Decorating a large room is challenging, especially if you want to make it feel inviting and cozy. Without the right room décor, it can feel empty and stark. However, a large room can also be a wonderful asset to a home, allowing you to host big parties without feeling crowded or giving your dog enough room to play in. Whether you’ve just moved to a bigger house or want to make your home more welcoming for an upcoming party, follow these tips and tricks to make your large room welcoming, beautiful, and interesting.
Use Plants
Potted plants come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. You can use these to add a pop of color or give some texture to your room. Choose one or two larger ferns to fill a corner, or decorate the top of a sideboard or console with some adorable, tiny succulents. Tall plants can also help you fill space vertically, which is often the hardest thing to do in a large room with high ceilings. If you have dogs or cats, check that your plants aren’t toxic for your pets before buying.
Another excellent upside to having potted plants dotted around your room is that you can dress them up with unique and interesting pots or baskets. If you enjoy painting, buy some plain pots and decorate them yourself, or purchase some functional art pieces from a pottery shop.
Create Zones
If you only have one space for relaxation, work, and eating, consider dividing it into zones. Although you can use screens to accomplish this, you can also use carefully placed furniture and rugs to separate the room into areas. Set up your TV and couch in one half of the room, with the TV against the wall and the couch facing it in the middle of the room.
Fill the space in between with your coffee table, and place some oversized armchairs around. To make the area feel like a separate space, arrange a mid-height storage unit or console table behind your couch. This will partition it off without completely cutting off the area from view. You can also use large area rugs under your seating area or dining table and chairs to delineate space. Choose rugs in different but analogous colors to define each area.
Paint Your Walls
The color you paint your walls can affect how big or small your room feels. If your high ceilings make your room feel cavernous, try a two-tone paint job. Instead of painting the walls one color, use a slightly darker color for the bottom half, and keep the top half white or another light option.
To achieve a two-tone look with minimal effort, simply lay a line of tape where you wish to stop the darker color and paint up to that. This technique ensures a straight, even line without needing to draw on the walls. Paint the upper half first if you want to change the existing color to avoid dripping on the newly painted bottom half. The darker color at the bottom of the walls draws the eye downward, making the room seem smaller.
Find Unique Wall Decorations
While paintings are a fantastic way to spruce up a room, try to use a variety of wall decorations to make your room more interesting. Besides checking out your local antique store for old paintings and unique frames, try hanging a cute tapestry behind your TV or above your reading nook. Tapestries can have motivational sayings, intricate designs, or depict your favorite fictional characters. If you want something with more texture, consider adding a few masks to your wall. Many cultures have a history of mask-making, from Venice’s ceramic designs to the outrageous colors and feathers of New Orleans. Whether you bring masks back from your travels or buy some from your local artisans’ shop, or even design them yourself, masks can give your room personality.
Get an L-Shaped Sofa
One of the biggest benefits of having a large room is accommodating all your friends and family at once. A huge, comfortable L-shaped sectional sofa not only provides enough space for many people to sit but can also help you divide the room. To ensure everyone has a place to rest their drinks, try placing mid-height bookcases behind the couch or dotting small coffee tables around. Your coffee tables can be wine crates or ottomans, or be made from reclaimed lumber.
Some L-shaped couches also convert into large, pullout beds. If you regularly have friends or family spend the night, investing in one of these can save you from blowing up an air mattress every time someone sleeps over. Some sofas also include some storage space, which you can use to keep extra blankets, pillows, and throws for the winter.
Make a Reading Nook
Sometimes, you want a small area to read, drink tea, and daydream. Pick a corner of your large room and place the most comfortable, oversized armchair and matching footrest you can find against one wall. Against the other, put a small bookcase with your favorite books, topped with a potted plant, a small lamp, and a picture frame. Just to the side of your armchair, place a small coffee table, where you can rest your snack and tea. If you enjoy listening to music while reading, make sure you have a Blueto
