Your Trusty Guide to Interior Styling and Buying Furniture Online (Part 1)
Furniture plays a leading role in the interior design of your home. In essence, the existence of quality furniture is what brings original, creative and functional interior design to life.
Interior design is mainly focused on the way in which furniture is arranged throughout the room. Homeowners looking to establish their own individual style in a particular room regularly use furniture in diverse ways.
Often, furniture assumes the role of a centrepiece which other items in the room are placed around in order to achieve the designer’s desired look. For this reason, furniture is widely regarded as one of the main tools in interior design.
When it comes to purchasing new furniture for your home, it can be tempting to simply engage an interior designer who will do all the planning for you. But what most people do not realise is that all you need to do is choose a couple of quality pieces of furniture for your home to transform it into one of style, comfort and prestige. All without the added financial burden of hiring a professional.
Whether your living space is a cosy three-room HDB flat, an immaculate condominium or a spacious landed property, when it comes to styling your home, certain elements in interior design remain the same.
A few standard pieces of furniture can be found in every home both big and small. They include the fundamentals like the sofa or the dining table. Then there are pieces that are not absolutely essential but always good to have like an ottoman or recliner armchair. While not every piece is going to have equal use in the household, it is always good to have them even if they might not seem that important and you would rather use the space for something else.
Just imagine the horror of inviting people over to your house, only to realise there are not enough extra seats to accommodate all of them. You do not want to underestimate the convenience of having a side table around when you entertain guests either.
Our wide-ranging guide to interior styling will tell you everything you need to know about the furniture essentials for every space, in addition to advice on how to select and shop for the perfect designer furniture for your home, without all the stress.
Furniture Essentials for Every Living Space
Whether you are moving into a new home or looking to update your existing one, you probably need a couple of obligatory furniture pieces to complete the space. With so much empty space, it can be overwhelming to think about the pieces you may have overlooked. Although having to start from scratch can also make customising the place to suit your interior style a lot easier.
Find out what is needed in each room of your new home to create a cosy and conducive space ideal for living, working, and engaging with family and friends.
Living Room
Stepping into an empty living room with nothing but white walls and cast emptiness can be a very daunting experience. With all the available choices, not only in terms of furniture, but also ornamentations and other accessories, it is not always easy to know what to use for your space. Moreover, individuals usually have specific preferences when it comes to aesthetics, not to mention differences in square footages mean that not every living room is able to accommodate the same type of furniture. Nonetheless, there are a few furniture essentials we believe can and should be integrated into every living room.
Places to sit, clever storage, table tops to hold your miscellaneous items and a place for your television. Each piece of furniture has specific characteristics or qualities, which will determine whether it is consistent with the cohesive living room design.
Relaxing Sofa
Often regarded as the centrepiece in any living room, the sofa is not only the largest and one of the most expensive pieces you will purchase, it is also where you will spend many hours resting after a long day. Because everything else in the room is centred around the sofa, it naturally becomes the ideal starting point for your furniture shopping and will determine the choices you make for the rest of your space, in terms of design, function and cost.
Your first consideration is functionality as even the best-looking sofa will be deemed useless if it does not fit its purpose. Take note of things like how many people you want to be able to seat on this sofa on a regular basis.
If you have a large family, a sectional might be just what you need. But if you live alone or with your partner in a smaller apartment, a compact three-seater is likely to be the more sensible choice. Ideally, you also want a sofa that is stylish and can serve as the perfect spot for a rainy day spent binge-watching the latest dramas on Netflix.
Keep in mind that the sofa you choose can affect the overall style of your living room so you want to put some thought into the possibility of establishing a stylish and functional living room around this piece.
You will want to think about this carefully as the sofa you choose can make or break the space. Apart from your personal style, you also want to evaluate how well it fits with the size of your living room and whether it complements the other existing pieces.
Practical Coffee Table
Next up is the coffee table. Drinks, desserts, books, flowers, electronics and other knick-knacks. The faithful coffee table is often the centrepiece of a multipurpose living room that is crucial for both form and function.
