Can Traditional Patterns Be Used in Contemporary Furniture?

Shopping for new furniture can be a fun activity.  If you do not have any idea on where to start, you can have the opinions of an expert like an interior designer on how to go about with designing your space. On the other hand, if you want to stay away from paying professional fees, you can definitely go online to look for ideas as well as to know the latest trends in design.  This way, you will be able to find the perfect contemporary living room furniture set that will definitely make your home look like those living spaces that you see in magazines or the ones featured in decorating sites.

If you want to have a polished look for your house, then a contemporary theme is recommended. Yet, you may also want to consider adding more traditional elements, because adhering too much to the latest trends may take away some degree of sophistication to your space. One way of making your living room look contemporary yet still maintain the traditional feel is by mixing patterns into your décor.  Traditional patterns like plaid, argyle and chevron will definitely give your living room an established and not too flashy look.  The great thing about this is that you can mix and match styles as this would make your room unique in its own way. 

Here are some furniture patterns you should consider:

·       Chevron 

 

This is one of the prints that are making a huge comeback, not just in fashion but also in contemporary living room décor. For those who want to make this pattern work, color is of utmost importance. Get something in magenta or pink to make the piece more feminine, and bold and dark for those who want to give their room a manly appeal. 

·       Stripes

 

 This is a traditional print that does not go out of style.  A wise way of making any furniture in stripes look contemporary furniture is going with smaller patterns, like pin stripes. Wide stripes can also be considered, but they need to be in darker colors so they won’t look too loud.

·       Polka Dots 

 

This is another traditional print that is still being widely used today. But this is another print that should be used with caution. Dark , smaller dots should be used to avoid making the space look too busy.

·       Floral prints 

 

This is one traditional print that you still see in modern contemporary houses. The approach to this print should be careful, as some floral prints may look too feminine.

Using these prints is relatively easy.  You can start with choosing the color palette that you would want to use for your living room and build it from there.  It is advised though, that if prints are used on furniture pieces, the walls should be in solid colors, and vice versa. Having prints in both walls and furniture pieces will make the room look crazy! Varying sizes of the pattern will definitely leave out the boring factor in your living room furniture set. 

Image Credit: decorpad.com

The Right Colors for Contemporary Living Rooms

You have been meaning to give your living room a new look and you finally, you have the chance.   Now that the time has come, difficult (okay, that may be exaggerated, let’s go with challenging) decisions have to be made. One of the first things to consider in a design point of view would be the color scheme that you would want to put in place.  The chosen color scheme would (and should) be a crucial factor in tying up the whole look of the place. By place, we of course include the contemporary living room furniture set that would most likely be the centerpiece of the whole room, unless you’re going for a Japanese Zen look that would only have cushions, a huge, super low wooden table and a rug. 

On choosing the color for a contemporary look, you have several options.  But take note: Contemporary looking living rooms usually gear toward light and basic colors. Gone are the days when living rooms would have dark colors because of the wood material often used to decorate it.  Now, living rooms have a light and welcoming feel because of the modern color schemes installed. Of course, that is not to say that wood is not present as a material in contemporary furniture pieces. On the contrary, it is still very much used. However, wooden pieces are given lighter shades to imbibe a more contemporary appearance, so they maintain their popularity. 

Here are some colors that would surely make any make any living room furniture set (as long as it is made of good material and the design detail is not dated):

·         White and Peach 

 

This is one of the combinations that you can often see in contemporary living rooms for your family.  The white trim scheme gives it a traditional look while the peach colored walls give the place a modern boost. Yes, you read that right, peach and white – peach for the walls and surroundings and white for the furniture pieces or the living room furniture set. By peach, we are not talking about bright peach, but more into a warm but subdued shade. This combo is warm and inviting as a living room should look like.

·         Linen Beige and Wisteria Purple 

 

This combination might be a bit too modern for those who prefer traditional colors but the beige color anchors the look in the minimalist feel.  The purple gives it a modern and contemporary twist that would work well as an accent color. The contrast of the two colors would surely make any living room look eternally sleek. There’s that look some things have when they always look new even if they’re years old already. This color combination evokes that effect.

