Many people look for homes with character, but finding some unique elements or design choices that you love can be hard to find all in one home. Whether you have moved into a new home or are looking for some change in your current home, there are some easy ways to add more visual interest and add character to your living room. Since we often spend the most time in our living room, choosing quality pieces that fit your personality and home design is the best way to elevate your home. Here are some tips on how to add character to any living room. 

Natural Wood Coffee Tables

One of the best ways to make a modern home feel more traditional and like it has character is to add wood elements to the space. Wooden coffee tables are an affordable piece of furniture that serves a very functional purpose. Coffee tables made of cedar, pine, oak, or walnut are some of the best options for wooden furniture. These woods vary in color and grain pattern, adding warmth to the space. Wood furniture helps a home and those living there feel more connected to nature, helping us to feel grounded. Coffee tables made of wood and styled in a minimalistic style will help to add character.

Antique Doors

Similar to wood coffee tables, antique wooden doors are a great way to add your own personal touch to a home while also adding warmth and character. An antique front door or a sliding barn door becomes the focal point of any room. Antique pieces often have a charming quality to them, which sparks conversations with guests and visiting family members. Adding antique doors around your home makes it different from every other cookie-cutter home in your area. 

Wallpaper Or Faux Finishes

Instead of changing up a paint color in your living room, changing to a patterned wallpaper or a faux finish paint technique is a great way to add more character. A bright, bold pattern, paint stamping, crackled paint, or faux wood. Instead of a smooth, glossy finish, create a faux finish to make your space more unique, layer colors, or add more of a personal touch that other homeowners may not have. A faux finish can make a space feel more elegant, more natural, or charming depending on the finish you choose. 

Unique Mirrors

For homeowners who want a budget-friendly option, mirrors and artwork are great pieces to elevate your space. Especially mirrors with ornate detailing or art pieces with gold frames can easily add character to a space without much extra work. Placing a mirror in your entryway, over a fireplace, or along a common walkway is the best way to make the space feel more open. Art pieces can become a focal point in any room, especially when placed above a fireplace or where someone’s eye immediately goes when walking into the home.

Colorful Rugs

Adding colorful pieces to a simple space is the best way to add character to a living room. Rugs come in a variety of colors, patterns, and textures so all homeowners can find an option that suits their needs. When choosing a rug, make sure you choose the right size that helps make the room look larger and fits underneath the corners of couches or tables to avoid tripping. Adding a rug makes a space feel more cozy and put together as well. It can be one of the best finishing touches to any interior design. 

Add Built-In Shelves

Built-in shelving is a practical addition to any living room. They can be used to display important photos and knick-knacks, as well as books and other items you may use while in the living room. Built-ins are one of the most expensive options to add character to a living room, but they provide long-term benefits that make them worth the investment. Wooden shelves can bring in that natural feel, as discussed with coffee tables, but they also add value to your home because of their cost and the added storage. Keep the space tidy while adding elegance through shelving.

High Quality Pieces From Sugar House Furniture

Sugar House Furniture offers some of the highest quality furniture pieces in the state of Utah. We know that the pieces you put in your home need to last through consistent use and remain in your family for years to come. We strive to create pieces that are affordable while staying committed to our high-quality standards. All of our furniture pieces are made of solid wood that provides lifetime durability. You can view all of our products, including accessories, on our website or by visiting our showroom in Salt Lake City, UT.

Many homeowners want to make their living room the gathering place and focal point of the home. Furniture placement, comfy options, and creating cohesion with other decor elements all need to work together to create a conversational feel. The biggest pieces in a living room will contribute the most to creating that conversational gathering space you dream of. Here are some professional tips on how to create a comfortable and conversational living room in any sized home.  

Distance Is Key

While you want your pieces of seated furniture to be close enough together to have a productive conversation, you don’t want people to feel cramped or unable to access certain places when others are seated in the room. This can create a sense of claustrophobia and potentially slow or dampen the conversation. Having a clear walking space around every piece of furniture will make everyone feel more comfortable and ensure that couches, ottomans, and chairs are accessible to everyone. 

Float Your Furniture

Another option that homeowners may not consider is floating the furniture. This refers to putting the furniture towards the center of the room, rather than up against windows or walls. Putting items toward the center of the room allows for more walking space behind a couch or armchair, but also makes a more cozy talking area, where pieces are close enough together to be able to hear each other. This technique can also help your living feel much larger, encouraging more people to gather or spend time in a living room that doesn’t feel cramped.

Consider Two Facing Sofas

In large living rooms, having multiple seating options is necessary if you want to gather a large group of people. Having two sofas that face each other or a large sectional will ensure you can see everyone’s faces and clearly hear the conversation. This layout combines comfort and sophistication that encourages people to talk to each other. Place a coffee table in between to provide a place for people to put down their phones or set their drink while chatting. 

Include Comfy Accent Chairs

One of the biggest things to consider is the comfort of your seating options. If someone isn’t comfortable sitting in a living room or around a table, they will be less likely to stick around and want to chat. Sitting on a hard chair causes back and leg pain, which will cause people to get up and walk around, stand or sit elsewhere, or leave the room entirely. 

Adding accent chairs is a great way to add more personality to the space, but finding options that aren’t too modern and uncomfortable is better if you want a conversational living room. Chairs with harsh angles or no padding will not help you create a place people want to gather.

