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This is the place where everyone ends up! Move over kitchen, the family room has become a favorite communal place in the house. Or is it the living room, or the great room? Whatever you call it, it's a multifunctional room that provides space to lounge on a plush sofa in front of the TV, find solace with a good book, watch children play with toys and entertain good conversation. There is debate over the distinction between a family room and a living room. In homes with both rooms, the living room is usually the more formal room, often reserved for guests, special occasions, and the display of items such as antiques or artwork. In homes with only one, the terms are generally synonymous, though it is not uncommon for someone who grew up calling such a room by only one term to have no idea of the distinction between the two. The "great room" may not be so great anymore. The great room was a big fad beginning in the 1980s, but has recently declined in popularity. The great room of today is not as prevalent, but is still an important part of American home design.

The phrase, "You've got to start somewhere," can refer to a lot of different things, but when you are talking about good room design, it can only mean one thing- Focal Point. The question: "Just what is a focal point and how do I get one?" may be running through your mind. A focal point is the main point of interest in a room: the place where your eye is drawn to first. The flow of a room starts at the focal point and travels around the room taking in the scale, balance, textures, patterns, and proportions of all the other objects in the room. The flow is affected not only by what you put in the room but by where you place it at within the room. Focal points anchor rooms and their contents. Some rooms have architectural focal points such as fireplaces, others have natural focal points such as a wonderful view, and some rooms have nothing but plain white walls void of architectural interest and views. It is in these spaces that contrived focal points are created. A contrived focal point is just that, contrived, made up, and brought into being by the imagination.

Choosing a color palette can be one of the most intimidating aspects of creating your new interior. Many of us will eagerly wear royal purple or a lush apricot, but are reluctant to put it on our walls or use it in our furniture. But few other design elements can create the impact that color does. It is part of the foundation of the room and helps to set the tone for everything that goes into the room. Here are some tips to help you choose color with confidence. Make a Room Feel Bigger Colors that recede make a room feel larger. Light value colors and mid-toned cool colors recede. A color scheme of similar values will make a room seem larger, but don't forget the ceiling and floor. Make a Room Feel Intimate Bold, advancing colors such as red, gold, orange and brown make a room feel more intimate. Color and Light The light source in a room can dramatically alter color perception. Colors become more vibrant in sunlight. What looks like a soft yellow on the paint swatch card can become a blazing inferno on a wall that is lit by the morning sun.

I hope you can help us find a suitable furniture arrangement for our awkward family room. Because the family room and kitchen are open to each other, there is very little wall space to work with. The room is has a major traffic path running through it, as we normally enter through the garage/back door and must pass through the family room to get to other areas of the house. Also, the patio doors in this room lead to our deck and pool area and it is used extensively during the summer months. We have lived in this house for many years and the room is due for a complete makeover, so there will be few restrictions with regard to furniture, built-ins, colour, flooring, etc. We spend most of our time in this room and it is used for watching television and some entertaining.

You can have only one metallic tone in a room. A look at the faucet display at your local home improvement center will demonstrate that silver and gold tones can be mixed. You can even combine different brushed nickel with shiny gold. You can't mix floral fabrics and plaids. Many fabric companies now offer coordinates of florals and plaids in the same color pallet and designed to be used together. You should pick one style and stick with it. Today's interior styles reflect an eclectic mix of influences. Not only can you switch up your style from room to room, but within a room as well. Whether you prefer a casual or a more formal approach to furnishing your home, the contrast of different styles enlivens the space. Furnishings should be placed symmetrically. Just as your furnishings don't have to match, the left side of the room doesn't have to match the right. An asymmetrical arrangement can create interest and emphasize a focal point. An asymmetrical arrangement lends a room a more casual air. Books belong on bookshelves. Books are a great way to add color and interest to a room. The idea of a coffee table book deserves some updating. Stacks of books can be used to elevate a lamp or a plant in a table top arrangement. If you are feeling adventurous, you can stack several oversized books to the side of a chair to serve as an end table. When you use a bookcase, not every book has to be standing on end; try laying some flat and place decorative accessories on top.

Whether you dream of dazzling dinner parties or cozy family get-togethers, your new dining set will play a major role. The great news is that there is a style out there for everyone. But with so many choices, there are certain considerations you should keep in mind. Estimating Needs The first step you should take before you shop for any kind of furniture is to measure the room it will be placed in. The dimensions of a dining room should inform not only the size of the table, but the general shape as well. A dining table doesn't have to be rectangular. The shape of a table can change the overall impression of the room size. There are great expandable options in round and square tables as well. To get an even better idea of how the space can be laid out, use our online room planner. That way you can tryout round, oval, square and rectangular tables to see what will fit best in the room before you go shopping.

