Of all the rooms in your home, your living room and its decor should marry form and function and reflect your personal style. For many people, the living room serves as a space for families to relax as well as entertain, and a bright and breezy tropical decorating scheme works as an ideal backdrop for both pastimes. Set the tone of tropical living room design with furniture and finishes inspired by island, nautical and beach themes.
Instructions
1. Determine a style of tropical living room decor that suits your needs and preferences. The upscale resort look emphasizes less ornamentation and clutter and a combination of natural materials and finishes in earth tones, linen white and muted greens. The rain forest look favors dark wooden frames with more ornamentation and bright splashes of accent color.
2. Consider architectural details that can frame your furnishings. A ceiling fan over an overstuffed couch has tropical beach house style. Window seats pushed up to large picture windows provide a space to unwind amid a view of the outdoors. Wooden plantation shutters around windows evoke a colonial tropical look. Hardwood floors in medium to dark stains create a warm foundation for tropical furnishings. You can also use bamboo floor mats, sisal rugs or woven mats.
3. Invest in tropical living room furniture that sets the tone for the room's decor scheme. Teak, rosewood or other dark woods on coffee tables, chairs and furniture frames allude to the natural resources of tropical climates. A touch of Asian flair, such as cabinetry with wood joinery or low, modular with engraved or embossed trim, recalls the Balinese tropics. You can evoke the Caribbean tropics with British or French colonial furnishings by using pieces made of dark, sculpted woods with solid construction.
4. Accent tropical living room furniture with eye-catching textiles and artwork. Nubby linens and cottons on pillows and curtains create a light and breezy contrast to dark wooden furniture. Bright splashes of mango orange, lime green, fuchsia and sunny yellow on floor cushions, throw pillows or wall art bring a festive atmosphere to a tropical living room.
Tags: living room, tropical living, room, room decor, coffee tables, dark wooden