Here's How You Can Make Your Living Room Centered Around Something That's Not The TV

There was a time when positioning your furniture around the TV was the pinnacle of design. After all, watching television was a big mainstay of families, couples, or even people who lived on their own after a long day. Come home, relax, watch your favorite movies and shows in a cozy atmosphere where the screen was the focal point of the room. However, have you noticed how you rarely see HGTV stars incorporate TVs in their home renovation designs? It seems both designers and consumers want other options than a screen as the main focus in their living rooms. It comes down to finding other focal points or adjusting your furniture so that conversation is the main priority, but still giving yourself a way to enjoy the TV if you want to or even finding a different room for it.

The first step is to consider the size and shape of your living room. What furniture pieces are you working with? Where does your TV currently reside? It's important to consider if it needs to be replaced or if it or can remain without creating an awkward element. Really think about if you even want a television in your living room in the first place. Curating a space to interact and socialize without the distraction of a screen could be a clever way to utilize this particular room, but it comes down to how you like to spend your time in there.

One of the most stylish and engaging ways to arrange your living room without a TV focus is to turn furniture toward the middle of the room and toward each other. This creates a conversation pit (without the '70s sub level) and gives your space a purpose: To socialize and spend time with one another or just enjoying other hobbies. Since conversation pits are coming back in style, this is a great way to DIY one without having to invest in expensive renovations. You could pair two couches across from one another with a coffee table in the middle, or mix and match a couch with two chairs instead. You can do any of these combinations facing each other using the table as a lower level to add visual interest, or you could angle each piece of furniture to create more of a circle, too. Focusing your furniture around your TV is a living room trend that could be dating your home, but conversation areas are stylish alternatives.

A variation of these would be placing your furniture around a fireplace or mantel. This is great for living rooms that feature these and gives a cozy, centralized area to build your pieces around. They can make a wide circle or you can use one larger couch or sectional across from the mantel, maybe adding a table between or border either side with smaller tables. A plush rug under the furnishings can tie the whole area together and give you a place to read, chat, play games, or just enjoy the fire in the cold months and the decor on the mantle the rest of the year.

One big trend that can really help nature flow through your home is placing your furniture around your windows. If there is a window seat or a bay window, this is a great anchor for furniture like couches, love seats, or matching chairs sets. For living rooms that have a great view of the garden, you can enjoy all your blooms from the comfort of your couch or recliners. Invest in sheer drapes that let natural light in to make the room even cozier.

Some designers have even encouraged people to ditch the traditional style of keeping furniture up against the walls in their living spaces. This dated practice can make the room seem flat and one dimensional, which can lead to a boring design. If you are trying to decorate without making your TV the focal point, pull your furniture away from any walls and bring them more into the middle of the room. This works for any of the aforementioned layouts but also if you wanted to just have one couch and a side table in the middle of a room and then decorate with rugs and other smaller pieces around it to make it the main focus. One other option is to direct your furniture toward an entryway or open concept area in an L shape. Use a sectional and chairs to create a corner setup so that communication and visibility is more of the main focus. This allows people coming in to see the interior layout fully and vice versa so people can socialize from any of the surrounding rooms.