6 Golden Rules of Living Room Design for Creating a Cozy Yet Stylish Space, According to Pros

These rules are worth following.

Your living room is the place where a lot of—well— living happens. So you'll want to ensure that your living room design is beautiful enough to serve as the backdrop for get-togethers and celebrations, yet relaxing enough for chilling with your loved ones after a long and busy week. It may seem like a bit of a challenge to accomplish both of these goals in a single space, but design professionals have the golden rules to follow to make it happen. Try these pro-approved living room design tactics to create the perfect hangout space in your home.

Related: 6 Things Every Living Room Needs According to Interior Designers

Meet Our Expert

• Malka Helft , founder of Think Chic Interiors
• Rosanna Bassford , founder and principal designer of Memmo Interiors
  

Make Your Living Room Livable

Your living room isn't necessarily the place to opt for a lot of delicate antiques and hard-to-clean furnishings. "Everything needs to be practical and usable first, because we’re not making museums," says Malka Helft, founder of Think Chic Interiors. For your sofa and other seating, choose fabrics that can stand up to some wear and tear—and skip the dry-clean-only white fabric if kids and pets will be living in that space. "Everything needs to work—fabrics need to be practical, cleanable, and wipeable if something spills on it."

Mix and Match Your Furnishings

Those all-in-one living room furniture sets may make it easy to shop for furniture, but they can lead to a boring, cookie-cutter living room, says Rosanna Bassford, founder and principal designer of Memmo Interiors. "The idea that you have to buy living room seating in sets doesn't apply anymore. Living rooms are much more interesting visually when you mix up the seating and pair different styles or colors of furniture together."

So go ahead and pair that sleek modern sofa with a moody blue vintage chair to create a design statement.

Arrange Your Furniture Away From the Walls

It may seem counterintuitive, but you're better off arranging your room so at least some of the furniture is floating away from the walls. "Never put furniture up against the wall—it always makes the room look smaller," Helft says. "The second you move your sofa off the wall by a foot, it gives you the illusion of depth, because you can see that there's more behind you. You’re not taking up much more space by moving it away from the wall, but the difference is actually shocking."

Related: 6 Tricks Designers Use to Make a Small Living Room Look Bigger

Use a Rug to Frame Your Conversation Area

An area rug does more than just add panache to your living room—it can also help frame the conversation area and make it feel cozier. Bassford recommends arranging your seating either completely on—or at least the front legs on—an 8-by-10 or 9-by-12-foot rug. "If the furniture is any further apart, you'll be uncomfortably far away from others for a conversation. You don't want to have to shout!"

Related: 32 Easy and Unexpected Living Room Decorating Ideas

Create a Focal Point

If you're lucky enough to have a fireplace, that's a natural choice for a living room focal point, Helft says. But you can create your own if you don't. "Create a focal point by arranging the room so everyone’s eyes are going to go a beautiful piece of art," she says. A TV can also work—though if you also have a family room, Helft suggests leaving the living room for conversation and socializing, and keeping the TV only in the family room.

Have Flexible Seating on Hand

When you're arranging your living room, consider how many people you plan to have congregating there on a regular basis. Ensure you have seating for at least your family and a few guests. For those times you're hosting a larger get-together, Helft recommends working a few additional seats that are easy to access into your living room design. "If you have a console table, have stools stationed under there. They're easy to move and use as part of that conversation area."

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