"Don't paint a small room a dark color." A deep, rich color in a small room can be a great way to enhance and embrace a feeling of coziness. "Don't mix your woods." According to the old school of thought, every wood tone in a room should match with the same finish. A more casual and eclectic approach is to mix things up, even with two finishes, like black and antique oak, on the same piece. "Don't leave your windows bare." It's okay to have naked windows, just so long as you don't stand naked in front of them. You can keep an open airy feeling in your room and highlight the view by keeping your window dressings to a minimum, or by forgetting them altogether. "Match your nightstands." Nightstands are not socks, and they don't necessarily have to match each other. You can personalize your bedroom to match the personalities of you and your partner by using different nightstands on each side of the bed. "Don't put a big piece of furniture in a small room." Putting a large cabinet in a small room can create the illusion that it is a built-in part of the architecture.

I caught screen fever at an early age. I was just a little kid, playing at my friend's house, when I happened into her dining room and spotted the most amazing floor screen standing behind the buffet. The large screen was bold and beautiful, stretching almost to the ceiling, and it sucked me in with a force stronger than gravity. Years later, when I was furnishing my own home, I knew I had to use a few screens, not only because they are stylish but also because they can be used to solve a host of decorating dilemmas. Screens are amazing decorating tools. They can singlehandedly ground a room without eating up much space or making the area feel cluttered. No matter what style you like, you'll find a screen that will make your heart flutter and bring your room alive. How about a simple wooden screen featuring louvered shutters? A regal screen featuring an Oriental motif? One that sports rustic leather veneer or tarnished mirrors? Once you find a screen you adore -- or two, or three or maybe even four, like I have -- you'll discover a million ways to use it. Here are a few suggestions:

Apart from complimenting your newly painted walls with soft furnishings and effective flooring, home decor accessories in a room are just as equally important. Accessories ranging from flowers in a contemporary vase to art pictures hanging on your walls, all add the finishing touches to any room. Above all, accessories add personality to a room, they inject your own personal touch making your home unique to you and comfortable and inviting for you and your family. Decorating with Art Pictures You will be surprised at the important role that art pictures play in home decor accessories. Not only do pictures add your own personality into the room, they absorb noise and can actually help change the illusion of a rooms' shape if placed in the right places.

Gone are the days when furniture buying meant you had to purchase "sets." Today's homes are all about reflecting our own personalities, and there's no rule that says everything in a room has to match! The dining room is an excellent space to show off some personality and style, from the furniture you choose to the table settings you use. Maybe you've found that when you shop for a dining room set, you find a dining table you like, but you don't like the chairs that go with it, or vice versa. Or, maybe you love the buffet or sideboard in the set, but not the table or chairs. Don't worry! You should love every piece of furniture you buy, so don't be afraid to mix and match the pieces you like to get the look you want.

Before you begin your shopping trip, take some time to think about your requirements. This guide will help you hone in on what you need. Measure the space Home office furniture varies widely in scale, so the first step anyone should take is to measure the room, or the space within a multi-function room, it will be placed in. Don't forget to measure the doorways. Many furniture returns are made because the furniture can't be moved into its intended room. Try laying things out with an online room planner to get an idea of how you want to set up the space. Power and Connectivity Next, consider whether or not there are outlets, phone jacks, or internet ports access in the immediate area and plan your furniture placement accordingly. You will save yourself a lot of frustration if you plan for these necessities in advance. Attention to this detail will also allow you to line up power strips, battery backups and the like before you put the furniture in place. Otherwise you may end up doing a contortionist act to plug in your computer.

Take a sample to the paint store. Bring a sample of the flooring or carpet as well as any fabrics that will be used in the room with you to the paint store. Don't pick your paint color standing in the store. After you've identified colors that work with your samples, take home the paint sample cards to make sure the color will work with the other furnishings in the room. Some paint manufacturers even have larger samples or whole books of paint samples available for you to take home and decide on a color. Paint a sample wall. Many paint retailers now offer sample sizes of their colors for you to try out on a patch of wall before you commit to painting the entire thing. Look at your sample at different times of day. Natural light can dramatically change how we perceive a color, so be sure the color works in the bright morning sun as well as the cool afternoon shade. Don't be scared of an intense color before you bring your furniture back in. A bare room in an intense color can be intimidating, but keep in mind that when you bring your furnishings into the room, the overall effect will be different. The tones in your furnishings will reflect on the painted wall and change or soften the effect.

If a room in your house lacks character, by simply placing some fine art prints on the walls can actually make quite an impact. Wall pictures are a necessary accessory in your home and are great to tie in with the room's style and color accent. Before you go off to buy some new pictures for your walls there are a few things you need to plan and decide upon. Here is a home interior design guide on how to decorate your space with wall art. Shop for Wall Art by Room The kind of home you have and the mood, ambience and style of decor you create, should be perfectly designed to suit your lifestyle. Deciding on a style for your room should be determined by the lifestyle you choose and not by what's the latest home interior design trend.

