Lively Living Room

This page is proudly sponsored by

TH

BIRTHDAY
A NNIVERSARY

Style is a reflection of your attitude and your personality. Shawn Ashmore

By Raphael Langdon
Tip of the Week:

Always keep in mind the

dimensions of your living room
when you are buying the
furniture. Avoid buying
oversized pieces if your room
is relatively small. Bigger
furniture makes small rooms
smaller and full up. On the other
hand, tall furniture in rooms
with low ceilings make the
ceilings appear lower. Visualize
and ask for help.

Orca Deal of the week

Fabric sofa 3+2+1 seater : Price GHC 3800

Living room cabinet : Price GHC 780
Bruce Lee once said Always be yourself;
Express yourself; Have faith in yourself;
Do not go out and look for a successful
personality and duplicate it. Your home
is the first and foremost pin board to
express your persona. The living room is
the room where your personality meets
other personalities however without
mixture and without pretence. The living
room is the place where we share love with
friends and so we become extremely protective of keeping a healthy balance between
being alone and sharing time with others.
The living room should be able to serve these
two needs to the fullest. No one would like
to visit your home and feel less of himself,
and no one should visit you and make you
become less of yourself. Both the host and
guest should feel at home and be comfortable.
That is how demanding putting your living
room together can be.
The living room is usually the most accessible
room in most homes. Some living rooms may
include facilities for dining. In much smaller
homes, space may be created here again for a
babys playpen and other things. By and large,
it is an area or center for conversation where
several people can be comfortably seated. The
same room is needed for relaxation and informal reading, listening to music, television
viewing, entertainment and games.

What is required?

Furnishing the living room therefore requires

utmost attention. Be particular in the choice
and inclusion of these two:

Sofa set:

This is a set of comfortable seats that usually

accommodates about seven people. The sofa
set comprises of one long upholstered seat for

three; a medium scaled seat for two; and two

single seats. The sofa set can play a pivotal
role in the general dcor of the living room
with regards to its style, period, character and
colour. Some sofa sets are bulky and heavy
and suitable for big living rooms whilst other
types range from medium to small in size and
visual weight. Coupled with the variety in
size, choices can be made from the form
or shape of the sofa, the upholstery type
(leather or fabric) or most significantly the
colour of the set. It is advisable therefore to
make a mental choice or physical selection of
the kind of sofa set to acquire whilst planning
the living room.

Cabinetry and tables:

As a matter of principle, the less cabinetry

used in a living room, the more comfortable
and spacious it is. One or two interesting cabinets for shelving and storage are ample. Some
sofa sets come with standardized matching
tables and cabinets usually suitable for average
sized living rooms. Always noticeable are the
mutual elements used or seen on all the tables
and cabinets, for example, the same specie of
wood is used for cabinets, TV cabinet, coffee
and side tables. This is done deliberately to
create unity and harmony. For small spaces
however, some of the cabinets or tables can be
omitted or used elsewhere to allow space for
maneuvering and legroom.
Most of us prefer to buy living room furniture
together with a sofa set, two matching side
chairs, with matching coffee and side tables.
As a matter of interest, try to be different;
dont match the couch with the side chairs.
In fact, in interior design, it is trendier to
have different styled pieces put together like a

contemporary sofa with classic or antique side

chairs and different styled tables.

Living room dcor tips

When planning your living room, you must

be clear in mind the kind of activities and
interests you would maintain in the room.
Ponder over these practical tips as you plan
or refurbish your living room.
Paint your walls and ceiling a cool
colour (colours in the blue/green
half of the colour chart as well as the
natural beige range including off-white.)
Lighter colour on the ceiling than on
the walls make the rooms larger than it is.
Keep the same colour families combining
plain and textured finishes.
Let your window treatments hang from
the ceiling to give a good impression of
extra height in the room; letting the fabric
puddle a little to the ground gives the
room a touch of elegance.

of pieces say to (1) three-seater and (2)

single-seater(s) or request for pieces are
less bulky preferably wooden framed
furniture and not fully upholstered pieces.
Keep in mind that it is still the room
where you showcase your personality
coffee/center tables and associated side
tables can be readily available for display
of your collections, if you are a collector.
You can even create a focal point with
small vases filled with colourful flowers.
Mirrors can be used effectively in the
living room, it doubles volume one
flower vase becomes two before a mirror.
Be cautious, however with large mirrors in
small rooms, it doubles the items in the
room hence making the room
overcrowded rather than spacious.
Let the walls speak paintings and other
wall hangings play a very wonderful role
in keeping the eye busy and focused.
Tie up your living room together by
carefully selecting fabric, right from floor
rugs to curtains. If you intend to contrast,
let the curtains or the upholstery contrast
the floor rug or vice versa. If you intend
to complement, use colours and texture
rather than patterns.
Dark floors and dark rugs absorb light.
Lighter floor treatments allow for a
play of light.
Locate at vantage points, floor lamps and
table lights so that when general lighting
is not needed you can have use of them
especially during television viewing and
personal reading.
Dont forget to bring in nature; the natural
plants and flowers have a role to play in
your living room. Place some potted
plants by an aquarium and represent
the land and the sea.

Let your living room be simple, as much

Create a conversational area with a nicely as you would want to utilize your space,
coloured and unimposing floor rug.
it is comfortable when your room is not
overcrowded. Only use your corners if
If your entertainment center or wall
you have to save space otherwise let them
unit is the largest piece of furniture
be useful decoratively, corner cabinets can
place it first and then place the rest of
be placed to serve as display racks for
the furniture around it, especially in
collections or pictures or plant collections.
cases where you have only one wall
space to use.

Group the furniture around your focal

point trying different configurations.
More than likely the best place for
the long sofa is directly opposite the
focal point. (In most cases the television.)

In the nutshell the living room is where

we showcase our personal and very private
lifestyles. A place of first impression some
people may never get the chance to get
beyond your living room, so you must give
it your best shot.

You dont have to use all the pieces of

furniture bought in your living room.
If your space is small, reduce the number

email: intnlng@netscape.net
Website: www.integratedinteriorsgh.com
Blogging: raphaellangdon.blogspot.com

Home Office Deco Outdoor

Accra: No 4 Graphic Road, Tel: 0302 220 782 / off the Spintex Road, 0244 400 444. Also in Kumasi at Asokwa opposite the Brewery, 0322 028 654.