Your living room should feel like the heart of your home — relaxed, welcoming, and ready for real life. Here in Redding, our homes work hard: tall ceilings, bright sunshine, open floor plans, busy households, and rooms that often multitask as playrooms, TV hangouts, and cozy places to unwind after a long day.
After years of helping families redesign and refresh their homes, we’ve noticed the same few hiccups show up again and again — nothing dramatic, just small choices that make a room feel “almost right.”
The good news? With a few thoughtful adjustments (and pieces that are made to last), your living room can feel intentional, comfortable, and uniquely yours.
Let’s walk through the five most common living room mistakes we see — and how to fix them in a way that blends function, comfort, and style without compromising your budget or your taste.
(Comfort is personal — and it matters.)
Photos make everything look perfect… until the sofa arrives and you realize the seat feels too deep, too firm, too soft, or the recliner sits taller than you expected. We see this all the time, especially as more people buy furniture online.
The thing is:
Comfort can’t be measured in pixels.
And your living room pieces should feel good every single day.
Give yourself permission to try before you buy.
We encourage our customers to sit the way they live: curled up, stretched out, legs tucked, feet up — whatever feels natural. With motion furniture especially, the difference between “fine” and “perfect” is huge.
We help you:
Comfort is a long-term investment — and it should feel personal.
Budget-friendly pieces can be tempting, but in our NorCal climate — bright sun, warm summers, cool evenings — materials matter. We hear all the time, “I just bought this last year, and it’s already losing shape.”
Choose pieces built to last and feel good.
We love helping people find furniture that fits their life — pieces made with honest materials, thoughtful construction, and comfort that holds up.
Our showroom favorites:
These pieces aren’t about “being fancy.”
They’re about being reliable, comfortable, and made for your everyday.
(This is the big one — and the easiest to fix.)
Most living rooms aren’t tricky — they just need a layout tuned to your habits. In Redding, we have long rooms, big windows, corner fireplaces, and open-concept spaces that make placement feel confusing at first.
Start with function, then choose form.
We ask every client the same simple questions:
Once those are answered, the right layout becomes crystal clear.
If your living room “feels off,” it’s usually a scale issue. A correctly sized rug and properly scaled sofa can instantly bring a room back into balance.
(Redding homes are bright, beautiful and acoustically tricky.)
We love our sunshine, but it’s not always gentle on living rooms. Add tall ceilings and hard flooring, and you get echo, glare, and temperature swings that make a space less comfortable than it could be.
Layer in comfort.
For Glare + Temperature:
For Sound:
These aren’t big overhauls — just thoughtful touches that make a dramatic difference.
Quality matters, too — a well-built piece will still feel sturdy even if it’s scaled down. And style? That’s where small spaces can be the most fun. A single bold chair or colorful fabric can instantly bring life to the room.
There are endless choices: leather or fabric, power or stationary, warm tones or cool… and after 50 screenshots, everything starts to look the same. We get it — designing a room is exciting, but it can also feel like too much.
Let us curate for you.
Instead of piling on more options, we help you narrow your choices to:
Custom doesn’t have to mean intimidating — it simply means making choices with guidance.
If these design tips sparked ideas, our team would love to help you take the next step. From choosing the right sofa to creating a layout that truly supports how you live, Plaza Interiors offers personalized guidance and beautiful, ready-to-shop pieces to elevate your home. Explore our Living Room Furniture & Design services to see how we can help you create a space that feels welcoming, functional, and deeply you.
Curious what truly makes furniture high-quality? Read our detailed guide, What Quality Furniture Really Looks Like, to discover the signs of lasting craftsmanship and design.
Place your main seating directly across from the TV and angle other seats inward. It keeps the room comfortable and conversational.
Most living rooms need a 9×12 or 10×14 so the furniture sits on the rug — it makes the room feel grounded and cohesive.
Not necessarily. Floating it can make the room feel more open and balanced.
Light-filtering drapery or room-darkening shades are the quickest fix — especially for south-facing windows.
Pair a leather sofa with fabric chairs (or vice versa) and keep colors in the same warm or cool family
Power recliners with zero-gravity support, adjustable headrests, and firm arms for easy standing.
Use a larger rug, multiple lighting layers, and group seating closer together.
Motion = comfort and ease.
Stationary = cleaner, more tailored silhouettes.
It depends on your priorities.
Tall ceilings + hard flooring = natural echo. Add rugs, drapery, and upholstered pieces to soften the acoustics.
Light-filtering drapes for daytime use and room-darkening shades if you watch TV in the evening.
Whether you’re updating one corner or reimagining the entire space, our team is here to help you create a room that feels comfortable, intentional, and uniquely yours — without pressure, fuss, or overwhelm.