Throw Out Your Couch and Redecorate Your Living Room

I'm perfectly serious-your couch may very well be holding you back from the person you'd like to become. Think for a minute about all the things you do on your couch. If you're like most people, you sit on your couch to watch television. You eat junk food, you take catnaps, and you read magazines. None of these activities scream originality or productivity.

Maybe you needed a new couch anyway, or maybe you clicked on this article looking for a new way to decorate your living room. Either way, I say toss that couch out to the curb and have Purple Heart come to get it. You can do just as much entertaining and lounging without one, but the quality of the time you spend in your living room will drastically increase. And you'll never, ever have to worry about finding a wall hanging that matches again.

So now I've got a big empty space in my living room. What do I put in it?

This is where you get creative. Everyone has a couch, but you're going to do something different. Instead of decorating your living room the way you think you're supposed to, you're going to decorate your living room to suit your ideal self. Now that you've got all that extra space, you don't have to feel guilty about devoting a whole room to your hobby, passion, or goal. Here are some suggestions to suit different personality types, but by no means are any of them set in stone. Remember, it's your living room, and you'll be the one living in it.

Artists and Craft Masters

You may already have a room in your home devoted to your art, or you may just make your stuff wherever you happen to be. Either way, putting a work table in front of your television where your couch used to be will give you a place to make your art or perform the more mundane tasks related to your trade while you watch television. Personally, I like to sew and make paper while I listen to movies, but what you do at your table is up to you.

This works particularly well if you live in an apartment or small house, and often have to do your projects at your kitchen table or on the floor. I recommend a sturdy card table or a drafting table, because it won't break your heart if you mess it up with paint stains or Exacto Knife cuts. If you've got a lot of empty space to work with, consider a wooden picnic table with a bench high enough to be comfortable. They make excellent work tables, and look really neat. Throw a tablecloth (homemade, perhaps) or tapestry over the picnic table, and you've got a place to host dinner guests.

The Skinnier You

Maybe you've been meaning to lose that fifteen pounds you gained over Christmas and keep putting it off, or you're ready for a drastic lifestyle change. Now that you've got all that extra space in front of your television, pull that exercise bike or treadmill out from wherever it's been collecting dust and get at it. Add a couple of colorful yoga mats, and add some exercise DVDs to your collection. Without a couch to vegetate on, you'll be surprised at how much more motivated you seem to feel. With all that exercise stuff in your living room, you won't be able to avoid thinking about your weight loss goal. As an added bonus, it's really hard to eat potato chips on an exercise bike.

If you like to entertain and don't see this king of living room as conducive to having friends over, consider keeping some folding chairs around for people to sit on. Yoga mats can easily be rolled up and hidden away, and many elliptical machines are made to be easily collapsed and stored.

The Romantic

If you're a classic romantic, getting rid of your couch means you'll need an alternative place to cuddle with your sweetheart. One disadvantage of the traditional couch seating scheme, though, is that eye contact doesn't come as easily as seating arrangements in which both partners sit across from each other. Now that you've got the room, make a comfy place that invites both touch and conversational intimacy.

Put a soft, shaggy (but not tacky) rug in your cuddle zone to define the space from the rest of your floor. Don't be afraid to put the rug over your already existing carpeting. Purchase many pillows in different textures - the more sensual the fabric, the more your sweetheart will appreciate your efforts.

Next, you want to create an atmosphere of romance around your cuddle zone. Large candles on wrought iron floor stands can further define your cuddle zone, as well as provide a flattering light source. If you have the money to spend, consider an electric fireplace designed to fit in the corner. They typically don't take up much space, and turn on and off with a simple switch. My mother recently bought an electric fireplace, and it has a remote control!

The Animal Lover

Your pets are the most important things in your life, so why not give them a cool place to play? All that pet furniture that looks so neat at the store will look that much better in your living room now that you've thrown out your couch. Use the empty space against your wall for scratching posts, pet caves, and perches. Decorative baskets filled with your pets' favorite toys make a wonderful addition to your pet playground. Low chairs and cushiony rugs will give you a place to sit and play with your furry friends.

If you're truly serious about creating a pet area in your home, consider putting up shelves with ramps above the pet play area for your cats to climb on. You may even find that the added space for your cats makes enough room to welcome a new animal from the local shelter into your home.

The World Traveler

You've either been everywhere, or have big travel plans in your future. You project an image of worldliness, and you want your home to look as cultured as you feel. Let's face it: couches are just such a Western way to enjoy your living room, and you know your home should look different.

Because you've just thrown out your couch, you can now decorate your living room with a low, Japanese table and straw mats for sitting on the floor. It may take some getting used to, but practice eating at your Japanese table and getting used to the idea of being lower to the ground. For a truly unique look, you could even substitute an Ethiopian basket table and stools for the Japanese décor. To get an idea of what these look like, visit an Ethiopian restaurant that features authentically communal eating arrangements.

Finish off your cultured look with souvenirs from trips. Woven rugs, tapestries, vases, and artisan-made wooden sculptures will all suddenly fit in well with the look you've created. For the truly adventurous, replace your curtains or mini-blinds with colorful sari cloth from India, or woven straw from the Far East.