Whether your style is traditional or modern, relaxed or formal, bold or subdued, your living room should be a place where you can feel comfortable, let down your guard and spend quality time with friends, family or just yourself. There’s an art to decorating a room that looks great and works well for you. So before you dive into a living room redesign with your pro, arm yourself with a few designer tips and tricks. Here are some of my favorites.

1. Mix Light and Dark
When a living room is all white and bright, it can feel too “clean” and unapproachable. When it’s all dark, it can feel like a cave. But mixing dark and light colors creates a dynamic look that has depth and balance. The design of any space benefits from the inclusion of at least a little white and a little black.

2. Contrast Your Neutrals
Beyond including some white and some black, decorating a living room with a variety of contrasting neutrals goes a long way toward making it feel rich and welcoming. In this example, the white walls and ceiling, stone fireplace, wood shelving and beams, dark sofa, leather side chairs, and light and dark accessories contrast with one another, which highlights their different finishes and undertones. This makes the palette feel rich even before other key elements, such as pattern and texture, are added.

3. Play With Texture
Texture is easy to overlook when decorating a living room, especially since we don’t see it so much as touch it. But it’s important for making a living room feel cozy, and that goes for plush textures that appeal to the touch and harder textures that add contrast. Include leather, cotton, wool, metal, stone, glass, plant life and as many other textures as you can.

Pillows are a great place to start, especially if you’re decorating a living room on a budget. Look to other accessories and furnishings to add new materials to the palette, even in small doses.

4. Work in Some Wood
We can’t talk about texture without talking about wood, one of the top materials for bringing a sense of warmth to a living room.

There are so many ways to add wood, any of which will make a space feel a bit more inviting. Consider wall paneling, side tables, movable stools, picture frames, sofa legs and carved pieces of art as just a few of the many options.

5. Mix Up Your Upholstery
Sure, most furniture stores give you the option of purchasing an entire living room set in matching upholstery, but that doesn’t mean you should do it. In a formal seating area, matching upholstery can give a sense of maturity and order, but if you want a living room to feel cozy and welcoming, mix and match your upholstered pieces to give the design a bit more personality.

One of the safest ways to do this is to mix leather chairs with a fabric sofa or vice versa, so the materials contrast in an obviously intentional way. It gives the living room design some diversity, which can also give members of the family different options to suit their seating preferences.

Read more here: https://www.houzz.com/magazine/how-to-decorate-a-living-room-stsetivw-vs~105196187

Doing your due diligence before buying a condo is of the utmost importance. Potential questions include:

• What are the service terms for board members?

• Does the condo board have a reserve fund and how much money is in it?

• Does the condo have any upcoming major repairs?

• Are water, electricity or heating included?

• Is maintenance of common areas (garbage pickup, snow removal, etc.) covered by condo fees?

They’re all questions you’ll want answers to before you decide to put in an offer.

Whether you live in a big city full of condos like Toronto, Ontario, or a smaller town like Canmore, Alberta, condos are often seen as a first step in homeownership for young adults. They’re also popular among seniors looking for low-maintenance spaces, and those who want the perks of amenities with hassle-free living.

So, what should you be asking before purchasing a condo?

1. Can I see the status certificate?
Jesse Melo, a REALTOR® in Hamilton, and salesperson with the Golfi Team – ReMax Escarpment, says reviewing the status certificate before finalizing the purchase of a condo is a must.

It offers a financial and structural snapshot of the building and the corporation. The certificate can tell you if the building has a healthy reserve fund for maintenance and repairs, as well as essential information regarding whether the current owners owe on condo fees or how much the condo fees have risen year over year. Early in the purchasing process, be sure to get your hands on this essential document and have it reviewed by your REALTOR® and a lawyer.

2. Have there been any special assessments on the building?
A special assessment is when a condo corporation cannot pay for a major unexpected repair or expense from the existing reserve fund. Each unit is then expected to pay an extra charge on top of monthly maintenance fees in order to complete the repair or cover the costs.

“When reviewing the condo status certificate, it’s important to make sure the corporation’s reserve fund is at a stable and healthy level,” Melo says. “This could indicate whether the likelihood of a special assessment in the future is low.”

Be on the lookout for any past special assessments and ask the board of directors or property management about any long-term future repairs or maintenance. Be sure to check on the status of snow maintenance, paving, landscaping, plumbing, wiring, pest control, and insurance. Before making a purchase, you want to make sure your condo is in sound structural and financial shape.

