Beginning the process of furnishing a living room can be a somewhat overwhelming undertaking at times. It is difficult to know exactly where to start and what your end product is going to look like as well. Although it is an overwhelming process, it can also be tremendously rewarding, especially when you get your living room to look exactly how you imagined.
To start to make furnishing a living room a less daunting task, try to start out with a list of everything you need to do in order to complete the process. Your list should look something like this:
– Decide on paint color for the room
– Pick out lounging furniture (sofa, love seat, chair)
– Pick out side furniture (coffee table, side tables, shelves)
– Choose an organization style (communal, podded, entertainment)
– Choose new appliances (sound system, television)
– Find accessories that accent the overall room
– Decide what type of flooring you are going to want (hardwood, carpet, rugs)
– Get rid of old pieces that do not lend themselves to the new design
That list is a great starting point for anyone wanting to take on this task. In addition to having this list, you are also going to want to completely know your budget limits. One area where people sometimes tend to get into trouble is with the financing part of the furnishing process. There’s nothing worse than getting halfway into the refurnishing only to realize that you’ve run out of money, so making a budget is one of the more important aspects of furnishing a living room.
How To Furnish A Living Room On A Budget
Very few people have an endless supply of money to work with as far as their home is concerned. However, someone can complete a very successful refurnishing with around $5,000. That is usually enough to get you the furniture you need as well as all of the extras that will tie the room together. Depending on when you are wanting to complete the furnishing, there are better times to buy furniture during the year than others. For instance, most remodeling occurs in the spring and summer, therefore the prices will be quite a bit higher. In the off season, many furniture stores will cut prices to make room for the next season’s stock. If you can hold off until fall and winter to refurnish, you could stand to save thousands of dollars on your brand new furniture. Another great way to save money would be to buy used furniture, antique or not, and reupholster or refinish it to suit your room.
How To Start Furnishing
It is best to start a furnishing project with an empty room. That way, you can paint or add whatever types of stylistic elements you want without worrying about staining the other furniture in the room. So, if you are painting, make sure to have this project done before you move anything into the room. Another great way to start is with the floor. Are you going to keep the floor you have or replace it with something new. Again, this should be completed before you start moving furniture into the room.
When you have finished this aspect of the design, begin moving your furniture and arranging it the way you desire. There are two basic ways that you can choose to arrange your furniture: communal or podded. Communal just means that no matter where you are in the room, the furniture opens up to a communal middle. A podded arrangement means that you have different areas in the living room where you will do different things. For instance, you might have one area for the computer and designate another a wine corner.
If you start furnishing with a plan, you will almost always be successful.