Create A Circle Of Armchairs

Another popular seating setup is to have 4 or 5 armchairs in a circle around your coffee table or a semicircle around a fireplace or TV. This not only makes the room have a focal point needed for a cohesive design, but also allows everyone to be seen during a conversation. Armchairs with plenty of padding or even recliners are a great way to make sure everyone is comfortable for a big watch party or talkative family gathering. Consider plush materials or options that offer enough back support, without feeling stiff. A comfortable living room is a conversational living room.

Furniture Options From Sugar House Furniture 

Our furniture is built to last a lifetime, while also providing the comfort, aesthetics, and modern design you desire. Pieces from Sugar House Furniture can help you create a conversational living room, furnish a cozy bedroom, upgrade your dining area, and so much more. We understand that furniture is an investment, so it is important to find the pieces that speak to you. Combining style and function is important to our builders, especially when we know you will be using these pieces and passing them on to future generations. 

Serving the Salt Lake Valley and surrounding areas, Sugar House Furniture has options for different home styles and sizes. While mission style furniture may not immediately strike you as modern, we have a wide variety of styles and wood colors to choose from. We promise you can find a piece that meets your personal style in our catalog. If you are ready to upgrade your home with quality craftsmanship and durable furniture, visit our showroom to get started.

Your nightstand is an important part of your morning routine and bedtime ritual. The place to store all of your essentials, from tissue boxes to phone chargers, it’s easy for a bedside table to appear cluttered and messy. Enhance the way your room looks and feels by styling your nightstand with creative decorations and functional items.

Utilizing Your Nightstand’s Design

Before we dive into fun ways to style your nightstand, it’s important to know how you can best use its features for decorating. 

A bedside table with drawers or cabinets offers additional storage space and a place to hide more unsightly objects, such as pill bottles or TV remotes. A nightstand that has shelves offers more surfaces for decor, books, alarm clocks, or other important items. If you have a simple table with just legs and a top, you may want to be more strategic when it comes to what you style it with. Examine your nightstand’s characteristics and see how they can best be used for your new setup.

1. Flowers and Foliage

Placing flowers and plants in your home is a simple and effective way to add beauty and elegance to your interior design. Select a colorful bouquet to add excitement, choose select flowers with colors that match your bedroom, use brown branches for a sleek look, or add greenery for a calm and natural feel. The vase or pot you use adds another element of style: play with color, shape, opacity, and texture.

When decorating with plants and flowers, you can consider a few options:

• A Potted Plant: A potted plant with big green leaves or seasonal blossoms, like an orchid, can be a stunning addition to your bedside table, and even reduce indoor air pollution. Ensure that it receives light and water to keep it from dying.
• Live Flowers or Leaves: Flowers or stems with leaves placed in a vase full of water are another popular way to decorate. Change them out as they die, and choose flowers that match the season. Avoid flowers with irritating pollen or plants you may be allergic to.
• Dried Flowers: Buy dried flowers from a floral shop, or simply hang any flowers you have collected upside down for a few days to dry out and preserve them for as long as you want on your nightstand.

2. Usable Trays

A small ceramic tray, a glass dish, or a woven basket to not only decorate your bedside table, but to hold any essentials. Place jewelry, eyewear, chapstick, hair elastics or clips, watches, perfume, pens, and any other small items in a tray to keep your nightstand tidy. Select a tray that stands out with gold or bold colors, choose a clear glass dish for a clean look, or pick a tiny woven basket for neutral tones. A tray keeps the top of your nightstand usable while elevating its look.

3. Creative Candles

A candle is a classic and easy way to style your nightstand. Positioning two or more candles together, or on different sides of the table, adds elegance and charm. Choosing cables in colorful glass jars adds a bit of color as well. If you want to really add character to the style of your bedside table, decorate with a unique candle.

Made into quirky shapes with stylized molds, you can find candles in exciting forms and colors. From candles representing the shape of a rose to abstract candles in the form of swirly pillars or warped orbs, a fun candle can add creativity and flair to your bedroom nightstand.

4. Books and Lamps

Two important objects that you will almost always see on a bedside table are a lamp and a book. The lamp you choose for your nightstand makes a big difference in its overall style. With different shapes and designs for a lamp base, and just as many options for a lamp shade, you’ll want to use a lamp that complements your nightstand while offering relaxing light for reading before bed.

 Some like to stack their favorite books along the bottom shelf of a table, or choose books with certain colors to display. Place one book in the center of your nightstand for a minimalistic style, and switch it out with a new book when you are finished reading. Choose your favorite book that you want visible at all times, and place a lamp on top of it to pair the two items together when styling your table.

5. Art and Pictures

Personalize your bedside table with frames holding pictures of family members, or pieces of your favorite artwork. Stylish pieces of art can add vibrance and character to your table, while photographs create a sentimental and lively appearance. 

6. Stacking Decorations

Layer pictures behind flower vases or above lamps, place candles on trays, or stack items like alarm clocks or frames on books. Styling your nightstand with items and decorations positioned together creates an eclectic and artful look.

The Perfect Nightstand for Your Home

The aesthetic of your bedside table is impacted by the quality of the table itself. With a wide selection of options, furniture engineered to last, and designs that bring sophistication to your home, Sugar House Furniture has the perfect nightstand for you. Visit our store in Salt Lake City or give us a call today.