Your living room is the central space and focal point of your home. Not only this, but living rooms are often the places where you spend most of your time with both family and friends, and so they should combine both relaxation with style in order to create a comfortable space that all of your loved ones will want to spend time in. However, many living rooms become old-fashioned and worn over time due to the amount of use that they see. Here are some top tips to update out-of-date living rooms.
1. Invest in Modern Furniture
Furniture looks extremely different now than it did in the 1980s, and to stop your home from looking like a relic of the past, it is important that you install some of the favored modern furniture designs of the 21st century. Swap your floral armchairs and ruffled table skirts for wooden tabletops and leather armchairs. However, do not despair if you miss the trends of long-ago, as retro is now one of the biggest styles for homes in the USA. You also need to consider adapting your furniture toward some of the modern innovations in your home, such as televisions and game consoles. For instance, installing an item of seating from Sumo Lounge in your living room will allow you to watch movies and play games without the discomfort that chairs that were designed for the lifestyles of the 1980s would give you, while also adding a splash of bright color to your home.
2. Add Smart Technology
No 21st-century living room is complete without the addition of smart technology, which can allow you to live a more comfortable and relaxing lifestyle, and ensure that your home is installed with the latest, up-to-date gadgets. Whereas once you would have had to move off the sofa to dim the lights and play music, you can achieve an ambient atmosphere instantly with voice assistants, which can help your home to feel like it has come straight from a sci-fi movie. Not only this, but modern homes are clean homes, and you can ensure that your home remains clean around your busy, modern work schedule with smart vacuums and cleaning equipment.
3. Paint Your Walls
If your room feels shabby and outdated, it is likely that your walls have become chipped, worn, and faded over time. To revitalize your home and inject instant color and brightness, all you have to do is simply apply a coat of paint to your walls. Some of the latest paint colors include light grays, coral, and bright greens that can make you feel as if you are lounging in nature. What’s more, although wallpaper was out of fashion for many years, it has recently seen a revolution, and more people are starting to see the advantage of using patterned wallpaper to create a brilliant and delightfully modern feature wall.
4. Go Minimalist
The one common element of modern homes is simplicity, and one way to create a modern home is to opt for a minimalist theme throughout your rooms. This can help your home to feel more spacious too, which can instantly update your home. As well as opting for minimal furniture and décor, you can create a sense of minimalism by de-cluttering your living room, which can include adding ample storage units to hide knick-knacks and impractical possessions, donating possessions which you do not need or have a connection to, and regularly cleaning your home and tidying away mess.
5. Follow the Latest Trends
Although trends, by nature, have a tendency to change on a regular basis, you can choose to update and modernize your living room by following the latest fashions in terms of home design. For instance, the trends for 2020 are likely to include contrasting décor in bright colors or monochromes, colored fixtures and furniture pieces, layered décor with trinkets and soft furnishings on show, and eco-friendly interior design, such as using natural fabrics, adding plants to your home, or displaying nature prints and designs.
6. Opt for Neutrals
Going hand in hand with minimalism, many homeowners looking to modernize and update their living room will decide to opt for neutrals when considering the color of paint and the color of the furniture in their homes. Neutrals can help to open up rooms and make them look more spacious, as well as help to create a natural flow in the design around the home. You do not have to choose disinteresting designs when you choose neutrals, though, and there are many ways to add a splash of interest to your living room, such as soft furnishings, brightly colored furniture or fixtures, and interesting wall hangings.
7. Create Flow
Modern homes also utilize flow to their advantage, as many up-to-date homes have an open plan design that creates exciting communal areas. To create flow in your living room, you should consider your furniture layout to ensure that doorways and corridors can be reached easily, fix any hazards around the home, and leave enough space for you to be able to move easily around the furniture. You can also create flow in terms of your home décor by using the same shades and styles throughout the living room, and by layering your living room—you should make sure that this matches the rest of your home, too.
8. Create a Focal Point
Lastly, another way to modernize and update your living room is to create a focal point that can act as a conversation starter and draw your guest’s attention to a certain spot in the room. You can create a focal point by painting or wallpapering a feature wall which catches the eye and stuns guests when they enter the room, or you can create a focal point through choosing a stand-out decoration or fixture, such as unusual lighting or an interesting piece of furniture that you have found on your travels.
Updating your living room can ensure that the hub of your home is a fun and luxurious place to be far into the future. Through touching up your home décor, following the latest home design trends, and adding technology to your home, it has never been easier to make sure that your living room looks stunning, no matter what year it is.
