How to Decorate a Traditional Living Room with Hardwood Flooring

A traditional living room should have all of the traditional elements including hardwood flooring. In colonial and Victorian times, houses of note were built with highly polished hardwood floors covered with fine carpets to add design, warmth and insulation. If you are designing a traditional living room in the fashion of colonial or Victorian times, be sure you begin with the right foundation - only then can you design a truly exceptional room.

Arrange Floor Coverings Refinish and treat your hardwood flooring so that is shines with warmth and beauty. Then, select a large rug to cover the middle of the room. The rug may be oriental or have another pattern comprised of small elements.

Avoid solid colors or contemporary designs as these are indications of casual or modern rooms. Prepare Wall and Window Treatments In a traditional living room of the past, wall treatments consisted of wallpaper, wainscoting, picture molding, and paint in almost any combination. You might hang a chair rail molding over wainscoting.

Paint both the wainscoting and molding white. Hang wallpaper with a floral, hunting, or small stripe pattern above the wainscoting to finish the look. Another option for a more formal room would be to install the same chair rail molding and wainscoting, but create large picture frame moldings above the wainscoting and fill in the top with a green or blue paint.

Pictures in gilded frames of still-life, portraits or country scenes could be hung centered inside the picture frame molding. Windows in your traditional living room should be treated with wooden blinds or shutters. You should then hang full draperies complete with a liner and heavy panels at each window.

The colors can be light, and the panels should be pulled back to let in the light, but might have a sash or draw to close the draperies should you prefer a bit of dark in the room. Select and Arrange Furniture Once the floor and walls have been arranged, it is time to assemble your furniture . Traditional living rooms are almost fussy in their detail regarding furnishing.

A sofa or settee should be placed on the rug and flanked by another sofa or two upholstered chairs. Furnishings should be small and upholstered with floral or striped prints which coordinate with the rug and drapes. Traditional living rooms had more than one seating area, so create another area for conversation in a corner or by the fireplace with two arm chairs or straight-back chairs facing each other over a small table.

Bring in ottomans, footstools and stacking tables. You should have a wooden or brass and marble coffee table along with a large wall piece such as an armoire or curio cabinet. As you arrange your furnishing, be sure to leave walkways along major traffic areas.

Add Decorative Touches Finally add curios, lamps, mirrors and pictures with gilded frames and other decorative touches to complement your hardwood flooring . Candlesticks, chests, and collectibles all can find a home in a traditional living room. In fact, these rooms were often a showplace of any manner of items, so feel free to feature your treasures and keepsakes on the mantle or in the curio cabinet.