TL;DR
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Apartment Therapy published a report featuring four designers who question familiar living-room rules: keep rooms light and airy, push the sofa against a wall, mount the TV above the fireplace, and maintain a picture-perfect look. Their advice is subjective, but centers on comfort, room layout and the needs of the people using the space.
Apartment Therapy has published a report in which four interior designers challenge familiar living-room decorating advice, including painting rooms in light colors, placing sofas against walls, mounting televisions above fireplaces and keeping rooms pristine. The designers argue that comfort, conversation and a home’s individual character can matter more than following a uniform set of style rules.
The report, written by Kelsey Mulvey, is based on responses from four designers asked to name the worst living-room decorating advice they had heard. It presents their views as professional opinions, not as binding design standards or claims supported by a study. The central message is that common rules may not work in every home.
Athiana Makar of Studio Clae pushes back on the idea that every living room should be “light and airy.” She says darker colors, rich woods, natural materials and layered lighting can make a room feel warm and intimate. Claire Sá, co-founder of De Rosee Sa, also questions the assumption that a room must visually recede to look appealing, encouraging homeowners to emphasize its distinctive features instead.
Jacqueline Gonçalves of MOKSA Studio challenges two other conventions: lining all furniture against the walls and placing a television above a fireplace. She says floating a sofa closer to the center and grouping seating and tables can support conversation. A TV mounted above a mantel may sit too high, she says, and can dominate the room when switched off. The final piece of advice comes from Meghan Meehan of Hudson East Design, who says a living room should feel usable rather than staged for photographs.
Comfort Over Decorating Rules
The advice matters to readers because living rooms often serve several purposes: conversation, watching television, relaxing and hosting guests. A layout or finish chosen to meet a popular visual rule can work against those daily uses. The designers’ comments offer permission to evaluate a room by how it functions for its occupants, rather than by whether it matches a social-media image.
The report does not establish that dark paint, floating furniture or a concealed television is always better. Instead, it points to trade-offs. A sofa away from the wall may improve a seating arrangement in one room but obstruct a walkway in another; a television’s best position depends on the available walls, viewing angles and household needs. The practical takeaway is to treat the suggestions as options, not universal prescriptions.
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Four Rules Under Review
The article focuses on four pieces of advice that can spread through home-design coverage and social media: choose a bright palette, keep furniture at the perimeter, mount the TV over the fireplace and maintain a spotless, showroom-like room. Apartment Therapy frames these as conventions its interviewed designers dispute, not as formal rules adopted by the design industry.
The article also notes that rooms differ in their architecture and use. A fireplace may be a natural focal point, but the report says that does not automatically make the wall above it the best television location. Similarly, moving a sofa inward can create a more connected seating area, but the layout has to leave enough room for people to move through the space. Those constraints are part of applying the designers’ suggestions at home.
““Thoughtfully grouping seating and tables closer together encourages conversation and can make a room feel both more intimate and spacious.””
— Jacqueline Gonçalves, MOKSA Studio
Advice Depends on Each Room
The report does not provide measurements, room plans or testing to show how the suggested layouts perform across different homes. It also does not claim that any one approach will suit every room. Room dimensions, windows, doors, fireplaces, walkways and household habits can affect whether a particular design choice is workable.
The article is an advice report built around designers’ personal judgments. It does not compare the four suggestions with other design guidance or report responses from homeowners. Readers should understand the recommendations as perspectives from the named designers, rather than objective findings that settle disagreements about decorating.
Apply the Ideas at Home
The article offers no announced follow-up or formal next step. For homeowners, the next step is to test the ideas against the room: consider whether the current palette feels welcoming, whether the seating arrangement supports conversation, whether the TV can be placed at a comfortable viewing height and whether the space can be used without worrying about keeping it untouched.
Any changes should account for practical limits, particularly clear walking routes and how people actually use the room. The designers’ broader recommendation is not to replace one rigid rule with another, but to choose an arrangement that fits the home and its occupants.
Key Questions
What four living-room rules did the designers question?
They challenged the ideas that every living room should be light and airy, that sofas belong against the walls, that a TV should always go above the fireplace and that the room should look picture-perfect.
Does the report say dark colors are better?
No. Athiana Makar says darker colors and layered materials can create warmth and intimacy, but the report does not recommend dark colors for every room. The choice depends on the room and the people using it.
Should I move my sofa away from the wall?
Jacqueline Gonçalves suggests trying a floating sofa and grouping seating closer together to encourage conversation. Whether that works depends on the room’s size, layout and walking space.
Why do the designers caution against putting a TV over a fireplace?
Gonçalves says that position can leave the screen too high and make it a prominent black rectangle when switched off. She suggests considering other placements, furniture that conceals the screen or an art-style TV.
What is the report’s main takeaway?
The designers advise choosing a living-room layout and appearance around comfort and everyday use, rather than treating popular decorating conventions or polished social-media images as universal standards.
Source: apartmenttherapy.com
