Clever design ideas can make a difference between a bad and a great living room.
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The carpet is the first thing you should pay attention to. If you have a carpet don't put a rug onto it. We know that rugs bring a touch of high style and they look marvelous but a rug on the carpet will look like a very bad taste. And it is because that shows clearly that you didn't think how to put things together. And if you don't have a carpet choose a rug that's big enough to put all furniture on it at least partially, for example the front legs of a sofa or chair.
Baroque was a great style but don't try to recreate it in the home. Some may be tempted to add mirrors, embellishments, weird pieces of furniture and brass, but you shouldn't go that way. A statement piece in a room is OK and in fact there should be on, but if you make your room full of shiny pieces your room will look like a baroque designer with a bad taste designed it. Calm down, think what would you like, maybe a mirror or some glass where it belong, and leave the rest.
Then there are moldings and fireplace surround. Moldings can be great and they have their place in a home, but there is a problem: they must be perfect or they look bad. They must be of plaster and not of cheap plastic, and they must be of a proper size not looking like you found them on a castle and brought home. Similar stands true if we talk about fireplaces. If they are not big and glorious as they were built, don't add fake surround around them, that will create a monster. Instead a few pieces on it will make things look great and a chair in front will complete the picture.
The best way to make your room look beautiful and amazing is to invest in a piece of furniture that will serve as a focal point. That may be a big chest drawer, a great sofa, maybe a coffee table or sideboard. If you choose such a piece that will serve as a focal point you won't need much more in a form of many pieces or big pieces. The good thing is that that focal piece can follow the overall design of your room or may be completely different, it will work both ways so you can choose what you want and what you like. ■
