YOUR ULTIMATE GUIDE TO BUYING LIVING ROOM FURNITURE

May 28, 2021 7 min read

Your loungeis often the heart of your home – especially now. Over the past year, this space has since some drastic changes, from being the place where you watch television at night after work, to becoming your home office and workout area, as well as where you binge watch movies and series. Because this space is now multifunctional and more important than ever, it is vital that it is properly furnished.

This is our ultimate buying guide for furnishing a living room with everything that you could possibly need. We will help you identify what core pieces of furniture you should invest in, as well as clever storage ideas and some personal decorative touches that will really make the space your own.

BEFORE YOU GET STARTED, CONSIDER YOUR BUDGET

Before you get started with revamping or buying all the furniture, it is worthwhile to assess what kind of budget you have. Based on the size and shape of your space, as well as your needs in terms of seating arrangements, living room furniture can be quite costly, especially if you are buying everything brand new. When planning your budget, you need to assess what are the functions of your lounge, is it exclusively a living room where you and your family will relax and watch movies together, or does it function as a place where you work or study, additionally does it house toys for your children or pets – all of these will factor into how much you should budget when furnishing your living room.

We recommend that for the main furniture pieces that you allocate a bigger portion of your budget to as these items are worth investing in, whereas smaller décor items such as scatter cushions, throws and ornaments can be on the cheaper side as you may want to rotate them seasonally.

CORE FURNITURE PIECES: YOUR LIVING ROOM ESSENTIALS

When designing your living room, there are certain pieces of furniture that you cannot live without, such as your couch, occasional chairs and coffee table. These core furniture pieces make up your living room furniture essentials as they will last in your home for many years, through many trends. Ultimately, these core furniture pieces make your room functional and liveable, and so it is worthwhile to invest in these items.

SOFA SUITE OR SECTIONAL

Your couchor corner couch is a must-have in your lounge. Couchescreate a designated place where you and your family and friends can sit, converse, relax and watch television, and much more. Your sofawill be your biggest investment and most used piece in your living room, bar your television and entertainment system, and therefore it is so important to take time when choosing this item.

When you are considering your options, you can either choose between a lounge suite or a corner couch set up such as an L shaped couch or other sectional designs. If you have a large family that loves to spread out and lounge around, then we recommend that you opt for a larger sectionalto accommodate for this. If you have a smaller family then a sofa suite or couch may be a better option, as well as save you some space in your living room.

When it comes to the type of fabric you want for your couchesor corner couch, you can choose from either leather or fabric. An important thing to remember is that the upholstery option you choose will determine the cost and durability of your sofa. So, you may want to consider who will be using the couchthe majority of the time, how often it will get used, and how you will clean it. Once you have selected the upholstery type, the next thing you need to consider is the colour of the upholstery. If your couchesor corner couches will be getting a lot of use, we recommend going for a darker brown or grey colour, whereas if your couchwill only be used every now and then, you can choose a from a variety of lighter colours, or darker colours should you wish.

The last and most important thing to consider after choosing the material type and colour, is the shape and size of your couch to ensure that your sofa will fit into the space comfortably.

ACCENT SEATING

Accent seating is another seating option that forms part of the core furniture group of your living room design. Should you lounge be large enough to accommodate occasional chairs, we highly recommend that you opt to use them as they are a great way to either complete the conversational area or create a separate seating area that works alongside your main lounge suite. Accent chairs help to round out your seating area and pull together your room—giving you space for entertaining, watching movies, reading, and so much more.

When styling occasional chairs in your living room, you have the opportunity to add a pop of colour or incorporate patterns into the room in a way that is subtle yet still sophisticated. While your lounge suite features a more classic, reserved style and colour, you can have fun with your occasional chairs and use them to add a unique flair to the space.

COFFEE TABLES

Coffee tables offer you a stylish place to set your drinks, television remotes and books down on. While a coffee table is not always a must-have for all homeowners, we highly recommend that you incorporate one into your lounge. There are a few crucial things to consider when choosing your coffee table as they can either make or break the space if they are the wrong size, height, style or material. However, if you measure your space properly and spend time browsing the wide array of coffee tables that are available you will be able to find one that is the perfect match for your space.

KEEP ORGANISED: LIVING ROOM STORAGE

Once you have finished furnishing your living room with the core furniture pieces, you can more focus on keeping your living room organised by incorporating smart storage solutions throughout the room. Everyone’s storage needs differ based on their family size and lifestyle. However, no matter who you are, you need to incorporate a few smart storage solutions to keep your lounge neat, tidy and clutter free.

TV UNIT/PLASMA STAND

TV units or otherwise known and plasma stands, media cabinets or media consoles, are a necessity in your living room if you have a television, sound system or decoders. These large cabinets are often the home for all of your electronic devices, cables and remotes, and can either have your TV placed directly on them or mounted on the wall above them. Your TV unit becomes a focal point in the room as it is often centred on the main wall and the seating is generally configured to face this area, making the choice of the media console an important one.

While there is an extensive array of options available, it is important that this piece of furniture is both functional and stylish. An important factor to consider is the scale and proportion of the media cabinet as you do not want a plasma unit that is too small underneath your television as it can create an eyesore, as well as drastically reduce the amount of storage space you will have. We suggest that you opt for a display unit that has both cupboards and drawers as this allows you to safely store away a multitude of things and keep them out of sight.

BASKETS

Another great storage alternative for your living room is baskets, whether they are wire or woven. Basketsare a great multipurpose storage solution for your lounge as you can store a variety of things such as extra throws and blankets, books and magazines, and children’s toys – you name it, you can store it in a basket.

Basketsare a great storage solution for your living room as they are extremely cost effective, sturdy and can be bought in a variety of different materials, shapes, sizes and styles to suit your living room aesthetic and storage needs.

FINISHING TOUCHES: LIVING ROOM DECOR

Once all of the main furniture pieces and storage items have been selected, you can move onto the fun part – décor. Décor items are the finishing touches to the room that give it that sense of style and personality. These items do not have to break the bank and can be rotated seasonally to keep your space feeling new and exciting all year round.

RUGS

Whether your flooring makes your space feel cold or warm, adding a rugto your living room space add an element of comfort and warmth to the room, as well as a pop of colour and pattern depending on the style you choose. If your living room is on the larger side and you have grand, sprawling seating arrangement, adding a rugto the space can help create a designated zone to the open layout. Rugsalso act as a soundproofing mechanism as they absorb noises, making them the perfect sound barrier for your lounge.

A big part of choosing a rugfor your living room space is selecting the right size rug– you don’t want it to be too big or too small for the space or else it will create an unbalanced space. Once you have found what size your rug needs to be, you can move on to selecting the style and colours that you love to incorporate your rooms colour palette in a subtle way.

SCATTER CUSHIONS

No sofa is fully complete without an array of scatter cushions that have been strategically arranged to look effortlessly put together. Scatter cushions function as a way for you to quickly and easily dress up or dress down your sofa, incorporate colour and texture, and add additional support and comfort. While it is important to select scatter cushions that complement your couches and the overall look and feel of the room, they are relatively inexpensive and so you can rotate them seasonally to give your living room a fresh new look.

When styling your sofa with cushionsit is important to take the size of your sofa into consideration. Small couches require fewer cushionsthan a large corner couch. However, how many scatter cushions you use also depends on your personal style preferences.