Living Room Arrangements For The TV (And Non-TV) Obsessed

I don't what much TV myself since I am so busy with my real estate business, but I have to remind myself that not all my buyer and seller clients are like me. Some of them Love their TV and watch it allot. I've seen the inside of many condos, town homes and single family homes, and one thing I've learned is that some living rooms and family rooms don't lend themselves well for setting up a TV, but some do. It all depends on the floor plan and layout of the home. Below is a great article from RealtyTimes regarding setting up your living room for your TV or if you don't have one.

Living Room Arrangements For The TV (And Non-TV) Obsessed


You think finding the perfect home is a challenge? Just try fitting your existing furniture into your new living room. How do you create symmetry in an asymmetrical space? How do you handle multiple focal points? And most importantly, where do you put the TV?!

"Where you place your furniture in a room will instantly set the tone for how you'll live in that room," said HGTV.

And yet, "most new homeowners - when presented with a bare room - are overwhelmed with possibilities and insecurities of furniture arrangement," said Budget Decorating.

Here are a few solutions that will help you lay out the furniture to maximize utility and enjoyment of your living room.

Small space, no TV

We don't personally understand the "no TV" part, but we can all relate to a small space and the seemingly limited options for arranging furniture in a way that still seems looks chic.

Create an intimate space with pieces that coordinate and complement instead of reverting to matchy-matchy. The mix of colors and textures, plus a smart use of window coverings that accentuates the ceiling height, create a lovely room.



A cocoon with a TV at the head

Now this we understand. A cozy seating arrangement that creates multiple conversation areas plus lounging space for catching up on National Geographic is right up our alley. It's sophisticated, but still useful.



Creating a focal point

This is often a problem in homes where there are potential focal points on opposite or adjoining walls.

"Identify the room's focal point - a fireplace, view, television etc - and orient the furniture accordingly," said Houzz. "If you plan to watch television in the room, the ideal distance between the set and the seating is three times the size of the screen (measured diagonally). Therefore, if you've got a 40-inch set, your chair should be 120 inches away."



Here are some more tips from Houzz:

"Place the largest pieces of furniture first, such as the sofa in the living room or the bed in the bedroom. In most cases this piece should face the room's focal point.
Symmetrical arrangements work best for formal rooms. Asymmetrical arrangements make a room feel more casual.
Think about the flow of traffic through the room—generally the path between doorways. Don't block that path with any large pieces of furniture if you can avoid it. Allow 30 to 48 inches of width for major traffic routes and a minimum of 24 inches of width for minor ones."

All TV, all the time

Let's face it. Today one of the biggest decisions regarding furniture placement is where to put the TV. Sometimes a decision about whether or not to buy a certain house swings on the fact that there is no space for a giant flat screen.

"Today, the television has become the focal point," said Better Homes and Gardens.



Ideally there's a fireplace with a lowish mantel and it's right in the middle of the room with a parallel wall where you can put your couch and you can hang the TV above the fireplace in direct line of sight of everyone watching and all is happy in family land. If that doesn't work or if you abhor the prospect of your TV being the focal point, you can get more ideas here.


Source: RealtyTimes, Jaymi Naciri
http://realtytimes.com/consumeradvice/homeownersadvice1/item/34865-20150511-living-room-arrangements-for-the-tv-and-non-tv-obsessed

More Home Design Trends That Aren't So Cool

Nothing like tacky furnishings and interior design to turn off potential buyers for your home. Check out the article below from RealtyTimes and take heed if your are thinking of selling. What may look cool to you, may not be for buyers out there in today's market.


More Home Design Trends That Aren't So Cool

Once upon a time, avocado green appliances and orange shag carpet seemed like a great idea. Appliances with color provided a custom look for ordinary homeowners, and wall-to-wall carpets were considered a luxury. Then the Beatles broke up and what was once considered cool morphed into flocked wallpaper, berber carpets, and jewel tones, which nobody wants anymore either.

The point is that things you may think are cool at first glance may have some real drawbacks and you could end up regretting some design and decorating decisions you make.

Lofts

Lofts became popular with the trend to reclaim industrial spaces for residential use. It's very cool to be downtown where all the action is, but you'll pay a premium for walking access to restaurants and clubs.

The ones who make out the best on lofts are the developers. "Yeah, we could've given you a private bedroom, but by hanging your bedroom over your living area, we were able to sell more units and make more money."

Living like you're crammed into overpopulated cities like New York and Hong Kong is one thing, but if you're in Dallas, San Diego, or somewhere with room to spread out, you'll definitely overpay for this kind of urban renewal.

Minimalism

Magazines like Elle Décor celebrate the concept of minimalism - a few well-curated pieces of furniture, accessories and art that show off clean architectural lines. These homes may look great in theory, but aren't necessarily user-friendly.

Imagine Fisher-Price plastic toys spread out all over your Mies van der Rohe concrete floors, or peanut butter and jelly fingerprints on the wall of glass in your living room.

No place to play, no collections, nothing on the tabletops? Are you really that OCD? Sounds more like the lobby of a commercial building than a home.

Alternative countertops

Interior designers are dying to break our addiction to granite, but unless you're in a Los Angeles or New York City, you shouldn't pay extra for quartz, resin, concrete or stainless countertops. Why?

Granite may be made of stone, but it has an elegance and warmth that can't be achieved with concrete or stainless. If you want to get edgy, try granite on the main countertops and an alternative product like stainless on the island.

Moroccan prints and gourd lamps

In the 1960s, bamboo-trellis wallpaper and parquet-patterned floors were the rage. Now we're being inundated with variations on the

Moroccan trellis

on walls, upholstery, and rugs. The patterns are pleasant and colorful, but they're suddenly everywhere you look.

A close second in things that are now being overdone and oversold are gourd lamps. The lamps we're talking about aren't really made of gourds, they just echo the rounded shapes of gourds. The problem with them is that you could pay a lot for these lamps that are now being knocked off for pennies and that just shows their moment is already over.



HGTV Budget Decorating

When you start out on a budget, resources like HGTV are fantastic. You get great ideas, but if you follow too much of their advice, your home is going to look more like a loud daycare center than a home. HGTV can go a little over the top with too many bright colors, flea market bargains, and do-it-yourself projects that you're bound to screw up.

Do you really have the time to paint stripes on your walls or renovate an old cabinet with ombre drawers? And wasn't ombre over two years ago?

Fifty shades of grey

Neutrals like beiges, whites and greys are necessary in decorating, because they're relaxing and easy to decorate around. For example, you can dress up a neutral couch with orange or hot pink or turquoise pillows.

Grey is the current go-to neutral, but it's like the metallics of the disco era, a little on the cold side. Grey is an industrial business-like color that's difficult to soften. While it looks newer than beige and it's less glaring than white, that doesn't mean it's the right neutral for your home. If you're going to use grey, make sure you warm it up with accents like yellow, orange and golden or red woods.

We'll leave you with this thought. Anything that's a trend now is going to be dated later. If you like trends, that's fine, but just know that change is always in the wind.


Source: RealtyTimes, Blanche Evans
http://realtytimes.com/consumeradvice/homeownersadvice1/item/34826-20150508-more-home-design-trends-that-arent-so-cool