or dining table, next to a shelf or bookshelves.

Board games, children's toys, playing cards, knitting tools, can be kept in poufs with storage drawers or in baskets on shelves. This will prevent clutter in the living room.

It's true that the living room is hard to keep in order because it is one of the rooms used by all the inhabitants of a home.

Some people like to spend their time here with a book, some people like to watch movies, some relax while knitting or embroidering. This room will invariably be filled with things, but even if the apartment has many tenants, you can still organize a system that will help keep order.

1. Similar to Similar.
Organize storage according to a logic that everyone in the family can understand and relate to. Things in the same category should always be kept close together, that way everyone will quickly remember where to put them after using.

2. Take it and put it back.
Just take it as a rule: if you knit, embroider, read, play, just put everything back as soon as you're done. Explain to children that it will always be tidy at home and that toys will not get lost if you return them to their place after playing. A great way to quickly get used to this rule is to keep everything close at hand, but not in plain sight. That's why I love baskets, boxes, and containers, they're pretty, stylish and hide everything that shouldn't be lying around.

3. Use the walls.
Shelves for books and pictures, hanging planters for houseplants, racks for decorative gizmos. If there isn't enough room on the floor, you can always put it on a wall.

4. Think outside the box.

• Follow the example of IKEA. Their designers are constantly imagining and using familiar objects in new ways.
• A children's bookcase can make a great stand for flowers.
• Posters can be hung on a coat rack with a trouser clip.
• A padded bench or doorway pouf that you can not only sit on, but also store remotes or magazines.
• Use a chest instead of a regular coffee table and store extra plaids and sofa cushions in it.
• If someone in your family works from home, consider getting a table that can combine work and dining functions.

5. Take a few minutes to organize
Every time you walk in or out of the living room, take a minute or two to look around. If there are signs of clutter, you'd better fix it right away. Put the book back on the shelf, take the empty cup to the sink, roll up the plaid and put it in the basket and so on.

6. Add some air.
Choose tables, chairs, and sofas with legs that “lift” them off the ground, buy wall sconces that are attached to the wall etc.

Remember about functionality

The best way to keep your living room tidy is to keep only the essentials that you and your family use all the time. Use the right decor to set the mood, for example, don't let your children keep toys in the living room. If there is no children's room in the apartment, then buy a large basket where the child can put their toys after using.

I hope you liked my tips.

Good luck organizing your living room!
Your Clea.