Modern living rooms often feature light colors and furniture with clean lines.
According to Michael Webb in "Architectural Digest," modern homes --- and by extension, modern living rooms --- caused quite a stir when their cool, light colors, clean lines and a sense of minimalism hit the market over a half-century ago. Today, these features are embraced as commonplace, and plenty of decorative elements following the modern style exist on the market. Additionally, it's a simple style to reproduce in a living room. Modern decorating usually follows the same principles of decorating as other styles do; it just incorporates furniture and accessories constructed in modern styles into the room. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Choose a focal point for the room. A focal point often emerges out of a particularly striking architectural feature such as a fireplace or from one you create, like a sculpture and wall art gallery. If you're creating one instead of going with a feature that already exists in the room, choose modern pieces such as modern abstract wall art and sculptures.
2. Look for furniture that features clean lines. Modern decorating embraces simple-looking construction in simple, often neutral colors. In this look, there are no overstuffed couches and chairs and glass or Plexiglass tables. Instead, the cushioning -- both the kind that comes on the piece and the extra throw pillows -- are kept to a minimum.
3. Use small decorative accessories to create visual points of interest. Although it might seem that modern decorating and decorative knickknacks are incompatible, they're not. They do need to be selected carefully; however; less is more in this case. To make this work, "Real Simple" recommends that you put like with like, meaning that if you've chosen to create a display from different types of letters, group the few pieces that you have together to make a small display on a side table or the fireplace mantel.
4. Select your area rugs to support the modern theme. Alissia Davic recommends on the "Rental Decorating Digest" website that you choose a geometrically shaped rug if you've chosen to decorate in a modern style. Area rugs not only bring spots of color to a room, they can assist you in creating a focal point in your modern living room. To do this, place your area rug in front of your focal wall -- this could be a fireplace or photo gallery -- and position your furniture around the rug.
5. Introduce color to stimulate visual interest. Despite gravitating toward light-colored neutrals, modern living room decorating can use the additional oomph given to it by adding a few pieces of vibrantly colored furniture, couches or chairs. For example, if your living room features mostly white, add in a cobalt blue couch or red chair. It'll provide a visual anchor and make the room more interesting. Make sure the piece features modern, simple construction to keep it grounded in the modern style. You can also accomplish this task by painting one of your walls a vibrant color and leaving the rest of them white.
Tags: living room, clean lines, focal point, modern style, couches chairs, light colors, living rooms
