Living room (noun): a room in a house or apartment that is used for relaxing in and entertaining guests

How would you envision your living room space to be? Does it have a personal touch or is it kept minimalistic and clean? Will it be colourful or neutral-toned? In the past, most people think about these questions only when they are planning to purchase or rent an apartment. However, we see an increase in revamping of living spaces to create a better living environment when the pandemic hits. We are now more mindful of our living space than before.

With the easing of COVID restrictions, you can now host a large group of guests in your home again. Are you perhaps intending to change the layout of your living room to facilitate that? Or perhaps just planning to change things up a little after spending so much time at home throughout the pandemic? If you’re looking for living room design ideas or inspirations for your future living room, read on to find out more.

Open-Plan Living

The concept of open-plan living means widening the living space by reducing the number of partitions or walls in your home, like combining the living room, kitchen and dining area as one. Incorporating open-plan living gives the living space a better airflow while allowing natural light to spread through your home.

Featured Project: 122 McNair Road | The Interior Lab

The main advantage of open-plan living is spaciousness, openness and its multi-functionality. In the event where you are hosting a large group of guests, conversations can be extended across the entire communal area. If you want to switch up your living space layout, like having the entertainment zone in another area, it is also much easier to reconfigure the space as you have more room to play with.

Featured Project: Mangis Road | Warm Minimalist | The Interior Lab

Exhibit your Collection

The first space your guests view when they enter your home is most often the living room. If you are a collector or like certain interior styles, you can use your living room as an exhibition or theme-curated space.

Featured Project: 17 Telok Blangah | Modern Industrial | The Interior Lab

Imagine coming home to this curated space that you’ve set up, it will definitely make you feel more welcome when you are home. Moreover, it will also be a talking point when you invite your guests over and leave an impression at the end of the day.

Featured Project: 82 Strathmore Avenue | The Interior Lab

Pet-Friendly Interior

Building a pet-friendly living environment can be very tricky, but can also be a highlight in your home. The homeowners of this project wanted to integrate cat-friendly features into their future home. Adding wall-mounted cat climbing shelves above their sofa not only fully utilises the empty wall space, but also creates fun and interesting memories in this co-living area between the homeowners and their pets.

Featured Project: Axis @ Siglap | Modern Contemporary | The Interior Lab

Colour Play

If you are one who likes playing around with colours, you may consider using colours to demarcate zones in your living room. Instead of having the living room in one shade of colour, adding a pop of colour to the space, e.g. the balcony or entertainment area, brings another dimension to the living room while retaining the spaciousness.

Featured Project: 756 Pasir Ris | The Interior Lab

If you are wilder and love to experiment with different colours in your home, you may be interested to look into Memphis Interior Design. Memphis design is an 80s-inspired postmodern style that plays around with bright neon, primary and pastel colours, geometric shapes, and bold, repetitive patterns. This style is absolutely suitable for homeowners with a preference for quirky and playful interior styles.

Source: Architectural Digest

Space Maximisation

Space constraint is definitely a struggle for a vast number of homeowners. On one hand, you want your home to look stunning, but on the other hand, you have your practical considerations. If your window takes up a substantial amount of space in your living room, a bay window feature with storage underneath might be a good addition. It helps if you have a large group of guests and your sofa has limited seating. Not only that, you don’t compromise on the natural light and airflow coming into the house.

Featured Project: The Tropica | Modern Minimalist | The Interior Lab

Wall mount shelves are also another way to maximise your space. It not only adds visual interest but also helps to clear your floor space, to make room for other furniture.

Featured Project: Toa Payoh Apex | The Interior Lab

Ultimately, you would want to come home to a place you feel comfortable and proud to call home. Hence do take time to research and pre-plan your home design. Do also factor in your budget to prevent yourself from being horrified by the total amount at the end of the renovation. Hope that this article has been helpful and given you some insights for your living room design.