How To Coordinate a New Ottoman Into your Living Room Decor
Have you ever looked at your living room and thought that something was missing? If you have all the seating, entertainment, and decor you need but something still feels off, it might be because you’re missing an ottoman in the middle of the room.
If this is the case for your home, it’s time to make a change. Of course, you shouldn’t just buy the first ottoman you find and make it work for your living room. That’s why we’re here to help you coordinate it to have it fit your room’s current decor.
How To Pick Your Ottoman
Before you even begin, the first thing you need to do is buy an ottoman. Once you find a place that has ottomans for sale at a good price, it’s time to begin your search. As you browse, don’t just consider what you think looks good—though this is important. You should find one you like that works with the theme you already have in your living room. Below are some elements to consider while shopping.
Consider the Style
To fit your decor, the first thing you need to consider for your new ottoman is the style. The fun part about this piece of furniture is that it comes in a wide variety of styles. One ottoman might have button-tufting leather, while the next might use a heavy amount of flokati fur.
This variety allows you the freedom to create some unique style combinations in your living room. While it might seem best to pick out a style that perfectly matches your current decor, you might be missing out on a fun design opportunity. Like with an accent chair, you can use an ottoman to contrast with the rest of your home’s furniture, creating visual intrigue. However, the choice is up to you. Most of the time, picking a style that fits your theme will be much easier to coordinate once you’ve brought your new ottoman home.
Pick a Color
Once you’ve decided on a style, it’s time to pick a color. Due to the accent-focused nature of ottomans, there are typically a lot of colors for you to choose from. Like with your chosen style, you could go with a hue that contrasts with the rest of your decor. Alternatively, you can keep it simple and find something that matches.
Whatever you do, though, try to make sure the color of the ottoman you choose isn’t an exact match to your couches and chairs. While this can work, it usually leads to a boring, monotone room. However, picking out a color that’s close to your current furniture is still fine and, in most cases, the preferred option.
Don’t Forget About the Size
Be sure to also consider the size of your ottoman. In general, it’s better to go big with this piece of furniture. We’ll go into more detail on why later, but small ones are only good if you’re working with a small living room or going for a more minimalistic approach. Fortunately, most ottomans on the market are fairly large, so you won’t have to do too much hunting.
How To Place and Style Your Ottoman
Once you’ve picked out the perfect ottoman, it’s time to learn how to precisely coordinate it with the rest of the decor in your living room. If you bought an ottoman that complements your existing furniture, this shouldn’t be too much of a struggle, but it will take a bit of work. The tips below will help you seamlessly integrate this new piece of furniture into your living room.
Rearrange Your Furniture
After setting up your ottoman, the first thing you’ll need to do is rearrange your furniture to make it fit in perfectly. This is why we recommended getting a larger ottoman if possible. While these centerpieces are mostly about style, they’re also about functionality, and that function usually is to be a footrest. If you can’t comfortably reach the ottoman with your feet from most of your seating options, then you’re not getting the most out of this piece of furniture.
Moving your couches and chairs around is the best way to fix this issue, so don’t be afraid to get creative with it. In some ways, it’s like trying to figure out a puzzle. However, if you bought a large-enough ottoman and have enough space in your living room, there should be a combination that offers the most potential footrest possible.
Add Items to Your Ottoman
Once you’ve situated everything, it’s time to make your ottoman look like a natural piece of your home. Even though your room rearrangement will help with this, the best way to integrate it into your home is to add some decorations and personal items to it.
However, unlike tables, ottomans typically don’t have flat surfaces. Even if they do, pressure from someone’s feet could cause depressions that make things on top fall over. That’s why you’ll need to place a tray on your ottoman to put your decorations on. Fortunately, trays have recently become very popular in interior design, so you’ll have plenty of options to choose from that will fit your current theme.
Adjust Your Decor Where Needed
After all of this is said and done, your ottoman might still seem a little out of place. While this isn’t common, especially if you picked one out that fits your living room’s theme, you might need to adjust your current decor to make the ottoman work better.
Luckily, these changes won’t have to be as drastic as buying new furniture. Sometimes, small changes, such as adjusting the lighting or buying a few new smaller decorations, can help you incorporate your ottoman better. And if the colors just aren’t working together, you can buy some slipcovers for your furniture. This will make your seating options look brand new without breaking the bank. In some cases, painting your walls a different color could also do the trick.
In the end, it’s up to you on the kinds of adjustments you want to make to help your new ottoman fit in. No matter what you choose, all these options will help it fit seamlessly with your current design!
