As a child, I was always reprimanded for putting my feet up on the couch. My mother was a house-proud woman who enjoyed entertaining – this meant preserving our furniture by not allowing my grubby little paws or muddy feet to touch anything. My argument, which still stands today, is that the lounge is a space in the home that should encourage relaxation. It is a shared sanctuary and today, lounges are designed as havens for all members of the family. Suffice to say, my lounge includes a foot stool for every seated spot so I can put my feet up without a worry.
Functionality is key when choosing items for the lounge.
As the lounge is an area in the home where you often entertain, there is an unwavering need for a couple of functional items, in order to ensure everyone feels comfortable. These include pieces such as comfortable couches, side tables, a coffee table and most often, a TV. However, as it is also a frequently-used space, modern lounge decorating ideas lean towards clean-lines and stylish pieces that are hardy and practical. The type of couches, tables and units you decide on should keep the space neat and contained.
Modern lounge decorating ideas suggest that you keep this room uncluttered for a stylish look and feel.
In this particular room, you need to be aware of clutter, especially if you have children or pets in the house. While you want to include the TV, DVD collection, books and magazines, these items should be elevated. This will allow for larger, chunky couches, as well as foot stools and tables to create the necessary amount of surface space. Popular lounge decorating ideas advise attaching your TV to the wall – most flat screens are sold with a wall bracket.
In addition, making use of floating shelves will help you to keep clutter to a minimum. Floating shelves are easily attached to the wall, are affordable, and are available in a variety of different materials, lengths and thicknesses. They can look much neater than regular shelving units as they take up very little space and give the room clean lines. These are ideal for storing your books, DVDs and decorative pieces.
Multi-use seating is a great way to store items that only need to be used occasionally or as the season change.
Modern lounge decorating ideas all lean towards comfort and various styles of seating have been designed to offer maximum relaxation. The ottoman became very popular in recent years, and nowadays, the blanket box has become a staple feature in many lounges.
A blanket box is an elongated, hollow ottoman, which doubles up as storage space. It is termed a ‘blanket box’ as many use it for storing additional blankets, throws, pillow cases and the like. It is also an excellent holding item for winter blankets or summer throws that you might swop out for a seasonal style update.
Modern lounge decorating ideas recommend removing fixtures that collect dust.
Many home-owners are concerned with the collection of dust and dirt in the lounge because of the high traffic of family, guests and kids. As a result, two common fixtures that have become outdated – due to the fact that they promote a dusty environment – are carpets and curtains or blinds.
Modern lounge decorating ideas also include updating your floors to wood flooring. This can be done either by ripping up the carpets and treating original wooden floors, or installing laminated ‘wooden’ floors to re-create this look. Wooden floors are much cooler than carpets in the summer months, and are warm in the winter months. Plus, they are very easy to clean and dirt or dust is quickly spotted.
The alternative to dusty and difficult-to-clean blinds and curtains is to treat the windows with frosting or tinting decals.
Using a top quality vinyl decal to achieve a frosted or tinted look will ensure that you have the privacy you need and illuminate the room with natural light. The vinyl decals, like those offered by Window Art, will protect your furniture and family from dangerous UV rays and diminish irritating glare on the TV screen. What’s more, windows treated with vinyl decals are extremely easy to clean compared to curtains or blinds, as all they require is a quick wipe.
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