Your living room should be a sacred place where you could just relax and let your guard down, invite friends over, watch TV, and spend some quality time with your family. Whatever style you choose to decorate your living room, whether it is retro, traditional, or modern, it is important that they fit the atmosphere and comfort.

There is an art behind choosing the right colors, the right furniture, or the right design for your living room. It is always important that you are aware of the things that would work well for your taste, and what would not. So, here are some ideas to guide you before you hit the furniture store in Utah:

1. Find the Perfect balance of mixing light and dark.

Remember, your living room is a special place to be — it is where most of your guests stay, and where most of your extended family members stay whenever there is a special event — so, having plain white walls would seem to dull (once again, this your living room, in your own home, and not a prison cell).

If you go with dark choices, your home will look like a medieval castle’s dungeon, and you would not want that either. Arm yourself with the perfect balance of black and white — for example, should you choose to have white walls, try contrasting them with abstract art or picture frames with black borders as long as they fit the atmosphere.

2. Choose the proper texture (but don’t be afraid to experiment).

When decorating a living room, the texture could easily be overlooked. Almost everyone tends to forget the importance of texture — and how they come to add to the design and the feel of the entire room.

People do not seem to see the visual importance of texture as much, but it definitely plays a role in making your living room feel cozier. Try going for the softer plush textures (like pillows) and contrast them with other harder ones like marble or glass.

Do not be afraid of mixing up things when trying to find the perfect balance. For instance, you may include a variety of texture such as cotton, wool, metal, glass, and even a plant for as long as they are all in perfect harmony. Pillows are always good for starters when decorating the living room — you can proceed with mixing up color palettes, and adding other accessories.

3. Comfortable fabrics for your seats.

Of course, in any person’s living room, almost everyone who goes there wants to kick back, relax, and well… sit down. So it is very crucial to have your chairs be comfortable, but more importantly, practical, long-lasting. Pick the type of fabric that would not only be aesthetically pleasing but also durable.

Remember, you will have a lot of people staying over in the living room most of the time, so stains are inevitable and they are bound to get messy. The best choice for your seats is mid-tones fabric, ones that will not easily wear out, and those darker ones that would easily show soil stains, footprint marks, and more.

Decorating your living room is a dream, and all it really needs is practicality, taste, and experimentation altogether!