For many people, the living room is the showcase room of the house. It is the first public room guests visit before they are ushered into the kitchen or the dining room. So it pays to have a living room make a statement. Here are three ideas to make the living room stand out so you can wow guests when they walk in:

Paint Colors and Styles

Though a popular trend is for living rooms to be somewhat neutral, feel free to paint the walls and even the ceiling whatever color you choose. You cannot only choose trendy browns, beiges, whites and grays but also bright primary colors, pastels and even metallics. Indeed, some people mix different hues and tones to create interest and indulge in such styles as stenciling, strié, stripes, color washing, sponging and rag rolling.

When you’re painting your living room, remember to focus heavily on the trim and molding. Many homeowners leave their molding white, no matter the color of the walls and the ceiling, but this is also not a hard and fast rule. Molding and trim can be dramatic, such as black trim on an off-white wall. It can also be just different enough to make a guest notice, such as a pale blue wall with even paler blue trim.

Use Different Fabrics

Using different fabrics in the living room creates interest and staves off boredom as you and your guest experience the feel of one fabric, then another, then another. Consider a velvet couch with colorful throw pillows and linen shams, a flokati rug to run bare toes through, shantung lampshades, windows with sheer ninon curtains and two easy chairs upholstered in leather. You may even add a fabric artwork to the wall or have the wall itself faced with an easy-to-care-for fabric.

Plants

Plants make beautiful additions to the living room. Some homeowners have a few strategically placed plants while others have living rooms that resemble greenhouses. It’s important that the plant, whether it’s a dumb cane, a maidenhair fern, a pancake plant, succulent or an African violet, gets the right amount of light and water to thrive in your particular living room.

Paint and how it’s used, layered fabrics and beautiful plants are only three of many ways to make your living room stand out. These decorating decisions both delight the eye and make you and your guests feel comfortable and welcome.

Want more DIY ideas? Check out this other article: A DIYer’s Guide to Working With Epoxy

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