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Your living room is one of the most frequented rooms in your home.
Because of this, it is the most exciting to decorate.
You usually find a living room with a coffee table, a comfy sofa, a rug, and a wall unit TV, as well as other furniture.
A great place to get all these living room furnishings is IKEA. IKEA leads the pack in ecological furniture design. A modern IKEA living room has ready-to-assemble furniture that are both durable and customizable.
Image source: Julianna Smith
IKEA offers a lot of different variations on it furniture, with numerous colors, designs, and styles.
With so many options, it can be hard to pick out the perfect living room ideas from IKEA. Here are some tips to figure out the perfect IKEA living room design.
Embrace Modern Designs
IKEA living rooms are very modern. The retailer is best known for its modern Scandinavian designs, something you can tell from the names of their furnishings. This style is all crisp lines and minimalist functionality.
It is a very distinctive style and there is no mistaking it. These design decision works very well with their cost-saving flat-packaging model.
IKEA pieces fit well in a modernly styled space. This covers a wider range of variations on modern design, from current trends to art-deco décor.
At IKEA, you will find sleek minimalist, modern retro, mid-century modern, and other Scandinavian modern furnishings and accessories. If you accent these with simple and unadorned pieces, they will look perfectly at home, with no clash or design dissonance.
Consider Other Designs
You don’t have to limit your IKEA living room ideas to just modern styles, however. While IKEA is best known for its Scandinavian modernism, it does offer more traditionally styled décor. These pieces can be used if you aren’t looking to create a modernistic space.
One of the merits of these pieces is that they do not have that iconic IKEA look. Anyone looking at this furniture will not know that you used IKEA living room decorating ideas. It prevents a feeling of sameness and commercialism in your cozy family space.
Soften Those Edges
If you do find a piece at IKEA that works right for your needs in all but style, you can still do a lot to fit it in with the rest of your décor. Isolated pieces can be integrated into the whole by incorporating different textures. Layer on accessories to develop an interesting color scheme and create a generally more cohesive space.
Image source: Chris A Dorsey Photography
This technique works very well with any style of furniture, modern or traditional. It takes the edge off modern furniture and can help soften its look. Minimalism can often seem uninviting and anything that makes it cozy can be a real help.
Image source: JLB Property Developments
One of the best ways to pull this off is by using textiles. You can use throws, table runners, pillows, place mats, and slip covers. IKEA uses this idea in their marketing campaigns. They have even released their own textile line with this tagline: “A little bit of softness can change your world.”
Image source: Kropat Interior Designr
Mix and Match Styles for a Charmingly Eclectic Look
Combine IKEA styles with contrasting ones to create a unique and eclectic look. Pair a piece with simple straight lines with a piece that has more ornate and traditional lines. Mix elements so that they balance each other. Neither should become the focal point of the room.
Image source: Helena Bryan
This is a great trick to use if you are trying to bring together your random mix of furniture. For a serious way to decorate in a budget, try mixing second-hand furniture with IKEA furniture. You can compensate for the stylistic differences with color, accessories, and scale.
Image source: In House Interior Design
Create a Separate Focal Point
What doing this does is distract from your IKEA furniture and, in doing so, blend it in with everything else. The focal point of a room draws attention first. It usually is most contrasting piece, or it is the biggest, shiniest, or brightest object. If you have the right focal point, no one will even notice your IKEA furniture, no matter how different it seems from everything else.
Find your room’s focal point by standing in the entrance of the room. Clear your mind, close your eyes, and then open your eyes. Your focal point will be what your attention is drawn to first. Try to make sure you’re imagining seeing the room for the first time.
Image source: Meghan Carter Design Inc.
Group Furniture Together
People do not sit alone in a typical apartment living room. Group seating and tables together to create social spaces. This makes the cold and hard edges of IKEA’s normal style less lonely.
Consider Aftermarket Customization
You don’t have to be stuck with the standard, out-of-the-box IKEA look. Many companies offer custom accessories that fit perfectly. Parts of Sweden sell customized hardware, lightning, furniture legs, and more. Custom doors can be added to IKEA cabinets.
Keep an Open Mind
Think about using IKEA product that is designed for a different purpose than you were originally looking for. Don’t isolate yourself fin one department, as you can find the perfect item in another department. This is a great way to customize IKEA furniture.
Image source: Horrigan O’Malley Architects
Shop Patiently
Take your time when picking out furniture. It’s hard to resist going on a buying spree when redecorating, but taking the time to pick out the right pieces will make a lot of different to the look and functionality of your living room.
Think About Sofa Feet
This is an element that is rarely considered. An upgrade to your sofa legs can make a marked difference. Look into small custom legs that can remake an IKEA piece.
Image source: Maggie Stephens Interiors
Add Color
IKEA has a lot of options with bold colors, but even pieces that come only in neutral tones can be easily painted. Doing this adds a bit more personality to a piece.
Make a Storage Wall
Mount some IKEA cabinets onto a wall with some shelves and you have an excellent storage space. IKEA furniture is perfect for these sort of modular creations. You can also use this as a room divider.
Image source: The Cross Interior Design
Ending thoughts on creating an IKEA living room
IKEA ideas for living rooms are near limitless. You are not bound merely by the modern look of IKEA, or by the colors or style of your existing room. You can adopt the budget-friendly IKEA furniture to any look using these tips and tricks.
If you liked this article about creating an IKEA living room, you should check out these as well:
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- 4 IKEA products to achieve a minimalist living room