Decorating small spaces in your home can be a complicated task if you're not quite sure where to begin. But there's good news: It doesn't have to be difficult at all. In any home, especially a small one, every inch of free space counts. Small shelves, tiny niches, and other unique spaces can help accent a home in a tasteful, uncluttered way. By using the small spaces wisely and leaving the larger areas open, the living space will feel larger. You may think because a room is smaller, having large furniture pieces are out of the question. Not true! Oversized furniture will not make your rooms appear smaller, but instead give them a warm inviting feeling. Of course the layout and size of a room will determine how many pieces can comfortably go into it. After all, you may be looking for drama and comfort, but you still need to be able to maneuver around. This also applies to accessories; it's better to have a few large dramatic pieces as opposed to a lot of small items, which tend to turn into clutter and dust collectors. The exception to this would be with collections. But again, you want to have places to showcase them like glass front hutches, cabinets, bookcases or shelves.

From the runway to the living room, hot trends in home fashion can take the style of a room from simple to stunning. Incorporating trendy furniture into home decor is an easy way to add style without having to make costly renovations.

Top Furniture Buying Mistakes by Abe Abbas Forgetting to Measure Your Furniture: Don't neglect to measure the room ahead of buying to see if your new furniture will fit. You will be amazed at the number of furniture purchases that never make it into a home because the buyer neglected to measure the furniture or forgot to take into account hallways, doors, elevators and stairs. Ignoring Scale:A sofa that looks just right in the store, might look too big in your room or not big enough. It is hard to judge when you're looking at a picture or seeing it in a showroom. Also measure to make sure that your new piece matches the scale of the furniture you already own.

Its not as farfetched as you think. And you dont have to have a huge house and a million-dollar budget to be able to live in comfort and sophistication. All you need is a keen sense of style and the necessary know-how.. For a more comfortable and sophisticated dwelling, you must design your home so that it has the right element of cheerfulness and style. Yet again, you dont need to have a big budget for this one. All you need is the right theme and elegant yet affordable furniture and home accessories.. You can rely on the basics of interior designing for the know-how that you need. Through interior design, you can manipulate the general feel of your interiors and its perceived space. You can make a gloomy room feel cheerful and small rooms look bigger. What you need is knowledge of the basic techniques so that you know how to use the right furniture and home accessories for a maximized use of space..

If you just spent a good amount of money on new furniture for your living room, it will break your heart to see the first stain that occurs on your upholstered sofas or chairs. But don't worry; you can actually get some of those stains out, without a lot of problems. The main thing is to choose the right way to clean the piece of furniture, so that you don't make the stain appear worse. If someone has dumped part of a drink on your chair, consider first the fabric, before you try to clean it. If you are dealing with a larger stain, you may want to try your cleaning first on a small area that you can't see well, to make sure it does not cause damage or discoloration. Greasy stains like butter can be cleaned with a dry type of cleaning solvent, available at any grocery store. Place a bit on a clean cloth and blot the stain. Be sure you don't rub the stain, since that could make it worse. Then mix mild detergent with warm water and blot that stain again. Use a towel to soak up everything you have used, and the spot should be gone when the fabric dries. This is a lot cheaper than buying new living room sets after your muddy dog joins you on the sofa. Cheese and crackers are often served as snacks, but when nacho type cheese gets spilled, it's no picnic. But you can get it out. Just mix one teaspoon-full of mild detergent in a cup of lukewarm water, and blot the stain with a clean towel. Blot it once more with a mixture of a half-cup warm water and a tablespoon of ammonia. Then blot up the stain and cleansers using clean water only, and let it dry.

To adequately fill a room with light, ambient and task lighting are needed. Ambient light comes from a single source, like natural light, whereas task lighting is used to light a specific area such as a desk, workbench, reading chair or kitchen surface. Adding a little light to your respective living areas seems like a simple task, provided that you consider some of the factors affecting which lamp fixture you should buy. How to Choose the Right Lamp Many people choose a lamp without first taking measurements and considering both the style and the purpose of the lamp. Size, brightness, and look are very important when purchasing any type of home lighting, but lamp fixtures are especially particular because they serve the dual purpose of providing light and decorating the room. Before you go hunting for a new lamp, be prepared with a few helpful hints. The size of the lamp is possibly the most important matter to determine. This is somewhat dependant on how the lamp will be used.

When decorating a room, color affords almost limitless possibilities. Color invokes feelings and adds personality to your room. No other single element can alter the appearance of space and objects like color. In home furnishings, it can visually enlarge, reduce and even change the feel of a piece of furniture. Here are some easy tips to consider: The best color schemes are usually found in a single element: a sofa, rug, painting, virtually anything. Consider the intended use, room's size, desired mood and its lighting and exposure. Lighting and exposure affect the way color behaves. Most homes have incandescent lighting, which makes reds more vibrant and blues more neutral. Examine fabrics and paint chips under incandescent lighting as well as under natural daylight. When planning large purchases such as, carpeting, wallpaper, and large pieces of furniture, choose colors carefully since these items will not be frequently changed. Observe color relationships in photography, public places, private homes, printed fabrics and even clothing. Outdoor, natural settings can be great inspirations as well! If you aren't completely confident about a color scheme, stick to neutral, simple colors when it comes to large, expensive purchases.