Drawing Room Interior Design Ideas
The drawing room, with all the various purposes it serves, can be one of the most important rooms you design in the house. It is where the family gathers to watch TV, to catch up on conversation, and rest at the end of a long day. It is where pleasant afternoons are spent bonding with friends and family. You put your feet up here after a workday or let your hair down and entertain.
Sofas that spark conversations
The true purpose of a drawing room is to bring about free flowing and cosy conversations. And that’s what you want for your seating set up. You want to create a space that makes people feel at home such that they can open up, chat, discuss latest events, ideas and share stories. To enable this, place your sofas in such a manner that it encourages conversation. Have seats point to each other and place them closer together such that people can comfortably hear and see each other. The shape and silhouette of the seating you choose also goes a long way in determining the overall style of your room. One can argue it is the most critical component of your room’s design aesthetic. If you want a classic and traditional look, opt for heavily carved and detailed seating styles. Or consider Chesterfields with their quilted finish as they are an ever-popular choice. Cabrioles, favoured by a few, are characterised by their continuous equal-height back and arms. Settees – or their modern-day equivalents, love seats – while not being the most comfortable, do bring a unique old-world charm. For more relaxed seating, put in the comfortable and cushioned Lawson, a high armed streamlined Tuxedo or a high-backed Camelback. Rolled arm sofas with their outwardly curving and upholstered arms are a common traditional style that remain a favourite of homeowners. The wildly popular sectional comes in a variety of designs and material you can further explore. These have multiple pieces, usually three or five, that can be configured in innumerable ways. In addition to choosing the sofa style, you will need to decide the number of seats you want. Understanding dimensions of the room combined with the number of people you would like to seat will determine your magic number and configuration. Large rooms can afford a 3+2+1+1 configuration making for plenty of seating. A 3+2+1 may be better suited for a moderate sized drawing room while a really small room can do with a 2+1 arrangement with extra seating being brought in when needed.
Seating beyond the sofa
Have a drawing room that is too small for a sofa? Or are you looking for something more unique? Or sofas simply don’t appeal to you? With some ingenuity you can do away with sofas entirely and create striking yet comfortable seating arrangements. Divans, day beds, futons or chaise lounges make for relaxed seating options. Hang up an egg chair or put in a couple of wing chairs or armchairs instead. Scatter around some beanbags or bring out low floor cushions. Combine pieces with benches and lazy chairs or egg chairs. You can use such alternative seating on its own or even mix it in with a sofa arrangement. Play with texture, materials and patterns to hone into the exact style that works for you.
Plump up those cushions
While deciding on your sofa and chairs, don’t forget cushions. Who wouldn’t want to settle down with a few of these for a cosy chat or to watch some television? Cushions increase comfort quotient of your seating. They also increase the style quotient of your room by instantly bringing your seating to life. Complement or contrast your cushions with seating for the right ambience. Have neutral coloured sofas? Add generous pops of colour by throwing on some cushions. Choose a paisley patterned cushion cover for an elegant look or go traditional with ethnic designs. Select bold or geometric patterns to make a loud statement. Don’t go on a cushion overdrive though, you don’t want to clutter the room up with too many of them.
Coffee tables to bond around
With seating sorted, you will want to turn to a coffee table. A coffee table provides a surface to rest those accessories you would like to show off, host those endless cups of tea that fuel conversations and be a home to flowers that brighten up the room. Further, your family, friends and guests can bond around the coffee table making this piece of furniture a necessity for your drawing room. A clever choice of table will also help you tie the rest of the room together. To begin with, pick a table that is in proportion to the dimensions of your seating and of similar height. Then identify a style that complements the rest of your room. Shaker style of tables go well with rooms that make most of their simple and utilitarian design. The cottage style with its rich detail fits in well with cosy interiors. Parson tables have square legs that are as thick as the flat top. More contemporary and modern styles of table make intelligent use of metal and glass. You can also upholsterer your coffee table, Ottoman style, resulting in an attractive and comfortable footrest.
All eyes to the television stand
Often people choose to have the television as a focal attraction in their drawing room. With several options of TV stands available, mount or place your TV in style. Combine storage with the stand to host your other AV devices. You can also use stand to display your prized show pieces or books. Your choice of stand depends on the aesthetic you want to create and functions you want it to serve. For an open and breezy look that accommodates display, install open shelves. You can create a similar feel by wall mounting stand leaving the floor below open and clean. A console with its single compact structure will give you closed shelves and depending on the size, plenty of storage. A TV cabinet can be like a simple console or be more elaborate with the option of having the TV screen hidden when not in use. Using glass, wood, metal or a combination of these will further help you achieve a look that your eyes can feast on.
Laying out the drawing room
As you pick out the furniture and seating pieces in your drawing room, consider how you want to lay it out. Your plan should be such that it enables adequate movement and makes for visual appeal. Decide on a focal point for the room which can be the television, an accented wall or striking wall décor. Place your sofas and chairs in relation to the focal point. You would want to place your sofas within 8 to 12 feet of your television and within viewing angle of it. Have the principle sofa in the set point directly to the focal point with the other seating on the sides to balance the arrangement out. Have two small sofas face with each other with a coffee table in the middle for a formal effect. Create a family friendly layout with an L shaped sofa, extra seating and plenty of floor space for children to play in. Depending on your room dimensions and practical needs, you can integrate a small work area, or even segregate or incorporate a separate eating area.
Personalize in style
Stamp your personality onto your drawing room by customizing it with décor and accessories. Treat the walls as a canvas to express yourself and put up art pieces that appeal to you. Place family photographs on the walls or on side tables as reminders of your near and dear ones. While doing up the walls, remember to leave some negative space to brighten and bring attention to your focal pieces. There are other personal touches that you can add to the drawing room. Houseplants add greenery and purify the air in the room and unique tchotchkes can trigger interesting conversations. Install a few bookshelves, a simple slim bookcase, or a wall of bookshelves to showcase your literary companions. Experimenting with lighting and colour schemes are other ways that you can personalise your living room. With so many furniture and decor options available, the drawing room of your dreams, one that is an expression of your style statement, is just some clever design choices away.
Some drawing rooms also double up as workspaces and may have integrated dining zones. Be it your family room, a place to host guests or someplace you relax in, the drawing-room can be the heart of the house. Make this heart of the home pulse with life with wise drawing room interior design ideas – choices of seating, furniture, soft furnishings, colour palette and lighting.
