Design Your Living Room Like a Pro (A Step by Step Guide)

You always need a starting point. In a race, you need the sound of a gunshot to tell you it’s time to run. Today, consider inspiration to be the gunshot that gets us started. Your inspiration can be your favorite Bungalow piece of art, your inherited antique chair, a blanket, pillow, you name it. The key is to pick something that you absolutely love and enjoy!

Your Challenge: Select a piece that you LOVE. You may find there is more information this piece is giving you than you would expect.

Do you find your home overstimulating and draining? Or, do you find your home uninspiring and bare? What are the existing conditions of the space? Do you have ample sunlight? Or does your space hardly have any windows at all? All these factors work together to influence the way you feel in your home. I’m going to challenge you today to try to pinpoint 3 different factors that are in desperate need of attention and 3 areas that you absolutely love about your space.

Your Challenge: List out 3 areas that you are wanting to change about your space and 3 areas that you want to enhance in your space.

Remember how you selected a special piece of inspiration in Step 1? Let’s put that inspiration to use. 

I’ll show you an example of how I’m going to create a color palate using, The Marigold for my living room. Warning, I do get a little technical in this section. If you get lost at any point, stick with me to the end where I'll share how I can help you!

Let me share with you a fun nerdy design hack. In Design 101, we learn all about the beloved color wheel. The color wheel is one of the most helpful tools when making evidence-based decisions. 

Within the color wheel, you'll find color schemes, as you see above in the image from figma.com. Some color schemes are more difficult to implement than others. Today, I’ll share an intermediate color scheme, it's not the easiest to implement, but it's also not the most challenging. 

It is called the Split-Complementary color scheme. Are you ready to create your very own color scheme? I'll show you how using the Marigold painting.

“Expert” tip: I use quotation marks because when I tell you how I do this, you may make fun of me for how simple it is. Are you ready? 

I put my piece of inspiration…aka the Marigold painting into Canva and I use the eyedropper tool to get me a palette that I love. That’s it!

You've decided on your colors, what now? 

In this case study, I'm going to simply refer to these colors for my furniture and accent pieces like the rug, sofa, and decor. Since I want this Living Room to have an elevated feel, I'm going to select a taupe paint color, you'll see why I'm going to do this in your next step. 

So there you have it! From one painting, we've been able to create a custom color palate that will set the foundation for our future choices. This is how you move away from selecting your finishes aimlessly, to designing your living room with purpose.

Your Challenge: Insert your inspiration in Canva. Define the color scheme that makes most sense to you. Use the eyedropper tool to select colors accordingly.

Let’s do a quick review. Just from reading this blog you’ve gathered the following information: 

Now, let’s get to the fun part, creating the mood boards!

Your pain points are going to determine what is prioritized on your mood board. If lighting was a major pain point, then a chandelier, lamp, and curtains will take up some prime real estate on your mood board. 

If a pain point was that you feel uninspired and your space feels bare, then a nice big rug and some artwork will likely fill in your mood board.

In this case study, I’m going to show you an example of a mood board where the pain points included, lack of lighting control, lack of texture, and lack of inspiration.

Pain Point 1: Lighting control

Solution: Include various lamp options, define a light wall color (see the wall color in the picture with the green velvet sofa), and dramatic window treatments

Pain Point 2: Texture

Solution: Rippled edges from the coffee table (also mimic the flower petals in the marigold), velvet finish sofa to bring in softness to the hard contrast of the wood in the coffee table, scalloped edges in the lamp shade to bring a feminine touch to the lighting design, and a patterned texture on the ottoman to exhibit the feel of a floral texture.

Pain Point 3: Lack of Inspiration

Solution: Addition of color to the space in an appropriate way, a sophisticated boldness was brought in through the pattern on the ottoman which ties in the overall color scheme exhibiting all 3 colors of the Split-Complimentary color scheme. 

The ottoman is the small but mighty piece that brings all these elements together so the space will not look dull. By framing the Marigold painting on a wall in an oversized frame with a blue underlay matte and deep brown vintage frame will bring the look to an over-the-top, completed to the last detail look.

Your Challenge : Based on your inspiration, color palette, and pain points - pull together your necessary furnishings and add them to a digital mood board.

You’ve done it! You’ve gone through all the necessary steps and implemented the tools to create a space that reflects you!

You've used your inspiration as a guideline, created your color scheme, defined your pain points, and created your very own mood board. 

Now, it’s time to gather the items on your mood board and bring them into your home. Whether you purchase your items online, or use your mood board as a reference to find items secondhand, remember this: DON'T FORGET TO CHECK YOUR DIMENSIONS! 

The last thing you want is to order the wrong height of a lamp and it annoyingly shine in your eyes when trying to read a book. Or, accidentally order too long of a sofa and it not fit in your living room. 

Make sure you think through how the items will sit in your space in real life and check the return policy too if ordering online! These are all factors that I think through as a designer, and I want you to be properly equipped!

There is no limit to your creativity but when you are given a guideline, it certainly saves quite a few headaches.

If you found any of this process challenging or a little overwhelming, I get it! Who would have thought there were SO many details involved in just creating a color scheme and mood board?? Let alone making sure all your selections will actually fit in your living room!?

If you are looking for someone to guide you, or better yet, do this for you, did you know that I provide 1:1 design services?

I’ve worked with clients all over the country to tailor their living rooms, bedrooms, basements, and more exactly to their specific needs.

I'll let a recent client take over from here and share with you their experience:

Are you ready to experience professional 1:1 design just like Kelli did? 

This is my first  announcement to my loyal Bungalow House Studio Community, that I am officially opening the doors to take on new clients. If you want to learn more, email me at emma@bungalowhousestudio.com 

Happy Designing!