Living Rooms

$500 is not a small decorating budget. Used correctly, it is enough to fundamentally transform a living room. Here is exactly how to spend it, and more importantly, what not to spend it on.

A 65-inch TV above a fireplace should be mounted only after two questions are answered: can the TV stay within the fireplace and television manufacturers’ heat/clearance requirements, and can the screen be viewed comfortably from the main seating position? If either answer is no, another wall is usually the better location. The useful relationship is…

The best sofa-to-TV distance is the one that gives you a comfortable viewing angle for the screen size while still working with the room’s circulation and furniture layout. There is no single “1.5 to 2.5 times the diagonal” rule that fits every modern TV and viewing preference. A better relationship is screen size → field…

The safest way to hide a router is to reduce its visual impact without enclosing it so tightly that heat builds up or the Wi-Fi signal suffers. Start with placement and ventilation first, then use furniture or decor to make the equipment less noticeable. Do not seal the router inside a closed box Routers and…

Explore living room ideas built around better layout, lighting, rugs, art, storage, color and comfortable furniture rather than short-lived trends.

A practical living room design guide covering layout, furniture scale, lighting, rugs, color, storage and the order to make decisions.

A home theater blends with the rest of the room when the screen, seating, speakers, lighting, storage and cable paths are planned as one interior system. The goal is not to hide every piece of technology. It is to make the equipment feel intentional without compromising viewing, ventilation, access or sound. The useful planning chain…