·         Browns and greens 

 

 These will definitely give the living room furniture set a modern look and feel. You can go two ways: Make the browns truly earth toned while your greens in a crisper light hue, or your greens in a very natural green while your browns border on ecru. The look achieved is very sophisticated.

There you go!

These are some suggestions for color combos for contemporary rooms set ups that will surely make your living room look grand. Tweak the colors accordingly, like if you’re biased towards blue, make the Wisteria Purple gear more toward a bluish hue, or if you’re a fan of orange, make your browns brighter.

Image Credits: mcgrawdesign,bgh,

Designing a Living Room for the Family

The living room is the part of the house where most families converge for the most part when they are at home, apart from the dining room.  This is also the first room of the house that guests usually see once they go in.   It clearly reflects the personality of the people and the family living in it, or at least how they want to be perceived by their visitors or anyone seeing it.  Thus, a living room furniture set says a lot about the people living under its roof.

How to Design your Living Room

When designing a living room for a family, there should be a consensus on what to place in it.  It would be sad if only mom’s opinion of what should be in a living room is considered. Also, there are considerations when it comes to the younger members of the family. Some furniture pieces may not be practical to own or place in a living room is small children run around the house. If household pets that aren’t potty trained are allowed to roam around the house, floor treatments like rugs and carpets may be impractical to put in a living room. 

Of course, the first thing to consider when choosing the furniture to comprise a living room furniture set is functionality and quality.  It is also important to consider safety and comfort.   

Here are some things that you might want to incorporate into the design of a living room:

·         Rug 

 Modern Rug Design for Living Room

A rug is good to have in this area to help protect your floor from spills and scratches.  As mentioned earlier, if you have pets that are likely to soil your rugs, rugs that do not require expensive treatment would be your best bet. If you prefer an easy to clean and maintain rug, then a bamboo area rug would be the ideal piece for your living room. 

·         Couch or sofa set

Leather Sofa Set

 

This is an essential item in the living room. Choose ones with clean lines if you want to have a classic look for your living room.  Pre-treated fabric is best if you have kids. That’s because wiping this kind of fabric with sponge alone will easily clean spills and the usual food-related “accidents.”

·         Coffee table 

Glass Coffee Table

Some might say this is not important but this is a great help if you have guests that you want to entertain in this room. Make the entire living room look more organic and alive just by placing a flower arrangement on the table’s center. Otherwise, a coffee table book or two would provide an instant conversation piece, not to mention   

·         Arm chair 

Leather Accent Chair

This could be the designated daddy chair. Whatever its design is, this piece will surely add the comfort and “home” dimension to your otherwise cold living room.

Your living room furniture set will complete the look of the place, so make sure to choose wisely and think of how you want your space to come across to other people.

Image Credits: homedesignresource.com , ladesignfurniture.com

Three Celebrity Living Rooms That Inspire

Celebrities are people we look up to when it comes to fashion and lifestyle.  Also, we take into consideration their personal aesthetic preference, be it for fashion, food, fitness, or even decorating when we do our own. Thus, it comes as no surprise that celebrity homes have become often featured in shows and glossy magazines. There’s obviously a market for it, from Elle Décor, Architectural Digest, to MTV’s Cribs gaining mass following. We simply want to copy their style, including their modern living room furniture set picks into our own homes. 

So many “celebrities” (not particularly television or movie actors, but just personalities we see in reality shows and the red carpet) have cashed in on this influence, much to their financial gain. Kim Kardashian, who we only see in a reality show with her family, has fashion boutiques that are making a killing. “Celebutantes” Lauren Conrad and Nicole Richie have become novelists with bestsellers under their belt. We are currently living in an age where “celebrity taste” is held in high esteem, even if it doesn’t exactly fit our personal likes and styles. But then, as they have the money and more than enough help with their team of experts, following or at least, getting inspired by them would not be such a bad idea.  

If you are doing some redecorating, you might want to copy the interior decorating style s of some stars.  You can always go online to check on some pictures to see if their styles do reflect your own.  

 Here are some amazing homes that you might want to see:

·         Anjelika Huston’s living room in her Central Valley, California ranch