For A More Organized Living Room, Stop Making This Decor Mistake

Your living room is a place for calm and relaxation, where you can kick back on the sofa after a long day at work or lie down and watch television. If your living room feels more chaotic than calming, however, it may be more than just a matter of straightening up. For instance, you may have gone a little too far with your living room decor ideas. Perhaps the room has turned into a catchall for things that don't have a place. What may start as a curated space can quickly become overloaded with small accessories, knick-knacks, and too much "stuff" just sitting on surfaces, and this decor mistake can result in your living room feeling more cramped and busy.

This isn't just being nitpicky with aesthetics. Clutter actually has an effect on your brain. Professional organizers warn against "clutter blindness," which is when you stop noticing the mess in your own home, but it still contributes to your subconscious and causes stress. Think of your living room as an area where you want to showcase just a few meaningful pieces to draw attention, not a jumble of objects. Embrace more negative space — the open areas and pathways around your furniture and decor – as a way to create a peaceful balance. It can also be helpful to explore some design tips for achieving a cohesive living room if yours is starting to look disorganized.

One of the first things you can tackle is walking around your living room and taking out all of the little knick-knacks and items that just do not belong there. Anything that you can immediately get rid of within the space will help. Consider toys, clothes, pens, paper, cords, books, and more that can be put away or discarded to bring some quick relief at the start of your decluttering. Then, go through the more specific decor items and remove as many as possible in one pass to free up additional space. Look carefully and leave only your favorite trinkets on display. While you're at it, clear off surfaces like the coffee table, mantle, and sideboard, changing out the smaller items for just one to two accents in total.

Anything that remains and still contributes to the clutter needs a storage space. You might add a small cabinet to store items, or consider incorporating shelves to move some of the decor pieces upwards, which can help cut down on the clutter. If possible, keep a few surfaces clear of items to allow for a more minimalist look. Avoid making the room look lopsided by balancing items and placing decor on accent walls. Finally, consider rotating out your decor items every couple of months, or with the seasons, to store things away and prevent the space from feeling jam-packed.