How to Make Your Living Space a Better Place to Relax

Here’s a fact: it’s not always easy to get stuck indoors. There are days when you simply want to bust free and go on an adventure. The problem is, that option isn’t always available. There are rainy days, school breaks, and a hundred other reasons that can keep you anchored at home. Fortunately, there is one thing you have control over. You can make your home more relaxing and enjoyable to stay in instead.

Hence, in this article, we are going to share with you the best ideas to make your living space a more stylish and comfortable place to relax in through this difficult chapter, straight from the industry experts themselves. Let’s get started!

Start with Your Home’s Canvas

The first thing that you need to do is to set the canvas for your work. For interiors, that would be the architectural structure of your home. We understand, though, that getting major renovations done during this crisis is close to impossible. Hence, we can focus on smaller projects instead.

Update Its Elements

You can upgrade certain elements of your living space with a quick splash of paint. For instance, the design director of Good Housekeeping magazine brightened up a family home by giving an old-school red-brick fireplace with cream paint. This gave the entire space an upbeat and more energetic look as it lifted up the dark color.

To give the space a cooler vibe, then you can opt to paint it white instead. For a warmer vibe, then we recommend painting your walls with various shades of cream. Be sure to prioritize the colors that make you more comfortable since you’re going to be exposed to it more during the quarantine.

Repaint Your Walls

Since we are already talking about paint, Susana Simonpietri, interior designer and co-founder of Chango & Co. shares her views that she favors soft hues to give rooms more natural light.

If you’d rather opt for colors that literally pop out, you can follow Dabito instead. The creative director of Old Brand New used the color, Dark Jade, in an accent wall for his own home.

Serenity Blue Home Paint

• Use on a variety of interior surfaces like wood, metal, ceramic, canvas and easily distress to create a vintage look
• Low-odor, latex formula allows for easy clean up with soap & water
• Dries to the touch in just 30 minutes and covers up to 150 sq ft, 1-coat coverage allows projects to be completed easily
• Excellent adhesion and easy application with minimal prep
• Dries to an ultra-matte velvety, smooth finish

Add Home Accessories

Now that you have your canvas prepped and ready, it’s time to focus on the other elements of your space. There’s nothing worse than a living space that doesn’t quite look lived in. And the best way for you to add your personal signature is to add home interior accessories into your living room that you think best reflects your personality.

What we love best about home accessories is that they can be really relaxing to arrange, especially if you already have a lot in your mind during this pandemic. If you need some ideas, then here are some that we think you should consider:

Light Up Your Home

There are two types of light fixtures that can really change a space: ceiling lights and focused lights. Focused lights are fixtures like lamps that only illuminate a specific spot (like beside your couch for late-night reading).

• Vintage. You don’t have to invest in a new piece. You can take inspiration from designer Jean-Louis Deniot’s South Beach penthouse, elegantly utilizing a French 1940s lamp and a 1920s chandelier to add an opulent element to his living space.
• Accent. Light fixtures usually blend into the background, but that doesn’t mean that they should. John Robshaw, textile artist and globe-trotter, displays table lamps by equally talented Christopher Spitzmiller.
• Support. Finally, light fixtures can also support and reinforce a theme you’re going for. This is clear in the home of PR expert, Christina Juarez, and her gold floor lamp from West Elm.

Vintage Wire Cage Semi Flush Mount Ceiling

Industrial Style Metal Caged vintage ceiling light fixture, 3-lights, vintage yet stylish, which add a touch of mystery to your home. If you have a rustic/country home, this light will be amazing!

Fill Your Walls with Art

Lighting elements can influence the look of a space in two ways. First, the look of your chosen fixtures can serve as decorative pieces. Second, the light within a room can set its temperature and mood. However if you really want to make a huge aesthetic impact, wall art can definitely do a great job. Here are ideas:

