Lounge Area - Designing the front wall

Living rooms are also referred to as lounge areas but most commonly “sitting rooms” here in Kenya. In most set-ups, sitting rooms are located immediately after the entry hall. The main function of this area is to simply relax. It is principally used by the members of the family but also sometimes used to host guests for social functions.  Living room designs are simple but can sometimes be quite detailed. There are many walls in a lounge area, however there is always one main wall i.e. the front wall. The front wall is the main point of focus. The furniture is set up in a way that the seats are placed in a horse shoe arrangement leaving the view of the front wall. In home designs where the lounge area has only one wall, it in this case carries most of the functions. This determines the furniture arrangement in the room. 

There are many ways one can design the front wall to create an interesting center of focus.

1. Fireplace

Fireplaces are common in very many parts of the world with the exception of countries around the equator. These areas are hot most times of the year and therefore do not need extra heating. For areas that receive snow, fireplaces are more functional than aesthetic. They provide the extra heating in the home and therefore form the main feature in these lounge areas. Most fireplaces are centralized to the front wall though some aren’t. When at the center, seats area arranged around this in a horse shoe design or a perpendicular arrangement. Fireplaces are generally huge with the mantle location 1 - 1.2 meters from the floor level. This makes the height quite high to mount plasma screens and if this has to be done, one needs to use tilt-able wall brackets that can allow the plasma screen be tilted downwards. The view for this is more comfortable when the room is bigger and the viewing distance is longer. 

2. Bookshelf

     This is the best feature for people who love to read. With the world moving towards more “simple living”, libraries are some of the spaces that have been reduced and sometimes omitted. Designers have opted to provide bookshelves in Home offices, Family rooms or Living rooms to serve this purpose. Depending on the number of books the client owns or intends to own, bookshelves can cover the entire wall or just a section. They can be open shelves or can have doors depending on the clients taste. With this being a digital world, storage for digital media such as CDs, hard drives etc should be considered. Concealed power ports should be installed for charging tablets, notebooks etc as some clients prefer these as reading tools. Open shelves are high maintenance. They require consistent cleaning and organizing and therefore would be more suitable for people who are keen on housekeeping. 

       3. Décor shelf

Décor shelves are fantastic. They are simple to install and easy to clean. People who love to collect souvenirs would love this in their house. Depending on how they are styled, they can look really nice or boring. The secret is to minimize and to provide variety. Décor pieces that can be put on shelves are such as indoor plants, vases, candles, sculptures, magazines, photo frames etc. The décor pieces selected should fit the design style and colour schemes of the space. More often than not, souvenirs collected from all parts of the world do not work in décor shelves unless they have been keenly selected. In this case, one can procure small storage boxes to use as storage for the souvenirs.  

      4.Mirrors

Mirrors are a creative way to decorate the front wall. Large mirrors give a psychological feel of space. The reflective nature of mirrors makes the room feel bigger as they open up spaces. Mirrors can be used to create an interesting reflection from light fittings and reflective surfaces. For a designer look and feel, one can use one large mirror as the centre piece, two mirrors on either side of the fireplace to create balance or salon-styled arrangement using different sizes and designs of mirrors. In modern style of design, large wall to wall mirrors are becoming a more common feature either framed or broken up into pieces. Mirrors are a feature that has also been adopted on ceilings, floors and on furniture.

       5.  Artwork

Artwork may be the easiest form of décor on front walls. Luckily, artworks come in a wide variety; they can be paintings, photo frames and prints or even framed fabric. These décor pieces can be DIY or can be the most expensive items in a house. Lovers of art do not buy art for art’s sake, but rather for the story line and the history. Enthusiastic art lovers buy art pieces that tell a story; they buy pieces from renowned artists who have a story and pieces whose journey has a story. The most expensive pieces ever sold are attributed to artists such as Leonardo da Vinci; Salvator Mundi , Paule Cezanne; The card players and Williem de Kooning ; Interchange. Most artworks displayed on front walls tell the story of the home.

     6. Sofa table/hall table

These are unusual form of decoration for the front wall. However, they are a creatively unique concept. These tables come in many forms and sizes. They also come with designs that match other pieces of furniture such as coffee tables. Hall tables come with drawers that one can use to store small usable items such as fire lighters, remote controls, AC remotes, coasters etc. One can also place decorative items such as table lamps, candle stands and bouquets of flowers on them to add flair to the design. For walls with wall lamps, table lamps may not be necessary as they will appear too much.  

      7.  Plasma screens

Plasma screens are more functional than decorative. Most homes use TVs as a source of entertainment and knowledge. TV installation needs to be well thought out as a lot of cabling and services are involved.  Before any provisions are made, one needs to shop around for the screen they intend to use and understand its requirements. One also needs to research on installations required for the TV cable. With this information, one can make the necessary provision for power, data and TV point concealing everything behind the TV. Hanging cables are a visual turn off.  Built in plasma screens provide flexibility when tying up cables. However, one would need to know the size of the TV first before making this provision.

    8. Wall cladding

Wall cladding on the front wall can change the look and feel of the entire lounge area. This can be done at construction stage or as a DIY decoration project. There are various options of wall cladding;

1. Wood paneling: This option is best for those looking to achieve an old English or traditional look and feel for their lounge area. It is a bit technical and requires power tools to cut and fix. The simplest material one can use to achieve this is MDF as it comes in various thicknesses. One can finish off with paint or decorative finishes.
2. Stone cladding: Various stones such as Marble, Granite, Quartz, Natural stone etc can be used. Various porcelain and ceramic tiles can be used as well. When selecting a finish, one needs to be careful not to have bathroom look.
3. Architectural mouldings : These are decorative panels manufactured from polyurethane.  They come in all designs and sizes and based on the style intent, one can use designs such as geometric shapes, flowers etc.

Inspiration pour le Journee

Small spaces are the most difficult to design. This is because; they need minimal pieces of furniture that also fulfill all their needs. Designers have come up with multi-use furniture to satisfy this need. IKEA for example has brilliant ideas. Check out the video below for your inspiration.