The living room, or family room, is one of the most important spaces in the house. It provides a place for families to congregate and relax at the end of the day. When guests come over, the living room is perfect for hosting a game night or a movie night. The many functions of this room are the main reason why it should be a focus of your interior design ideas.

There are the typical aspects of a family room like an entertainment center, television, couches, comfy chairs, coffee tables, and end tables. Maybe there is a bookshelf as well. But there are many opportunities to elevate the status of your living room with some unique features that will make your family excited.

A living room with a touch of flair can create better memories for everyone in the house. Here are a couple of ideas to elevate the experience of this space in your home.

A Bay Window

Every home has windows to let in that natural light during the day and provide views of the outdoors. However, windows don’t have to be boring. Putting in a bay window is a cool idea to make extra space for decor and add a unique feature to the room. A large enough bay window can have some cushions installed to provide additional seating for the room’s occupants. You could also place some herbal plants on the bay window seat to add some greenery to the room while providing the cooks in the house with crucial ingredients. A bay window can be a beautiful substitute for typical window models, so consider making this change to open up the living room even more.

Window Decor

We will stick with window features for the moment. Not only does the type of window matter, but how you decorate it does too. Leaving a window the way it is will have little effect on the room. For this reason, consider adorning the window with beautiful drapes or roller shades from Hunter Douglas. If there is a surface somewhere on the window, like the sill, look for small decorative elements that can be mounted on this surface. The right curtains can amplify the colors in your living room while providing additional privacy or darkness if desired. Windows are a blank canvas of opportunity for your creativity, so find the right decor for them and make your living room a little more exciting.

Fireplace

Whether your home has an outdated fireplace or none at all, choosing the right fireplace can completely change the feel and aesthetics of your living room. First, it can be an alternative source of heat, especially during the colder months in the fall or winter. Second, it makes the room feel so much cozier. If you are having guests over for an evening get-together when it is chilly outside, you can create a warmer atmosphere, literally and figuratively, with an already-lit fireplace. The key is to find a style that fits with the rest of the room. Will a brick fireplace match the current style more than a modern take that uses marble? When adding or updating a fireplace, make sure that you have an accurate vision of how it will look before installation.

Furniture that Functions as Storage

Keeping a clean house is not always easy, especially if you have young children. Toys, junk mail, papers, and other items can pile up over time until suddenly, you realize how much clutter there is in your house. The solution? More storage options. In the living room, that could mean having furniture that also functions as storage. It’s not hard to find ottomans that can open up to put games, toys, books, or extra remotes inside to keep the surfaces in your living room clear. A coffee table with a shelf underneath can also hold some items. A cube storage organizer can store things as well while also serving double duty as an end table or surface. Furniture that acts as storage can make it easy to keep your living room clutter-free while it stays ready to serve many purposes.

Lighting

How you keep your living room bright should be an important part of the design decisions. Sure, you could buy some boring lamps to spread throughout the room, but they won’t have that touch of flair that can elevate your living room experience. Unique lighting ideas for your living room could include color-changing lights, recessed lighting in the ceiling, designy lampstands, pendant lights, or sconces. Be intentional with your lighting and make the room even more exciting.

Create a Vision

As you work on your ideas for the perfect living room, make sure that you sketch out the vision for the room. Sometimes, what we envision in our heads is not how the final product ends up. If possible, speak with an interior designer who can visualize these elements perfectly and present you with images of how things can look. When you have a vision for what the room can look like at the end, it will be easier to make project decisions/find decorative elements that mesh together.