• Art Grid. Good Housekeeping shares the best tips on how to display artwork at home in the book, Designers at Home by interior designer, Ronda Rice Carman. One particular tip that we find interesting and particularly helpful, though, is displaying themed art prints in a grid. You can even arrange your pieces from floor-to-ceiling for more drama.
• Off-Grid. Displaying your prints in a grid is a great idea for those who don’t know how to arrange their gallery wall. Those who are feeling a little bit more adventurous, however, can follow the same themed display, only this time hanging them in a more off-grid manner just like the blogger Oh Joy.
• Focal Piece. If you can’t find a set of art prints you want to display, then why not focus on displaying a single piece instead? That’s what blogger, Camille Styles did in her living room when she traded the original spot where her television was once displayed to hang Gray Malin’s St. Barths Nude Sunbathers art print.
• Beyond 2D. Finally, whoever said that you should just stick to art prints, paintings, and other forms of 2D art? Architect Luís Bernardo Brito e Abreu uses his wall space to display a 16th-century wall sculpture. Textile designer Kathryn M. Ireland uses hers to hang a 19th-century suzani rug. Finally, art consultant, Heidi McWilliams choose a mirrored sculpture by Anish Kapoor to take center stage in her living room.

Canvas Wall Art Blue Tree Forest Landscape

High definition superior inject machinery printing on good quality canvas, waterproof, non-fading for over 50 years. Perfect home decor, holiday, and gift idea for your friends, families, and relatives.

Cozy It up with Carpets and Rugs

Now that we have the walls covered it’s time to move on to the floors. We really take floor covering seriously during the quarantine since they add an extra layer of coziness to a space. With that being said, we’re going to talk about carpets and rugs next. Here are some ideas:

• Oversized. If you really want to make a style statement, here’s an idea. Nest Design Co.’s designers Jennifer Wundrow and Heather Brock used an oversized area rug in one of their projects to create the illusion of a bigger sitting space.
• Theme. Don’t really know how to tie a theme together but you also don’t want your central look to be in-your-face? Then one discreet yet efficient way to do it is through a carpet. That’s what blogger Oh Joy did in her striped living space
• Layers. Can’t choose between two pieces that both perfectly match your space? The answer is you don’t. You can layer two pieces together to add more interest and appeal, and that’s exactly what renowned decorator Ken Fulk did when he layered a buffalo-hide rug on top of his similarly animal-themed carpet in his own guest house’s living room.

Unique Loom Solo Solid Shag Collection

This rug is perfect for those high traffic areas in your home. It's also kid and pet friendly!

Invest in Quality Furniture

Finally, what’s a living space without furniture? Hence, that’s what we will focus on next. Here are a few ideas:

• Centerpiece. For those who find the surface space of their living room not enough to display decor, then adding a center table can do the trick. That’s what designer Alison Pickart did in her Infinity Tower project to feature the large plant that she used as focal point for the living room.
• Symmetry. If you feel that your living room looks a bit cluttered, then you can restore order by using symmetrical furniture. That’s one of the secrets behind Emilie Munroe’s perfectly posh living rooms over at Studio Munroe.
• Unconventional. Lastly, don’t be afraid to add unconventional pieces into your living room. That’s what Cecilia Sagrera and George Brazil, the designers behind Sagrera Brazil Design, did when they used a curved sofa to create a more intimate sitting area.

 America Zeppo Storage Chest In Antique Walnut

To Sum It Up…

We understand how stressful being on quarantine is and we must do what we can to flatten the curve. But that doesn’t mean that we should fall into the grips of panic and anxiety. In fact, we can view this as an opportunity to accomplish the design projects we’ve always been meaning to do but don’t have the time to do so because of our hectic work schedules.

To quickly sum up, here are the living space interior design essentials we have mentioned in this article:

• Structure. Think of your living space as an empty canvas to your artwork, and just like how artists prep theirs, you must do what you can to give your walls and floors a quick freshening up.
• Home Accessories. What’s a living room with no life? You can put the stamp of your personality to your living space by wittingly using different home accessories to your advantage.
• Carpets and Rugs. We know how much comfort we need especially in this time of crisis. That’s why you should never miss the opportunity to add more warmth and softness to any room with carpets and rugs.
• Furniture. And furniture pieces will turn your living space into something beyond a space but an actual functioning room that you can enjoy your indoor days in comfort and convenience.

By keeping the design tips we have shared with you in mind, we’re sure that you will put together a stylish comfortable living room that anyone will enjoy hanging out in, quarantine or no quarantine. Happy styling! 

Author: Leila Amber

Leila Amber is a Design Trend Setter at Knothome and a passionate writer, home decor and design enthusiast. She has a keen interest in the content that inspires her to dig deeper into the practice and create helpful design and decor guides.