Living rooms are great for entertaining, whether guests are over or your family has come together for some quality time. For that reason, the living room should be comfortable yet spacious and functional. While style is important, it is crucial not to lose your head in the process.

Many people make big mistakes when designing their living rooms, and most don’t realize how outdated and tacky some of these “features” can be. Sadly, not everything trendy is practical, so here are the biggest mistakes you should avoid when designing and decorating your living room.

Knickknacks can be great living room aesthetics, but they can also have an excessive presence that often transforms the space into an unintentional shrine of visual chaos. The overabundance of these small, miscellaneous items creates a discordant, overwhelming atmosphere.

Unconventional lamps can be great, casting an eccentric glow on the space. But these lamps can come in different shapes and sizes, with some lampshades resembling oversized fruits or abstract sculptures transcending the ordinary and contributing to an ambiance that some guests may find weird.

Dressing windows in curtains that mirror the exact hue of the couch may leave the space devoid of visual intrigue. Monochromatic fusion will blur the boundaries between furnishings, creating a chromatic monotony that lacks the dynamic contrast needed for more engaging and sophisticated decor.

The absence of frames around photos communicates casual neglect, leaving the wall decor feeling incomplete and without polished refinement. The choice to showcase frameless pictures while aiming for a laid-back aesthetic can inadvertently result in an ambiance that fails to achieve a well-thought-out and cohesive design.

Using plastic covers on couches inadvertently ushers in an environment of discomfort and a lack of tactile warmth. Although plastic covers aim to protect the upholstery, the choice of plastic disrupts the visual and sensory experience, imparting an air of impracticality that clashes with the comfort of a living space.

Diminutive rugs tend to diminish the impact of the floor space, creating an inadvertent sense of visual fragmentation. It often leaves the room feeling underdressed as it lacks the transformative power larger rugs possess in defining and unifying the overall design scheme.

Including futons can make your living room look like a dorm room, which may clash with the desired level of sophistication. Futons have a modular and often utilitarian nature that can compromise the overall design coherence. This will leave the living room with a casual, makeshift ambiance that undermines a more refined decor.

The sight of tangled cables disrupts the space’s harmony, creating a visual cacophony that distracts from the intended design focus. The disarray of cords undermines the clean and organized atmosphere and introduces unintentional chaos to the decor.

One problem people don’t think of is that when their living room is the first place they enter their home, they will very likely leave random temporary furniture there for the time being. It could be a chair you just got and don’t know where to put it or furniture you’re holding for someone. It stands out more than you think and likely doesn’t fit, so store it elsewhere.

The idea of an artificial fireplace may seem nice from an aesthetic perspective, but it doesn’t offer the same charm as a real fireplace. It is easy to know it is not real, and the heat is not nearly as nice as a real fire. It also tends to leave behind smells of gas.

Fake plants may seem like a good idea when you’re standing in the store and wondering how to level up your room without much effort but don’t even think about it. Not only are fake plants unappealing and corny, but they can make a mess, too. If you want green, get the real deal.

Windows without curtains are unnatural and can inadvertently strip the space of its potential for warmth and privacy. Their absence exposes the room to an unfiltered influx of light and also leaves the decor feeling incomplete, missing the opportunity to frame the outside world with a touch of style.

Adding cliché art to your decor can dilute the potential for unique and meaningful expression, reducing the visual narrative to predictable and uninspired tropes. Such conventional artworks seek to please a broad audience but, in the process, inadvertently undermine the depth and individuality that thoughtful art choices bring to a space.