It takes time and talent to arrange living room interiors to exemplify a classical style because you have to strike a fine balance between the old and new. You’ll know that you’ve achieved this balance when your room looks both luxurious and comfortable. Although it’s opulent, it’s tasteful, and it has a lived-in look-and-feel to it.
In order to pull off this effect, you need to moderate classical influences with a modern touch. When every detail is carefully arranged, the spaces will then have a multilayered appeal. However, it’s not all about a trained perception, or an appreciation for nuances; you also need to be selective about the type of furniture you buy. Century Furniture, one of the largest manufacturers of luxury wood and upholstery furniture, offers a nice blend of traditional and contemporary furniture.
While you can resolve the angst of how to strike the right ambiance in your living room by hiring an interior designer, it’s fun to experiment with the fundamental principles of interior design. If you do decide to do it yourself. Here are five rules that will teach you to see a room with the eye of a professional:
1. Tweak the symmetry
When philosophers wrestle with defining beauty, the word “symmetry” inevitably slips into their discourse. Yes, symmetrical things are beautiful, but when designing a room, they can also be a little too rigid. You want your furniture, of course, to be symmetrical, but you need to have a unique twist to how the furniture in the room is arranged. In other words, you need to throw off the symmetry a little by arranging things a bit off-center. Tweaking the spacing and position of chairs and tables and lamps breaks up the predictability and formality of a living room space. Moving things just a little off-center and angling them a little can prevent spaces from feeling too severe.
2. Balance color and fabrics.
While color can be attention arousing or soothing, ranging from stimulating bright reds to calming pale blues, textiles, like the soothing velvet fabrics of armchairs, the heavy woven fabrics of sofas, and the silvery wool of curtains, make a subtle contribution, too. In addition, color should be a balance between lighter and deeper shades of the same color. When color and fabrics are done well, then the room will be subliminally pleasing.
3. Layer in some modern art.
So far, you’ve tweaked the symmetry and balanced color and fabrics; now it’s time to add some art. “Antiques and traditional upholstery pieces will always be timeless, “said Interior Designer Lauren McGrath. “It’s the mixing of prints, color combinations, and modern art that give this space a feeling of now.” Art is where you can add some modernity into the room. One way to layer in some fresh perspective into a living room is to use modern photography. While a traditional landscape painting will make the room look somber, a large, glossy photograph of a rustic scene will add just the right blend of contrast.
4. Add a cosmopolitan touch.
When working with classic furniture, it’s easy to make the room look a little too parochial, like a living room on an English estate in the 18th century. In order to break up this time-worn appearance, you should add some worldly accents, something that gives the impression that this is the home of a seasoned traveler. Antiques and arts and crafts from other countries and cultures will add a cosmopolitan flavor to the room.
5. Allow room for future inspiration.
You’re unlikely to hit upon the perfect ambiance immediately. Instead, the design of your living room will evolve in an organic way. A comment by a visiting guest, noticing an interesting piece in someone else’s home, or stumbling upon a photograph, print, or painting in an art gallery will spark new ideas on how to reinvigorate your living room. In the full course of time, you’ll stumble upon hacks to help you ace your vintage decor. So, don’t be too attached to your current conceptions—be open to considering it all a work in progress.
Interior Design, More Art than Science
When redecorating a living room space, these five rules should not be regarded as proven scientific principles . Instead, they should be treated more like guidelines. They will give you some idea of how to blend the classical look in a modern world, preventing you from making the room look too antiquated while avoiding the aesthetic shock that occurs when injecting modern-looking minimalist furniture in a room with an antique feel to it.