Let’s just admit that fact that the living room is the most attacked room in the house. Even the most efficient of living rooms, come with their own set of seemingly minor, but surprisingly nerve-wracking problems. Like they say, knowledge is power. Therefore, power lies in knowing what problems you are likely to encounter in your-otherwise-tastefully-done living area. We give you five common problems of the living room and of course, simple ways to deal with each of them.

1)   Overflowing everything!

It’s only for so long that you can go on being clinical, before you finally learn to desensitize yourself to the living area turned dumpster. However, a bit of a system is important, it makes existence simpler. For clothes, go for a built in walk-in closet, they eliminate the need to fold clothes at the same time allow you to keep things organized and within your reach. As for books and toys, use big shoe boxes or cartons, and since you have the suggested walk-in closet, you know where to put these boxes. Or, you can intelligently fill up the little spaces all over your house, like the space between two stairs (if you have an indoor staircase), the inside of a coffee or a dining table, etc.

2)   Old furniture with sentimental value

Be it your husband’s beloved cabinet from his FRAT days, or your grandma’s favorite chair from an era long forgotten, if it’s ugly and falling apart, it HAS TO get out. There’s one simple solution that lets you keep the nostalgic mementos yet doesn’t mock your exquisite taste. Recycle. That’s right; it’s eco-friendly, cheap and very intelligent. Recycle the old, chipped, wobbly stuff and reshape it to something more stylish and acceptable. Such an efficiently achieved win-win, no?

3)   A sofa that’s falling apart

It’s fun to see the kids perform circus-like antics on your sofa in the moment of it. But much later, you can almost hear hindsight laugh at you, right in your face. That exotic looking sofa, looks anything but exotic now; thanks to the frayed ends, dulled upholstery, weirdly clumped padding and whatnot. If you know that there’s a great likelihood of you walking down that lane, simply use some dark colored, weather- resistant covers to conceal the dirty sofas. Or, if you’re up for a little extra expense, go for a good quality dark colored leather sofa. It’s easy to clean, long-lasting and works with almost any home décor style.

4)   Bad lighting

Dull, boring white lights do nothing except remind you of a hospital corridor, thus making you feel equally hopeless. Shift to ambient lights, which can be adjusted to go with the mood, be it a quiet relaxed evening, or a classy dinner party, or a home transformed into a club! Use elegant chandeliers or vintage lamps or quirky fixtures to add some more style. Also, ensure that your house allows as much natural light to enter as possible. This helps you not only cut down your electricity consumption during the day, but also feel less guilty about spending on something more creative.

5)   Wrong flooring

Flooring is the one thing in the house that goes through maximum strain. Not to mention, replacing flooring takes quite a toll on the pockets too. Thus, we are left with only two viable options, carpeting the whole area or room specific flooring. Before you consider redoing the flooring of your house, try to consider what goes best for which room. The living room faces maximum foot traffic. Thus, laminates and hardwood flooring form excellent choices. Thanks to their elegant appearance, stain resistance, low-maintenance and durability, they look good even after aging, thus serving as a good long-term investment.

Attached Images:

•  License: Royalty Free or iStock source: http://www.andertoons.com/cat/cartoon/4121/do-you-like-it-i-made-it-from-scratch/

Guest blogger Sophia Easton works for Leather Creations as a blogger and likes writing articles focusing on various aspects of a home’s interiors.