Balance is always important in decorating, and when it comes to arranging furniture and determining where to put items in your living room you’ll want to consider both size and placement of the various pieces.

The size of the room will dictate how far you can pull your furniture away from the walls, but even in a small space you’ll want to give pieces a little breathing room by allowing a few inches between the backs of furniture pieces and the walls. Despite popular belief, this little bit of space can actually make rooms feel bigger. Of course if you have a larger space feel free to arrange furniture in such a way that conversation areas are created in the middle of the room, leaving several feet between the walls and the furniture.

Good design can make any room look great, and living rooms are no exception. When designing your living room, begin with establishing your style along with correct balance, proportion and scale of furnishings and decor. After that, everything else will fall perfectly into place.

Living rooms may be everyone's favorite space in the home for the warmth and coziness they afford, but we have to acknowledge the brilliant work of designers who went above and beyond, turning what's traditionally considered a place of relaxation into carefully curated chambers that also spark our imaginations. Sure, you'll find rolled-arm sofas and tufted ottomans and other creature comforts, but you'll also see unexpected paint treatments, eclectic combinations of antique, contemporary, and custom furnishings, and a slew of other elements that show just how much attention to detail went into each creation.