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Jakarta Post

Making sense of simple yet homely decorations

Picking out the right furniture and decorations to create a comfortable living room

Er Audy Zandri (The Jakarta Post)
Fri, November 28, 2014

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Making sense of simple yet homely decorations

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icking out the right furniture and decorations to create a comfortable living room.

People say that people'€™s character can be reflected from the way they decorate their home.

While such a notion is not necessarily true, one needs to pay attention to home décor principles to avoid giving the wrong impression.

And your parlor is the perfect place to start.

In the West, a living room can also serve as a family room. In Indonesia, it relates to community culture, as its function varies depending on the different types of people for various means.

Be it neighbors making a short visit during Idul Fitri, high school friends looking to rekindle old relationships simply because they'€™re in the area, or even community leaders asking for participation in upcoming local events, having a living room allows you to safely open your door without risking your privacy.

A spacious room has endless decoration possibilities. Yet, smaller spaces can have their own merits if managed wisely.

Proportions

A set of the bulkiest couches surrounding an oversized marble table next to a mahogany cupboard storing items can easily make your otherwise chic living room into a lair.

It'€™s true that your guests will need to feel comfortable sitting in the room, but they will also need to be able to move freely between spaces without fear of hitting a table with their shin.

This is why you need to prioritize function.

Simple is the new cool and simple chairs should accommodate the smallest room as long as they can stand apart from each other. Combine these with a vintage coffee table that can accommodate a tray of coffee cups and you are good to go. While the color of the chair cushions can match the color of the wall, you can go wild with your table, as long as the previously measured size is your definite factor.

Keep in mind that furniture with legs feel a lot lighter than those sitting directly on the floor.

If you feel the need for a cabinet to display your collections of books, including unique items that you want people to see, be sure to keep it narrow so it will not obstruct your guests'€™ movements. One of the best design principles when it comes to small spaces is not letting any space go to waste, and that can be achieved by creating wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling designed cabinets.

If you'€™re not on a budget, having a custom made tall-narrow cabinet placed on a perfectly measured position attached to a wall is the most ideal. Yet, when budget is a constraint, a visit to the nearest local furniture store could also garner maximum results if you know what you'€™re looking for.

Another design myth is that glass-front cabinets store more items in less cluttered positions, but not everyone likes having a glass cabinet in their living room.

Paint light


Do not be afraid of color, though deciding to go wild with complicated color patterns will visually make your small space seems even tighter. It is also best not to dominate the room with dark hues as it will give the same effect.

Brighter and lighter colors fit best and they don'€™t necessarily limit your options. You should also consider what each color brings in terms of atmosphere to the whole room.

Blue might be perfect for bedrooms as it signifies calm and tranquility. Meanwhile, the color green is arguably the most suitable for living rooms as it signifies harmony and nature. If you want your guests to feel comfortable in your house, colors like light green, sunlight yellow, crème and light blue should be considered for a single colored wall.

Or if you'€™re set on creating patterns on your walls, be sure to make it subtle with no more than two color combinations applied on the whole wall. Various combinations such as white and various light colors are proven to be perfect, but keep in mind not to let dark hues dominate the four walls.

A great example is the combination of crème and orange. As crème is the lightest shade of brown, the perfect fit is the deployment of wooden chairs with bright orange cushions, including wooden frame to display your crème dominated paintings hanging on the orange wall.

Bright-colored ceramic tiles are also important to diffuse light to all corners of the room. So is with wider tiles that can reduce the pattern created by the arrangement of smaller tiles.

Clean up


Keep everything clean- another crucial principle to bear in mind. Make space for everything and store things accordingly to avoid cluttering the living room.

Remember that a great design is no-less important than the condition of the space. Books lying around unattended, used cutlery or dirty laundry will give a bad impression. (Er Audy Zandri)

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