If you’re not naturally gifted in the putting-things-away department, keeping your living room looking comfortably lived-in yet still put-together can be a bit of a challenge. But fear not, there are some easy tricks practised by tidy people that you can adopt to keep clutter under control. Check out these inspiring ideas for keeping your living room in order.
Keep accessories to a minimum
If you’re prone to collecting clutter, stop right there. Stand back and decided on your absolute favourites, then get rid of everything else. The room will instantly feel less chaotic and you’ll have a handful of objects to put on show as you wish.
Group your chosen pieces together in pleasing arrangements, as in this room, and resist the urge to add finished cups of tea and the contents of your pocket to your new display!
Hide it all away
Putting clutter out of sight is the easiest solution, though this particular idea does require a rethink of your room. Instead of throwing everything behind the sofa when unexpected guests arrive, invest in fitted or freestanding cabinet storage with plenty of room to stash your mess. Once you’ve settled in to your neater way of life, you can then start tidying the insides of the cupboards, too.
Use your fireplace for display
It’s surprising how much less busy a room feels if you can place any items sitting around the base of your fireplace inside it. Simply clearing the firebox, then arranging your items flush to the surround is far more pleasing to the eye – and the accident-prone.
Employ a good shelf system
Not only can you put together beautiful, considered displays on shelves like these, but a few interesting curios will draw the eye up the wall (and away from any mess on the floor) far more than if you jam-pack them with all manner of messy, differently sized books. The cupboards underneath can hold less attractive bits and pieces, such as DVDs, paperwork and electrical gadgets.
Create zones
Children can’t be contained, it’s true. But having a home for their toys and sectioning it off from the rest of the living room can make the thrice-daily tidy a lot easier.
The large, blue-edged rug helps to distinguish the seating area in this living room.
Line things up and combine
Instead of telling you to have less of something, how about having more? Placing collections of little dishes and bowls on your coffee table or sideboard is a pleasing way to stash keys, coins, jewellery and trinkets. Plus, it keeps everything in one place, so you can find it easily during your mad morning dash.
Stack your books
A straight line is so forgiving! Lining up and stacking items in perpendicular fashion on your coffee table is a wonderful way to create order. You will literally be straightening things out. Investing in a coffee table with a shelf creates another level of stashability, too. A solid table rather than this glass one would hide things away even more.
Cheat with a screen
A screen is a great option if you have lots of sports or electrical equipment, such as musical decks or amps, that you can’t squeeze into storage. Cordon the whole thing off with a decorative screen. The sculptural wooden one shown here is also doing a great job of adding interest to the high-ceilinged room.
Throw it in a trunk
Use a trunk as a coffee table and you’ll have the perfect accomplice to foil surprise visits. You’ll need to keep it free of clutter for true emergency use, of course – but that’s the idea, isn’t it?
Article from Laura Watson of Houzz