Living Room Furniture Creates Comfortable Space for the Family

Different materials and designs cater to different markets

In many homes the living room once had the very best furniture and was used for formal entertainment; today, the living room is where the family carries on its everyday activities and entertains guests as well. Nice furniture, therefore, remains a must in the modern living room.

Since the living room is such a busy and casual place these days, the furniture there must be durable and comfortable as well as fashionable. Living room furniture can consist of virtually any combination of pieces, including sofas, coffee tables, chairs, stools, and recliners.

The materials and designs of living room furniture depend on the tastes of the people using it. Among the popular materials are wood, leather, cloth, rattan, wicker, and bamboo, and the designs can be generally divided into modern and traditional, Occidental and Oriental, and simple and sophisticated.

In line with the global trend toward environmental protection, upholstered furniture is becoming more and more popular since it is relatively eco-friendly. Upholstered sofas, armchairs, casual chairs, and other seating products using all manner of fabrics and colors, and all kinds of designs from simple to sophisticated, are seen in living rooms today.

Furniture designers feel that the use of fabric covers for seating products, and the colors of the fabric used, can help change the mood of a room's occupants. Purple, for example, is believed to promote peace of mind, green to bring a balance that affords confidence and relaxation, blue (a cool color) to calm the nerves, orange (a combination of yellow and red) to give a warm feeling, yellow to incite cheer, and red (a passionate and stimulating color) to foster excitement.

Young Styling

Younger people like to use colorful upholstered furniture to create vivid and bright rooms, while those over 40 tend to prefer plainer colors and designs to equip rooms that are serene and peaceful. Youngsters like modern and stylish furniture and their elders prefer traditional and classic styling; both age groups, however, welcome innovative design.

Leather sofas are still quite popular in the West, particularly the United States and Europe. With their larger living space, consumers in the U.S. incline toward large-sized living room furniture while those in Europe favor refined, classic furniture. People in places like Japan, China, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East like furniture with a lesser or greater content of local taste. Japanese- and Chinese-style furniture remains popular in Asia, while Arabic styling is popular in the Middle East.

Internationalization and fusion seem to have become a kind of vogue today, and this vogue is often seen in furniture products. In recent years the rise of China has made Oriental styling a global fashion that increasingly appears in clothes, interior decoration, and architecture, as well as furniture items.

Generally speaking, Oriental furniture is based on Chinese tradition and art that is centered on animal designs, mainly dragons, lions, phoenixes, peacocks, monkeys, and turtles, laced with flowers and plants. Chinese-style traditional furniture that is manufactured today is patterned mostly on furniture, noted for its simple design, which was made in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

A Chinese-style living room set is composed of a carved long wooden couch with wooden chairs and a tea table, which together create a simple and dignified atmosphere. In contrast, Western-style living room sets consist of a leather or upholstered sofa with armchairs and a coffee table, presenting a classic and luxurious elegance.

Whether modern or traditional, Occidental or Oriental, a living room set should create an atmosphere where family and guests can relax and enjoy a casual, comfortable time.