Designing the perfect living room is always difficult. You need to find pieces of furniture that fit with your lifestyle, personal style, and the structural and size limitations of the space you are furnishing. And this is made even more difficult if you are furnishing a mountain living room.
The living room of your mountain home must efficiently incorporate both the comfort associated with the traditional living room and the style of its scenery to be effective. It should act as a space within your mountain home where you can start to wind down after a long day out on the lake.
The surroundings of and the activities you can do outside of your mountain home mean that you have the ability to be creative when designing it. You should endeavor to showcase the beauty of the mountainous landscape around your home and fill your space with furniture that gives your living room a rustic charm. But this isn’t as easy as it may first seem, given the limited amount of advice online about furnishing a mountain home effectively.
But don’t give up. Even the best interior designers struggle to curate the look of a mountain home.
We have put together this furniture guide for your mountain home to help you get started.
Know Your Environment
Before you know how to furnish your mountain home, you need to understand your environment and how it should impact your design choices. Mountain homes must have furniture built using materials that can stand up to the elements since large temperature swings take place each day on mountains due to orographic lift. Moreover, given the dry air on mountains and the intensity of the sunlight during summer, your furniture may dry out just as your skin would if not properly protected.
If you purchase imported furniture, it’s likely that it has not been appropriately kiln-dried for use in mountain homes. This means that you will have wasted your hard-earned cash on a piece that will crack within a year. Inexpensive upholstery and leathers face a similar issue as they will begin to crack as the temperature fluctuates, and they may lose their color by the end of the season, depending on where they are positioned in your home.
Sizing
You cannot overlook the spatial limitations of your mountain home. As most mountain homes have narrow hallways and small doors. This means that it can be difficult to get bulky pieces of furniture through your home without damaging them or damaging your property. So you must measure your space carefully to ensure that the pieces you choose fit in your home properly.
If you have a large living room, you must choose pieces of furniture that can match this grandeur. If you choose pieces that are too small, then they will look disproportionate in your space and make your room look uninviting. We suggest that you choose pieces that are large in order to fill your living room proportionally.
Use our room planner tool to create a realistic floor plan to help you understand what room layouts would work the best without having to move around heavy pieces of furniture.
Color
The last thing that we are covering in this furniture guide for your mountain home before we start discussing what types of furniture we recommend for your mountain home is the importance of color. Color has more control over your space than most people think, as your furniture can evoke certain feelings. So when you are choosing a color scheme for your mountain living room, you should opt for a blend of warm colors and neutral tones to compliment the beauty of your surroundings.
We recommend buying furniture in beiges, grays, and browns. Then, use a more vibrant color, like a rusted orange or deep maroon, for accent pieces to add interest to the design.
If you are returning to this furniture guide for your mountain home because you have followed our tips and still aren’t happy with the look of your space, then use texture to diversify the look of your space. If you have a rich leather sofa in a natural brown, then use a soft pillow, chunky knit throw, and rugs to balance out the design. An underrated texture that we always recommend our customers incorporate into their mountain home living room is hair-on-hide. It will give your space the unique look you’ve been looking for and work to soften the acoustics.
The Best Types of Furniture For Your Mountain Home
Now that you know what features to look for when shopping for furniture for your mountain home, you need to know what types of furniture are best for your space.
Large Sofas
The first piece of furniture you should buy for your mountain home should be a large sofa. As we mentioned above, sizing is important. A plush large or oversized sofa is ideal for mountain homes when they are properly layered with pillows and throws as they are able to make your space feel relaxing easily. Moreover, a sofa of that size will promote conversation as everyone will be able to sit comfortably in close proximity to each other. If you chose a small sofa, then this would not be the case.
Despite its size, a large sofa should still be anchored to the space. We suggest using area rugs to define the seating area and introduce color and texture into the space. Place a side table at each end of the sofa so you can place down your drinks and decorate them with rustic lanterns to help your space achieve a natural glow.
Swivel Chairs
Complete your seating area with swivel chairs. While you may not think of this type of chair when furnishing your space, swivel chairs are actually perfect for your mountain home since they are so versatile. If you have a living room with a large window with a gorgeous view, then you should position your seats so you can enjoy it. But you may also have a fireplace wall and enjoy spending evenings by the fire. Perhaps you have a TV on your third wall. With a swivel chair, you can look at all of these things without having to pick up a heavy chair and turn it around. Swivel chairs come in a variety of styles, and many are specially made for mountain homes because of this.
Ottomans
Your mountain home should say, “come on in and put your feet up.” And no piece of furniture can say this better than the ottoman. The ottoman is the perfect footstool. It is built for your comfort, able to release the pressure that builds up on your spine, relieving pain as you sit.
These smaller pieces are easy to move around and hide when not in use. They can also be used as extra seating for guests when you are entertaining, and since most ottomans have internal storage compartments, they can double as a container for all of the clutter you’ll no doubt amass on your stay.
Unique Wooden Coffee Tables
If your mountain home living room opens to a beautiful patio, then join the two spaces together through the furniture you choose for your space.
The easiest way to do this is to use the same stain on the wooden floors of your living room as you have on your porch, as this will visually fuse the two spaces. However, we know that this isn’t always possible as the stain you use outside is often too dark for indoor use. But you can still get the same effect if you purchase a coffee table in that stain.
Coffee tables made with seasoned alder are easy to stain and distress, making this type of wood perfect if you plan to make this a DIY project. But remember to use locally sourced wood as you know it can handle dry air without cracking.
If you like the look that this creates, then choose cabinets, chests, and entertainment centers in a similar stain.
Unique Light Fixtures
The last piece we are including in our furniture guide for your mountain home concerns lighting. Lighting can make or break the look of the home, so put just as much effort into finding the perfect lamps and light fixtures as you would in finding your perfect sofa.
Look for distinctive sculptural pieces that will stand out in your home. If you have a high ceiling then, be sure to use a large light fixture to naturally draw the eye up.
We hope this furniture guide for your mountain home helps you furnish your home. If you are looking for living room furniture in Great Falls or you would just like more information about the best types of furniture for mountain homes, then please visit our furniture store today. Our talented design team is happy to help you on every step of your design journey. They have the knowledge needed to answer all of your questions.
We service Great Falls, Black Eagle, Conrad, Choteau, Fairfield, and surrounding areas, so visit Payless Furniture and Mattress at 116 Central Ave West and let one of our experienced staff members pair you with your perfect furniture for your mountain home.