3. What is your policy on pets?
Melo says pets are a big topic for condo boards. Condos can have bylaws and policies that govern what kind, the number, and size of pets you can have in your home. Some condos even have bylaws requiring your pet to be approved by the board of directors. If you have a pet, either prior to putting in or before finalizing an offer, it might be worth submitting a pet application to the condo board for approval. Also, keep in mind your furry pal may not be allowed in common areas around your building like the lawn or courtyard, so take a look for nearby public parks if these aren’t options. Lastly, always get your pet approval in writing in case bylaws change down the road.

Check the amenities while touring a condo property

4. What amenities are available?
Go and check out the amenities during your condo showing! Visit the gym, sauna, outdoor area, party room, and pool if your building is equipped with any or all of these. Taking a look around will help you determine if management has been staying on top of maintenance.

“The more amenities a building has, the higher the reserve fund should be,” Melo suggests. This is so they can cover the cost of maintaining them all. Moreover, “the more amenities your condo has, the higher your condo fees could be, so you really have to look at what you will be paying for and consider if it is worth it”.

Ask about scheduled maintenance, too. For example, ask how frequently the pool is closed for cleaning or seasonally. You should also ask about who can use the amenities (i.e. are guests able to use the gym?). It’s all well and good for your condo building to have a pool, but if it’s only available a few months of the year, it may not be as great a benefit as you think.

5. Can you tell me about the board of directors?
A condo board of directors is responsible for the building’s physical and financial well-being. They make all of the major decisions and uphold the condo’s by-laws and rules. A board is usually elected by owners, and can be made up of owners and, in some cases, tenants. Ask your board for a copy of the condo bylaws, as well as if there are any grandfather clauses in place. It also wouldn’t hurt to speak with the chair or sit in on a board meeting (if possible) to get a feel for the condo corporation’s culture.

Owning a condo is different from owning a single-family or townhome, as there are a lot more hands involved with the daily maintenance and running of the building. However, they can be a great investment, are typically closer to city centres, and can offer great amenities.

Source: https://www.realtor.ca/blog/5-questions-to-ask-a-condo-board-before-buying/28711/1363

Living rooms can sometimes be overlooked now that so much of our at-home socializing takes place around a table in an open-plan kitchen space, but nothing beats being able to sit comfortably with friends and family, to talk, enjoy a drink or watch a movie.

Comfort is key to creating a relaxed, sociable living space, so concentrate on getting the style and position of the seating right, then build up from there, adding fun touches, handy side tables and just the right lighting.

1. Provide Different Types of Seating
If sociable means entertaining friends and family of all ages, work in more than one seating type. While squishy sofas may suit those who want to kick off their shoes and snuggle down, older visitors may prefer the support of an upright chair. Children may prefer floor cushions or stools.

2. Light a Fire
Humans have gathered around fires for millennia, to eat, talk, warm up and feel safe. Lighting one in your living room produces the same sense of sociability and comfort.

3. Face Each Other
Sofas that face each other, rather than a TV, promote conversation. Make sure they’re positioned close enough together that you and your guest aren’t shouting at each other across the divide.

Just because you’re squeezing in two sofas doesn’t mean you need to scrimp on size. In this room, two sizable couches are positioned opposite each other with a pair of armchairs completing the seating arrangement.

4. Provide Several Surfaces
Tables on which you can pop a mug, glass or bowl of snacks are essential to a sociable living space.

5. Consider a Corner Sofa
Nothing says sociable like a corner couch. This flexible, space-efficient form of seating works particularly well for big families with modest living rooms. It provides a large expanse of comfy seating, which encourages teens to lounge and toddlers to get cozy.

To make this type of seating even more functional, consider a coffee table that can doubles as a footstool. The extra surface will provide even more opportunities for everyone to stretch out.

6. Get the Lighting Right
A sociable living room needs lighting that creates a warm atmosphere, but without being too dim. You want to be able to see your guests, after all. Weave in a flexible mix of lamps and ceiling lights to create a soft, layered look.

7. Install Sliding Doors
In this home, Nick Taylor of IMBY3 Architecture & Design designed sliding barn doors between the kitchen and living space. When closed, the living room feels cozy and intimate.

Source: https://www.houzz.com/magazine/7-ways-to-make-your-living-room-sociable-stsetivw-vs~158150633