How to Live Well- The Living Room

The living room should be a place of vibrancy- where activities such as, playing games, reading a book, eating chocolates, sleeping by the fire and watching a movie can all be accomplished in relative comfort and luxury.

Ideal living rooms will have lots of light and comfortable seating- enough for the family and a few guests. There will probably be a television, a fireplace, hopefully a place for books (if there is no library) and art.

Our living room is a wonderful space... and while the furniture is not exactly what I would choose as my first choice (seating is limited chez nous)- I’m grateful to at least have something to sit on! I like to focus on the positives, which in our house includes high ceilings, tall, European-style windows and a functioning fireplace.

These are the extras that make the space that much more special:

Recessed lighting on a dimmer switch. I love being able to dim the lights. We have a dimmer in every single room in the house, it adds instant atmosphere come twilight.

Pretty curtains to dress the windows. We chose a neutral taupe color that I knew I wouldn’t tire of... maybe in our next house I’ll go for something a little bolder.

A neutral, warm color on the walls. In our case- it’s cottage white. Again, I will never tire of this and I can add color via accessories- which brings me to my next point...

Lots of sumptuous throw pillows and blankets. I found some great faux fur throw pillows in chocolate that are so comfortable on our tiny sofa- they were from Bed Bath and Beyond... very affordable.

A place for pets. Gatsby loves to sit on his red, fluffy dog bed right in front of the fire on cold winter nights.

A warm rug beneath your feet- the best you can afford. Right now ours is from Ikea, but I dream of a gorgeous Persian-style rug one day...

A coffee table with a few interesting books on it and a place to keep all of those remote controls. Controlling the electronic clutter and coffee table clutter is essential here. I know the TV is there but I don’t want to be drawn to it.

A means of playing music. I love listening to music throughout the day. We have installed surround sound speakers so the sound fills the room!

Art that makes you happy. Or at the very least inspires fond memories. I have a framed Art Deco poster from Roger La Grenouille in Paris that brings to mind magical memories every time I look at it...

Voilà- my bare essential list for living well in the living room!

I would love to know… what is your living room like?


Gatsby is pictured above on the tiny, white sofa in our living room.