Your living room mirrors your lifestyle. With the right balance of space, colours and textures, it could be the best compliment you give yourself.

The living room reflects your aesthetic quotient. Over the last two decades, it has changed from being a space to impress guests to a multi-utility room that accommodates the dining set, the television and, now in many homes, an open kitchen on the side—all without disturbing its visual appeal. “As urban life has gradually taken off and real estate prices have shot up, our spaces have become constricted. We need to utilise the space we have to the full,” says Nupur Gupta, an interior designer who has been sprucing up high-end homes of industrialists and corporate heads in Delhi for the last 14 years.

Design changes apart, there’s one constant—“Everyone wants a beautiful living room but no one knows how to go about it,” says Gupta who also runs a five-year-old furniture store, The Alchemy, along with partner, Anupama Dalmia. Doing up your living room might seem a homely task, says Gupta, but for the most satisfactory results, you need research, logic, arithmetic and a lot of paperwork.

The Q&A
The first step is “to de-clutter the mind”, says Gupta and this involves asking yourself basic questions: How many people are living in the home? How old are they? What is the purpose of the room? What is your lifestyle? Do you want your living room for formal or casual entertaining? Would you prefer a lounge or an uptight setting? How many people visit you and how often? These pointers help identify what you need. Jot down these questions and the answers to each of them on a piece of paper.

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