Given that coffee tables come in a range of shapes and sizes, you need to identify the styles that will interact best with your living room. For example, oval coffee tables are generally suited for smaller rooms since they make the room appear more spacious. However, a coffee table must have other functions other than simply looking good. To this end, you need to consider the purpose of the table.
If you are looking for a coffee table that holds more than the mere essentials, consider one with extra compartments, cabinets or slots for you to store larger items like books and magazines. Features like casters and wheels are useful if you want to roll the table aside for extra room. Depending on what you intend to use it for, some table surfaces can also be electronically adjusted for working or eating. Given that the coffee table is often positioned in the centre of your living room, it is more than just a place for your magazines or remote controls, serving as a timeless piece that highlights your sense of elegance and style.
On top of that, a coffee table is also seen as the heart of your living room that ties all the individual elements together, making sure that everything is in sync.
Snug Recliner Armchair
Call it a reading chair or a recliner armchair – this is something every living room needs for two simple reasons.
First of all, for a perfect place to curl and enjoy some alone time after a long day in the office. If you fancy a more private and relaxed space within a quiet area, try having the piece in a cosy corner of your living room. This way, you can properly rest your whole body as you immerse yourself in some light reading or simply to clear your mind of any stressful thoughts.
Second, for flexible seating. Recliner armchairs are a fantastic way to provide more seating for guests in a living room.
Depending on how much space you have, the chair can be a sleek armless ensemble or a lavish traditional-inspired design. And if unsure of what style to go with, some recliners also come as part of a set with your sofa, so this is something worth considering. Feel free to choose something you love but just make sure it is a good fit for your room both size-wise and style-wise.
Handy Ottoman
Ottomans are a brilliant creation due to their clever design and life-saving functionality. It is an efficient way to put away things in the living room you do not want lying around while doubling as a footstool, drink table, dessert tray and more. Ottomans are likewise great for maximising seating space. Their lightweight nature means they can be transformed from a table into a chair for when guests arrive, and then back again. The piece is regularly paired with an armchair, recliners or sofas. It may in one of these situations, fulfil a dual role as a side table.
While ottomans can be found in a number of shapes and sizes, round ottomans are overwhelmingly favoured as they bring visual depth to a home décor. They lend a sense of softness to a rigid environment consisting mainly of square and rectangular pieces of furniture. They also serve as good common focal points.
So, if you want something that embodies both comfort and functionality, round ottomans are the right way to go. Although all kinds of ottomans are known to be equally snuggly and versatile pieces to add to your living room.
Smart Bookshelf
As the space that strikes the first and most enduring impression on your guests, a cluttered living room unarguably makes for an unimpressive home atmosphere.
Having a display shelf can help remove clutter from your room. It is where you showcase items that would otherwise not belong anywhere else in the living room. Think books, decorative ornaments, picture frames, and trophies. Not only can adding a shelving unit beautify your living room interior by displaying your collection of unique and beautiful ornaments, it also helps to put the unsightly clutter away in an orderly fashion.
There are many options for a shelving unit, from a bookshelf to a tower shelf or even a wall-mounted shelf. A display bookshelf in particular can be a great place to show off your prized possessions. This type of furniture can help you stay organised, locating the book you need almost instantly. Incorporating a display bookshelf is also a good way to maximise empty wall spaces in a functional manner.
Multipurpose TV Console
Like the sofa, the TV is also used as the focal point of the living room in many homes. So, unless you intend to mount yours on a wall, an entertainment unit remains a living room must-have as far as furniture essentials go.
The console table is an important part of a living room’s décor. It is a versatile piece of furniture that can be used to showcase your home theatre setup and game console, but that can also be a display space for decorations.
You want an entertainment unit that comes with ample drawer cabinets to hide those unsightly wires and cables as well as to store your remote controls and other electronic devices. An ideal TV unit should place the TV at a good height and angle such that you get a comfortable view of the screen from where you are seated.
Aside from functionality, TV units are available in a variety of stylish designs. Intriguing forms can make a vivid visual impact on your living room by providing the space with the ideal finishing touch.