Refresh Your Living Room in 60 Minutes
It’s the place where you entertain guests, spend free time, and gather with family members and friends. Naturally, your living room needs to look perfect.
Luckily, there are plenty of ways to refresh your living room in just 60 minutes or less. Here are some of my favorite living room décor ideas: things you can do right now to give the most important room in your home an Instagram-worthy makeover.
6 Ideas to Refresh Your Living Room
1. Adjust rugs and furniture
Rugs are the unsung heroes of living room décor: a large rug sets the mood for a room and pulls all the different design elements together. That’s why I like to use a large rug in my living room: the bigger the better.
How you position your rug is no less important. To make the room feel spacious, you’ll want to position your rug so its length runs in the longer direction of the room. Not sure which rug size you need? Use painter’s tape to visualize where the rug will sit in your living room.
Once you’ve got your rug positioned the way you want it, it’s time to think about your furniture. Have a large rug under your couch? Ideally, you want to place all legs of the couch on the rug. The same goes for chairs and other furniture. But if your rug isn’t quite big enough for that, just place the front two legs of your couch or armchair on the rug.
Pro tip: if you’re working with a rug that doesn’t quite fit all of your furniture, try backing one piece of furniture up against the wall—this way, it won’t matter if the rug doesn’t quite reach to the wall because no one will see that space anyway.
If the entirety of the rug is visible, you’ll want to preserve some symmetry so the room doesn’t feel off-kilter. For the perfect balance, have the rug extend 6” on either side of a piece of furniture.
Does your living room furniture include a coffee table? You can create a balanced look by placing the table dead center on the rug, or by putting it at the center of your furniture grouping. Either way, all legs of the table should rest on the rug.
Say you’re working with a very small rug. In this case, it’s best to simply place the rug in the center of the furniture. You don’t need to put any furniture on it, per se—though again, if you have a coffee table, it will look best dead center on the rug.
2. Regroup (and rethink) your pillows
Pillows add flair and comfort to a living room. You can spice up a space simply by buying some new pillows or rearranging the ones you already have. When picking out new pillows (or deciding if you need new pillows), think about color. A good color palette can spell the difference between a cluttered, chaotic space and a clean, cohesive one.
Take your cue from the other décor in the room. If the furniture is vibrant, then neutral-colored pillows will bring balance to the space. If the room is neutral and muted in color, then bright, vibrant pillows will really make the room pop.
It’s best if all the pillows in one room adhere to the same color tone—but that doesn’t mean you have to settle for boring pillows. Mix things up with a few prints or textures. When using prints, variety is the spice of life. Combining busy prints, simple prints, and solids usually looks best.
Show off your style by grouping your pillows in the perfect arrangement. Pillows on a couch look best in two groups with some space between them. Place larger pillows in the back and smaller ones in the front. Not only is this visually appealing—it’s also more comfortable!
Whatever you do, don’t overcrowd. For one thing, jamming too many pillows together can be visually overwhelming. For another, you still need to sit on that couch, remember?
3. Spruce up your coffee table
Even the plainest coffee table can look interesting with a little redecoration. You can add style to your living room table with trays, vases, flowers, and books.
You might even try experimenting with some unique items: something that’s one of a kind or that reflects your personality. An antique vase or a vintage board game can serve as a great eye-catcher and conversation starter, adding another layer of interest to a space.
Sometimes less is more. If your coffee table is on the smaller side, or if the rest of the furniture in the room is heavy, a minimalist approach is probably the safest route.
Another approach is to try grouping objects together, leaving enough negative space for the table to still be functional. An odd number of items generally makes for a visually appealing grouping. If you need a few more objects for your grouping, candles are a great go-to item.
Group and then regroup a few times, experimenting with different objects and different arrangements. You’ll want objects that vary in height, but not by too much. If you’re working with an item that feels a bit too short for the grouping, you can always elevate it with a few books.
4. Add some style to your console table
With their narrow size, console tables can be tricky to incorporate into your living room décor. Mirrors and works of art look great over console tables, and a complimentary tablescape, or grouping of objects on the table, can perfect the look. A colorful piece hanging over a console table calls for a tablescape of a monochromatic palette, and vice versa.
Aim for variety in your tablescape: including objects made with different materials, textures, and finishes. Mix rough and fine, old and new, ancient and modern, glossy and matte. You might try adding a natural element, like a plant or flowerpot. If you want to impress while entertaining guests, cut flowers from your garden can add an extra touch of elegance.
Looking for something more permanent? Ferns or low maintenance house plants can liven up a space. (For an example, check out this home refresh we gave one of our clients.)
Try varying heights as well, and let the tallest object set the tone for your composition. You can use a plant, a small statue, or a table lamp to add some height. Side note: table lamps look great on consoles.
5. Strategically display your throws
Like pillows, throws can make your living room cozy and inviting. They warm up a bare couch, enhance a muted space, and signal to everyone that this is the room for curling up with a good book or snuggling together with family members. For the best visual effect, display throws that compliment your pillows, the rest of the furniture in the room, and the rug.
Neatly fold a throw over the arm or seat of your couch. This looks especially lovely if the throw is thin with a nice pattern. And if a throw has tassels that hang over the side of the furniture, all the better.
On that note, if you want to decorate your living room with the latest trends, pick up some tasseled throws, crocheted throws, and French market quilts.
You can also display your throws draped over the back of the couch, with the bottom of the blanket reaching near the floor and the throw held in place with cushions. Keep in mind, though, that this only works with throws made of a thin material—thicker blankets run the risk of looking bunched up or messy.
If you still want to keep some blankets on hand for snuggling up with, but don’t want to make them a part of your living room décor, store them in a cute basket next to the couch.
6. Brighten your living room with candles
Candles can set a warm, ambient tone for a living room: welcoming guests and family members alike into the space.
For a contemporary but cozy look, use decorative hurricane candle holders. I like these because of their larger size: perfect for holding bigger candles. Plus, with their sleek glass exteriors, hurricane candle holders add extra shine and gleam to any space.
A designer-shaped hurricane makes a statement among your home décor, while hurricane candle holders on the tabletop set the mood perfectly for a romantic dinner at home. Another option is flower vase candles, which look elegant with flowers and pebbles.
There you have it. If you follow these tips, you’ll refresh your living room in no time. Enjoy redecorating!
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