One of the most important places in any home, if not the most important, is the living room. This is the case because much of our time in our homes is spent in that room with our friends and families. Making the room comfortable to live and a pleasure to entertain guests is the goal of any home owner, which means that the design of the room and the style of furniture needs to be practical and pleasing to the eye.

There is an incredible variety of furniture options which you may find employed in a number of homes throughout the country. You find differences based upon the use of the furniture and on it’s style. The style could be informed by modern sentiments of what interior design is, or perhaps by a number of different cultural influences.

Living room furniture, generally speaking, is all about the seats. Coffee tables, foot rests, chest of drawers and cabinets, are all additional options, but the cornerstone of any living room are the seats which are available for you and your family. Even with the matter of seats, the decision you’ve got to make is far from simple. Not only do you have the numerous style options, you’ve also got to decide upon whether you want stand alone seats, comfortable lounge chairs with accompanying ottomans, sofas, larger sofas, corner sofas, etc.

All of your decisions on the style and function of your furniture depends upon two different factors, what your intended use for the room and furniture is, and your design tastes. This is true for all furniture options, not just seats.

Thankfully, the design taste part of the problem is solved relatively easily: Furniture designers have long since learned that they need to provide their customers with as many style choices as possible, although certain materials could see you rapidly increasing the cost of the furniture.

This still leaves the matter of the function of your furniture, or its and your living room’s intended use. This requires you to consider what way you’re going to use your room; is it going to be a lounging space? Will it be a place to entertain? Perhaps it will be both? These are the most important questions you’ll need to ask yourself.

A lounge is a room where you find yourself sitting down to relax and watching TV. In a room like this, it makes sense to get lounge chairs, or if it is more your style a sofa or two. Comfort is key in such a decision.

If it is a place for entertaining guests, comfort tends to take the back burner position in favour of appearances. The situation allows, or even encourages you to choose style over substance (although you’ll still want some comfort), as it will keep everybody active and interested in talking rather than sitting down and taking a breather.

A mixture between the two is something that you see regularly in open room planning, where a room could have as much as a dining area and a lounge. In these instances, why sacrifice at all? Choose furniture which is comfortable and then choose another set which is pleasing to the eye.

Living room furniture needs to blend in with your lifestyle firstly, and the opinions you have of interior design secondly. By thinking this way, you will be left with a living room which is great for the purpose you intended it for and something which you can be proud of presenting to your guests. The goal anybody should have for their living room furniture is to choose furniture they’re able to live with, in the long term.