How to Make a Large Living Room Feel Cozy

We all dream of open floor-plans and large rooms; a living room that can be stuffed with furniture and still have excess wall space; and areas that will afford us a freedom we've never had before. We all
want this.

Unfortunately, when we get it, we quickly discover a problem: that a large living room seems too much. It swallows our personal style and makes everything seem too small, too wasted and too ineffectual. All of that extra space has left us wanting to fill it up and tone it down.

Of course, most of us aren't sure how to manage that. We stumble through attempts and the only result we find is frustration.

You shouldn't have to go through that, not when decorating is meant to be a way to express your personality through design. It's not meant to make you despise the very room you've been waiting for all of your life.

So how do you make that large space seem less like a cave and more like part of your home? It's actually quite easy:

1) Learn The Importance Of Color: dark shades and fabrics will make a living room appear smaller. You can create instant intimacy simply by choosing bold hues like burgundy, hunter green, navy, etc. Use restraint, though. If you fill a living room with nothing but these colors, you can risk feeling trapped.

Compliment them with lighter touches. For example, if you paint your walls a deep blue, you can use shades of white and pastels to help combat the feeling. Your room will still seem smaller, but you won't feel verwhelmed.

2) Patterns Play A Part: if you don't intend to paint but, instead, wish to hang wallpaper, there are certain elements you must avoid. Using stripes (whether vertical or horizontal) will only serve to highlight the room's length. Also, avoid wallpaper that features a simple design as well as tiny little patterns.

This will usually get lost against the walls. Find more color heavy, condensed patterns. Not only will these be striking but they will also help to make the living room less intimidating.

3) Understand Accessories: many people love to hang mirrors and other reflective ornaments in their home. While these can be look wonderful, they can also make a room appear even more expansive.

Mirrors reflect more than light; they give a living room the appearance of being longer. If you already have a large space, try to avoid them. Create intimacy through artwork, rugs, plush pillows, etc.

4) Divide The Room: sometimes, you simply have too much floor space to work with and shoving your furniture along the walls leaves the center of the room looking empty. Don't just push everything to the corners. Instead, divide the room into separate sections.

5) Cluster seats together; create small setting areas. For example, one area could have a nice chess set and table. And yet another area could have a comfy chair and lamp for reading. Use a decorative divider to breakup a corner and prevent the room from looking like one big uninteresting box.