9 Common Living Room Interior Design Layout Mistakes To Avoid

We all know that home interior decorator near me design can be quite a hassle, and for someone with absolutely no experience, this can simply be a breaking point. However, there are a few things you can do (as well as avoid) to make your interior design process a seamless and happy one. But before we look at living room mistakes, let's first have a quick look at our living room design checklist:

9 Must-Haves For Your Living Room Interior Design Checklist
Comfortable Sofa Set

Your living room is incomplete without a sofa set. It's the place where you hang out and make memories. So, ensure that you choose a sofa set that hugs your space effortlessly and makes a statement.

Complimenting Coffee Table

As much as you need a sofa in your living room, it's also important to get a coffee table to go with it. This adds aesthetic value to your space and helps break the design into sections.

Decor To Accentuate The Walls

The interior design scope for your living room walls is endless. You can try your hands at 3D decor, wall art, vinyl art, family portraits, mirrors or simply wall-mounted frames and shelves.

A Focal Centrepiece Like Chandelier Or 3D Art

Your wall decor isn't enough to bring your space together. A focal point for your living room can start with a chandelier, a statement decor piece on your coffee table or simply a larger-than-life canvas on the wall overlooking your modular TV unit.

Add Biophilic Decor

This is a given and with your work coming indoors, it's safe to say that indoor plants and biophilic decor like a moss frame can make your living room a safe haven.

Patterned Decorative And Throw Pillows

A bare sofa looks like a lifeless piece in your living room. Hence, it's important to add a touch of character with decorative throw pillows that complement the look of your entertainment space.

Comfy And Soft Rugs

Adding a touch of cosiness and comfort to your space can help bring a sense of belonging to your living room. You can do so with a soft and minimalist faux fur rug or simply one that matches the visual appeal of your home.

Drapes And Curtains To Add Character

Drapes and curtains are known to add character to your living space. This is also how you can introduce some colour into the living room. Depending on where you live and what design style you choose, your drapes can be sheer, solid, thermal or light-blocking; the choice is yours.

Natural Lights And Soft Lights

Designing a living room with large French windows or a balcony is an experience on its own. Introduce natural lighting through these avenues and when all fails, feel free to add a touch of warmth with soft ambient lighting around your home.

And now that you know what your living room designs must include, here are some classic mistakes you can avoid to make your living room more breathable, comfortable and ambient for you and your guests.

9 Common Living Room Mistakes To Avoid
Restricting The Room With Wrong Space Planning

Choosing the wrong sized sofa set, coffee table and rug, improper lighting, neglected wall space and a lot more can add to making your living room design a disaster. You can undo your wrongs and get rid of these living room interior mistakes.

Start by visualising how you want your room to look, a mental picture is a great start point in understanding how your space would look like. Next, look into what your fixed furnishings are going to be and what space you'd like to designate for them. Whilst you are at it, ensure that you keep the right distance between your seating arrangements.

Uncomfortable Seating Experience

Heavy and bulky seating can make your living room look ugly, restricted and claustrophobic. Not only that, bulky furniture can at times turn your entertainment area into an uncomfortable experience.

Megha Kathuria, one of our top interior designers in Bangalore says, "Avoid bulky furniture and add timeless pieces that act as focal points. This will make the room breezy and functional." We recommend you consider minimalist seating like a lovely mid-century sofa set. Complement it with a set of decorative throw pillows and a comfortable rug.

Too Many Colours In One Room

We all love a colour or two, but it's too much when your room is less a living space and more a montage of colours. Unless you are a maximalist with an eye for popping colours, anything over two to three colours will be a visual overload.

Megha says, "Opt for neutral and muted tones for your living room and then offset the lack of colour with decor and furnishing elements. That way, you help your room strike a balance between colours and aesthetics." As seen in the image, we worked our way with the subtle doctor blues and greys to create harmony amongst all the interior design and home decor element

Dark Rooms With Minimal Lights

Dull and dark rooms lower your home's energy and productivity levels. Light plays a significant role in helping to set the tone and mood of the overall room alongside your individual mood as well. With a dark gloomy room, you are bound to feel lazy and unproductive. Avoid this living room decorating mistake when you start with your home's interior design.

Instead, try to bring in as much natural light as possible. Megha says, "Soft ambient lighting and open windows with breezy sheer curtains can accentuate your living space manifold." Make the most of it with light wall colours to create the illusion of a large space.

An Overload of Decor Pieces

Adding too many decor items in a single space can create a visual overload just as much as colours can do to your living room. We often find homeowners struggling to find the right decor piece and end up with items that they don't truly need.

Marie Kondo, internationally renowned professional organiser and declutter expert says, "Ask yourself if a certain item in your home sparks joy, if they don't, show them the door out." And we attest to that. So, we recommend you to only have decor items that add to the aesthetic value of the space by bringing it all together seamlessly.

Overdoing Wall Textures and Wallpapers

While wall textures and wallpapers are a way to personalise your space and introduce some character, overdoing it across the home is big no-no. Wall textures can be tiring to your eyes and affect the harmony of your space. Excessive wallpapers and wall textures can also make the entire room look disproportionate and messy.

Instead, use wall textures and wallpapers as focal points or accent walls whilst keeping the other three sides neutral or minimal with muted tones. Here are two fine examples of wall textures and paints you can try out. While the first image shows a grey textured wall that brings all the attention to itself, the second one adds a playful touch to the room with its zig-zag pattern, making it a great choice for keeping it creative yet light.

False Ceilings That Pull All Attention To Them

Double-layered false ceilings in small apartments can make your living room look confined, small and compact. Not only do they eat away the empty space but also ruin the aesthetics of your living room.

Instead, choose false ceiling designs that are peripheral. This creates an illusion of a larger space. Accentuate your peripheral false ceiling pattern with mood lighting and LED lighting, as seen in this image. You can also choose to add ceiling lamps for soft lighting or simply ceiling spotlights.

Blocking All Walls With Modular Furniture

All of us want to make the most of our space, and with compact homes setting the trend for tiny homes in India, it's an unsaid pain that we are always trying to find extra legroom in our home. Bulky furniture that blocks your living room walls can be an interior design hazard and one of the most common living room decorating mistakes that we all fall for when designing our living room's interiors.

Instead, create spots and dedicated areas for your modular furniture. As seen in this image, the sofa set is a couple of feet away from the window area. Similarly, the ottoman and pillows create a comfortable seating space and build a dialogue between the sofa, the rug and the overall aesthetic of the space.

Not Creating A Multi-Functional Space



One of the most common living room mistakes that we end up with is not having a multifunctional interior design to accommodate our needs. We end up prying into areas that aren't truly meant for the said task and end up with a disorganised and dysfunctional space.

Instead, try to introduce some functionality in your living room. Here's what you can try out - the first living room showcases a lovely kitchen island that divides the living room from the kitchen area, helping create a dedicated space for each section of your home. Similarly, in the second image, you can see a lovely work from home unit that extends from the modular TV unit, making your home WFH-friendly.

Have you ended up with any of these living room interior mistakes in your home and wish to undo them? Connect with our expert to get a free quote and book a consultation.








Shreya Verma is an interior designer by profession. Shreya is very passionate about sharing ideas on recent home improvement, living room interior design, kid's bedroom design, and more trends. Further, she loves to watch movies, dance and regularly contributes a few worthy pieces to the top interior design firm in Bangalore.