The living room is a logical and lovely place to start making changes. So much takes place in this central space: family gatherings, celebrations, holidays and social events from intimate to grand. Even love ignites in the living room. Bringing creative energy to this area can quickly change the look of your home.
 
Here are three different takes on the same living room, and each makes it easy to redo without refinancing. Just by rearranging and bringing in a few different pieces of furniture, you can give your living area a whole new feel.
 

Romantic

You can change the entire feel of a room by bringing in one new piece and then reworking the room around it. This makeover started with a one-of-a-kind Victorian chair I spotted at a garage sale. Its rich, red velvet upholstery inspired me to create a bit of romance in this room, which I reinforced by throwing a rose-toned quilt on the sofa. By simply adding a few other styling elements and replacing the coffee table with an antique-looking trunk, the room took on a softer and more romantic feel. The details:

Two-Tone Color Palette: I used a red-and-cream theme and added a third color, green, as an accent with drapes and floral hatboxes. You can do the same by looking around your house for items that match your palette, then grab a pillow, throw or dish in each color. You'll be surprised at what you find. Once your two-tone base is established, you can start trying additional colors as accents; it will be easy to see whether or not they work.

Sofa Resuscitation: In addition to the rose-toned quilt, I updated this sofa with some pillows in hues of pink and red to help to warm it up and give it a cozy look. You can also change the style of your sofa by adding a bed cover, throw or slipcover.

 
 

Modern

You don't have to buy a whole new living room set to take advantage of a trend or to refresh your living room. Updating can be as simple as changing one or two pieces of furniture and pulling a fresh color palette through the room.

In this makeover, I went modern with a black iron coffee table topped in Plexiglas. This sleek piece sets the tone, along with a streamlined mid-century modern wood chair and candles in geometric shapes to light up the new look. The color palette? Lime green, aluminum and gray. The details:

The Simplified Sofa: Less is more modern, so I updated the look by limiting the number of pillows to one large and two small, all in the same color tone.

Floor-Based Vase: For a new perspective on a tall vase, I moved it off the table and onto the floor. Then I filled it with tall greens, stalks and reeds in a similar color palette.

Geometric Accents: Geometric shapes are another key to a more modern look. Here they show up in the form of a spherical vase, a round vase and square candles.

 
 
 

Ethnic-Inspired

The living room is a wonderful place to tell your family story or express your unique sense of style. For this makeover, my mother's vibrant saris, the traditional dress of East India, provided the inspiration for this room. The details:

Fabricated Pillows and Throws: Exotic fabrics from around the world can be used to make inexpensive pillows, drapes and throws that highlight your theme and add textural dimension to the space. I chose sari silks in strong, contrasting colors for my pillows and throws.

Candle Display: To light up the mantel alcove, I created a display of candles. I started with one large candle that matched the color palette of the room, then I added smaller candles in different heights to suggest the skyline of a small village.

Hidden Treasures: To further express my heritage and my travels, I dug into my trunk of treasures and found cache boxes, hand-woven textiles and appliqué pieces to use throughout the room.