Home Decorating

Formal living rooms are typically designed for entertaining and conversation. To create a design for your formal living room, identify your focal points, arrange your furniture to maximize the views and accessorize based on the scale of your wall space. Lay out the design before you shop for furniture so you can better size the individual pieces. Add elements like stained glass windows or a crystal chandelier to set an elegant tone for your formal living room.

Instructions
Things You’ll Need

Measuring tape

1. Identify the focal points in your room before creating your design. In a formal living room, you may have a picture window or a fireplace, both of which are focal points. You may have built-in shelving or a bar area along one wall; these are also focal points. Measure the walls and room space around the focal points so you can lay out a design for furniture placement. Outline the layout, including measurements for windows, doorways and focal points. You can sketch your layout on paper or create a 3-D image on your computer with the help of free software.
2. Arrange your furniture to accentuate the focal points in your room. Formal living room designs may include a piano, which is definitely a focal point and will dictate the arrangement of your room, especially if it is a grand or baby grand. Place the piano first, and then layer in the other large furniture pieces so that they face one or more of the focal points. For example, if your formal living room has a bay or picture window on one wall and a fireplace on another, place your sofa facing the fireplace with the window to the side or back, depending on whether or not the fireplace is opposite the window or on the wall adjacent to it. Add two chairs and a table opposite from or to enclose the sofa. If your living room has an oversized doorway taking up much of one wall, use the space in either corner to place your piano or to create a seating nook with a chair and side table. You can place furniture to the side of an oversized doorway without limiting your access.
3. Accessorize the walls and table tops with mirrors, art or family photos. A formal living room is the perfect place to showcase a large-scale family portrait. Hang the portrait over the mantle on the fireplace or on the wall behind the sofa. You can place a large mirror opposite the windows to bring more light into the room. Design the layout for any artwork, sculptures or wall hangings based on size and scale of the available wall space. You can group small works of art together to create the illusion of a larger piece, or add sconces on either side of a medium-sized piece if you need to fill a large space. Add a rug to connect furniture groupings and decorate the table tops with candles, glassware or collectibles.

Barbie dolls are very popular among little girls, and buying a doll house for barbie from the many varieties and designs available in the market can be quite significant. While there are barbie doll houses offered by the manufacturers of Barbie, you can consider buying sturdy wooden doll houses too.

Barbie Doll house – Furnished Homes

Assembled Barbie doll houses are available from the makers of the Barbie dolls. These doll houses are equipped with accessories that are fun to play with. Starting from chiming doorbell, lights, crackling fireplace to elevator, the doll houses come packed with exciting stuff that can provide endless hours of fun for children. The doll houses come in different models like Barbie Townhouse, Barbie Dream House and many more. But there are a few drawbacks with the Barbie doll houses – they are made of plastic and tend to break very easily. Hence, they are unsuitable for children who can be a little rough while playing with toys. Also, these doll houses are pretty expensive. Thus, it would be a good idea to look for sturdy wooden doll houses that come tastefully decorated.

Victorian doll houses – Elegant and Stylish

Victorian doll houses come with well-furnished rooms that speak of elegance and charm and would be a perfect choice for a Barbie doll. While doll houses equipped with furniture and interior decorations of your choice can be purchased, you can consider getting an empty doll house and buying miniature furniture and other accessories separately. The website woodvictoriandollhouse.com is a good place to browse for quality miniature furniture to decorate the Victorian doll house.

Wooden doll houses – Sturdy Homes

The best thing about wooden doll house is that it is solid and superior to plastic houses in terms of quality and value. Kid Kraft offers wooden houses just the right size for Barbie doll. It is available in delightful combination of colors. The website doll-house-miniature-club.com gives plenty of information on wooden doll houses and furnitures available for purchase. There are also doll house kits available for those interested in woodwork and assembling. Guides and plans are available to help you construct the doll house.

To design a Tuscany-inspired living room, think of the vast vineyards, gently rolling hills, and magnificent scenery for which Italy is famous. Just as Tuscany is located in the heart of Italy, the living room is the heart of a family’s home. Tuscan designs are warm, inviting and regal, ideal for a lovely living room retreat.

Selecting Colors

Designing a Tuscan living room begins first with color, rustic, earthy tones and hues, inspired from nature itself. Deep reds, olive inspired greens, sunlit yellows, and terra-cotta oranges are popular shades. Warm browns from the earth and elegant blues of the surrounding sea find their places rooted in Tuscan design. When painting the wall, consider which color provides the energy or warmth desired. To keep the living room light, choose yellow or gold. For a vibrant energy, choose red or orange. Consider using blue and green as accent walls, although both colors are regal in their hue and can add an air of elegance.

The exact color does not need to be precise, but if the color concept still escapes the creative mind, find pictures online to inspire decorating, or find Italian art pieces that will provide a color theme.

Texture Choices

When designing a Tuscany living room, think Old World tradition. Textures are often rough, the trademark of many years of beloved use and detailed artistry by skilled workers who strove for excellence within their trade. Terra-cotta pots are popular and provide a rustic feel, while tables and chairs with wrought iron and scrolled metal detailing supply refined, elegant elements. Elaborate wooden furniture, hand painted or finished in rich warm stains, brings natural pieces to the living room.

Tapestries or Italian-inspired art pieces add decorative flare and soften many of the rough edges of iron and wood.

Arrange pieces to fit the living space. The order is not as important as the colors, textures and old-fashioned accessories that replicate Tuscany houses.

Lighting

Because older styles tend to be more eclectic, lighting can come from various sources like antique-style chandeliers, various lamps and natural sunlight. Stay away from gaudy pieces, but it is acceptable to use more than one light source. Avoid recessed lighting or anything that looks new or modern. Tuscan designs are very old-fashioned in their appearance and things should look as natural as they would have 100 years ago. In going with Old World tradition, candles and lanterns work well for providing accent lighting. Use sheer or light-colored curtains to allow sunlight, or consider installing lights in various places. To mimic the appearance of a sun-drenched living room, consider installing inconspicuous lighting in discreet areas that do not interrupt the flow of traditionalism.

Special Additions

To design a Tuscany living room it is all about the final additions, small changes that can add serious design impact. While they are not always budget friendly, the result is well worth the time and money spent.

Aside from merely painting the walls a flat color, Tuscan design has many layered textures, so consider Venetian plaster. This faux technique involves spreading drywall putty on the wall with various trowel strokes. Then simply prime and paint with a glaze-paint mixture. Several coats add depth and interest to the wall. For a time-honored appearance, try hand painting or stenciling details on furniture.
Consider adding architectural features such as columns, wooden ceiling beams, stone or tile flooring and arched structural elements. If this is not feasible, use items that re-create these special touches like arched frames for art and mirrors or build custom beams and columns with spare wood. Fresh flowers, fruit baskets, vases, and urns are commonplace Italian accent pieces that add distinct flair.

To display family photos, transfer original prints into black-and-white or sepia-toned images that coordinate with the Old World design theme. Remember to keep things uniform with delicately aged accents and decorations.