A living room is a blank canvas in many respects. And like any blank canvas, the brush strokes of creativity can create any design imaginable. From modern to rustic, furniture designs for living room settings can make magic.
For many people the different furniture designs for living room living can be pretty confusing. While there are definitive styles of furniture designs for living room furnishings that are very easy to understand, many others cross between the styles, muddying the waters, so to speak.
Furniture designs for living room décor fall into several main categories. They are:
Contemporary or Modern: These follow the minimalist mantra of "form follows function," and the furniture designs for living room settings have distinctive straight lines, dramatic curves and polished surfaces. They lack the ornate features of other furnishings and make use of more industrial materials, such as fiberglass, plastics and aluminum.
Urban: A variation of contemporary, it is very minimalist. The emphasis is on brushed aluminum, a dark finish and glass. The furniture is scaled to be small, fitting well into an apartment.
Traditional: This style of furniture designs for living room layouts is characterized by ornate carvings and a majestic appearance. They are elegant and often use dark woods.
Transitional: This is a blend of traditional and contemporary, using the simplicity of modern furniture with the more ornate features of traditional furniture.
Country/Cottage: Furniture designs for living room settings that are country or cottage have a simple, weathered look to them. The emphasis is on lighter shades or muted colors and vintage fabrics, giving your room the look of a simple country home.
Eclectic: This style of furniture designs for living room décor mixes different periods and styles. It features unique pieces that are tied together by color, shape, texture or finish.
Rustic: Rustic furniture has a primitive appearance to it. It has simple lines and a feeling of practicality. These look great in a home with exposed beams and lots of wood. Think mountain cabin and you have the idea behind this style.
Art Deco: The emphasis here is on furniture designs for living room layouts that feature strong vertical lines, rounded corners and bright colors. It is a very energetic look and the furniture is often made of exotic woods or veneers.
European: This is a catchall term for furniture that is English, Italian or French in origin or style. It's a very distinctive look. For example, French can feature beautiful carvings, rich fabrics and very complex patterns. Italian picks up influences of marble, stone and wood, reminiscent of the Roman Empire. English has spindled legs and ornate backs, often in dark woods.
There are certainly other minor styles of furniture, but these should help you understand the basic differences between the most common styles.
The best thing to do is determine what style fits your own tastes the best. Some people won't have anything besides modern in their home while others gravitate to country. There's no right or wrong. In fact, you can have entirely different styles in different rooms. If you're an interior design pro, you can even have them in the same room and simply refer to them as eclectic. Just know that this can be hard to pull off and it can end up looking like a train wreck instead.
To get a sense of the different styles, look online. Many online retailers sell different styles of furniture on the same site so you can get a sense of what you like and don't like. Put your favorites into a folder on your computer and then look through them to find common threads of textures, colors, lines or styles. It's one of the easiest ways to find the perfect furniture for your living room.