Setting Up the Living Space in your New Home

If you’ve built, bought or rented a new home, you know that one of the most fun parts of moving in is deciding where everything goes and how to set up the new rooms in your house. An empty new room is like a fresh canvas; you get to decide every little flourish and accent that goes in each part of the house. 

And for most people, the living room/den is one of the most-used rooms, and therefore one of the most enjoyable to design, decorate and arrange. Whether you’re a gamer who wants to create an epic gaming room, a sports fanatic who wants to have the most fun and welcoming space for those big games, or simply someone who loves to curl up on the couch in a minimalist space to watch a good movie, you want your living room to reflect who you are, be welcoming to guests, while utilizing space in the best possible way. 

With so many components to the average living room/den, you can sometimes get overwhelmed how to arrange and organize everything. After all, living rooms and dens are about comfort, and nobody wants the main room in your house to be full of clutter. Here’s a quick guide on how to best decorate, arrange and organize your living space to turn it into the great room of your dreams.

Differentiate Between a Den and Living Room

If you’re lucky enough to have both, make sure you bring different components into each one. Traditionally, a living room is more of a classic, sophisticated space – where you’d keep the nice couches, display the piano, and have beautiful art on the walls. In here, have a gorgeous and classic rug on the floor to bring all the pieces of furniture together, and keep any valuables or delicate items high up on the shelves so as not to be broken. This is the area where you hang your treasured family photos, and put your shelves of beloved books.

A den space is all about family and friends, comfort and fun. It can be messy. This is where that tattered but super comfy couch goes, where the rug can be a shaggy one, where it doesn’t matter if things are strewn about or if nothing matches. You can get creative in the den, making accent pieces all about fun and functionality and less about elegance. This is where people congregate most of the time. 

Now, not everyone has a separate living room and den space. Sometimes, you may only have one “great room” that has to serve as both. And that’s fine! It can be done. If the room is big enough, splitting it in half with one side classic and sophisticated, and one area for the “den”, can totally be done with some creative thinking and arranging. If you don’t have the space for both, just bring elements of each style into your one room, striking a balance between a few really nice pieces, such as a lovely rug or carpet and some nice art on the walls, to merge beautifully with the comfy couch and your shelf of video games. It’s your space; design it how you want!

TV Setup

For many families, the television is the focal point of the family room. Whether you watch a lot of television and sports, like to play video games or have a family movie night, your TV needs to be set up in a place where it’s easily viewed and accessible to every seat in the room. If you have an attached stereo/theater system, these need to be installed and set up properly so as not to take up too much space, as well as making sure any cords or hookups are out of the way, for safety. If you’re a tech enthusiast who is an old pro at setting up your TV after a dozen moves, have at it! But if you’re looking for a more professional touch, or simply don’t have the time to do it yourself, consider hiring a professional for your TV hook-up & setup. While most people can manage to set up their own electronics, hiring a pro will give you that professional TV setup you’ve always wanted while saving you a whole lot of work. It’s a worthwhile investment for someone who does a lot of entertaining based around the television. Often the TV is the focal point of the room for many people, so making sure it’s set up perfectly and is in tip-top shape is a must.

An Accent Piece

One thing that really transforms any living room or den into an interesting and fun space is to have one really cool accent piece to draw attention away from the middle of the room for a change. Sometimes you just want to click off the TV and do something else, after all. 

Own an antique record player or victrola that you’re proud of? Why not set up a nook in the corner with a vintage chair, your favorite records and a cozy blanket? Proud of your book collection? Buy a small shelf and proudly display a handful of your favorites in a reading nook with a comfy chair. No matter what your prized accent piece is – from a piece of art to your vintage doll collection, to your shelf of baseball cards or your antique rollaway desk – proudly display one item in your living room or den space to give your room character and fun talking piece that will wow your guests. There’s no harm in “showing off” when it’s your own living room. 

Furniture Arranging

Most people tend to organize their furniture around the television, arranging couches and chairs in a semi-circle or something similar. While that’s fine, and certainly the most functional way to organize your seating arrangements, you can also get a little more creative with just a few tricks.

Having a chair set up in the corner (for the aforementioned accent piece) is always a good way to break up a room. Setting up seating by a picturesque window is another great idea. If your room is big enough, setting up two smallish couches or loveseats back to back is a really creative, fun way to “divide” a room without having to build walls, plus it just looks unique and cool. There are many creative and fun DIY guides online to arranging furniture in unique and creative ways to really transform the look of a room. 

If you don’t love your furniture – it’s old and in need of replacing and you can’t afford it, they don’t match the decor, they’re outdated, or if it’s in fine shape and you’ve just grown tired of it – find creative ways to upcycle, restore and/or transform the look of those old pieces. There are some amazing couch covers, furniture covers and accessories like throw rugs, pillows and other furniture accessories on the market these days, and many of them are quite affordable in addition to being very stylish. You can transform the look of any old piece with just a little creativity. If you’re a crafty person, you can even make these accessories yourself with easy-to-use patterns!

Get Rid of Unwanted Bulk

People often assume they need a coffee table or side tables to go with every seat, but often, that isn’t the case. As long as you have one or two small tables for which to sit a drink or your reading glasses on, you don’t need to overly fill a room with tables, shelves or other accessories. If you have adequate ceiling lighting, there’s no need for extra lamps. Many people make the mistake of over-decorating a room and what they’re really doing is creating clutter. 

It’s a great idea to go through every piece of furniture and ask, “do I need this in the room?” If the answer is yes, keep it. If not, perhaps find a home for it elsewhere. First and foremost, you want your living room/den to be comfortable, and it’s hard to be comfortable in a room that’s cluttered and chaotic. 

Choosing functional larger pieces like a coffee table with built in shelves or drawers can eliminate the need for extra side tables or shelves. 

Curtains and Fixtures

Go energy efficient where you can; not only will it save you money, but your room will be more comfortable with items like light-blocking curtains and dimmable smart bulbs. Yes you’ll pay a little extra upfront, but the money you’ll save on your power bill (not to mention how great your house will look, and how comfortable it’ll be) will make it worth it. 

Choosing a great neutral colored curtain that blocks out light will make your room look classic and also minimalistic, and goes with literally any decor. And smart fixtures come in all sorts of sizes, styles and price points, so you’ll have a lot of options to choose from. 

With these easy tips, you can easily decorate, arrange and organize your living space/family room/den into a wonderful area to entertain, relax and enjoy your downtime, no matter your style, needs, or budget.