A well designed living room should have at least one focal point and that focal point should NOT be your television.  Focal points are items in a room that are unusual, interesting, eye catching, and/or unique.  They are something that you would not find in every other home in your neighborhood.  Here are a few ideas for focal points for a living room.   ArtworkAn oversized bold piece of artwork can be a focal point. The artwork should grab the attention of people entering the room.  You can use one large piece of art or multiple pieces of art used together as one piece. A popular place for a large piece of artwork is hung over a living room sofa or over the living room fireplace. Art with bold colors can not only be the room's focal point, but also set the room's color scheme. A grand ornate or boldly colored mirror can also be a living room focal point. Some people like to use a gallery wall to display smaller pieces of art.  A gallery wall can be a living room focal point, as long as the art pieces are clustered together and are visually one art installation instead of spread throughout the room.   FurnitureA unique piece of furniture can be a focal point.  You can use an ornate antique armoire, an artistic modern chair, a grand piano, or a bold painted chest as a focal point. Some furniture is sculptural and almost like a piece of art.     BookcaseA properly decorated bookcase can be a living room focal point. Don't make your bookcase look like a library or book store with all books arranged vertically on the shelves.  Arrange some books vertically, some horizontally, and some can even go at a diagonal. Decorate your bookcase not only with books, but with other items of interest. You can decorate your bookcase with art, photo frames, baskets for texture, artifacts from your travels, items from nature, or whatever appeals to you. Don't clutter your bookshelves with a lot of little items, but decorate them with a few larger items instead.   FireplaceA fireplace is a very popular focal point in a living room.  In order to make it a beautiful focal point, make sure that it is unique and different than a boring builder grade fireplace.  You can paint your fireplace wall an accent color to highlight it.  You can also replace the cheap tile around your fireplace with something more custom.  For an even more grand fireplace, you can tile above and below the fireplace, put wood paneling above the fireplace, or get a unique mantle.     Bold Color or PatternA bold color or pattern on an item will make it a focal point.  You can have a bold rug, curtains, or pillows.  You can even paint an entire wall a bold color, paint a unique pattern on the wall, or create texture on the wall by covering it in brick veneer.   LightingAn oversized or unique light fixture can be a focal point.  Instead of boring can lights, consider using a chandelier in your living room for added appeal.     View OutsideIf you have a large picture window and something beautiful to look at outside, let your view be your focal point.  Your outside focal point could be a gorgeous sculptural old tree, a bird bath, a pretty plant, mountains in the background, or whatever you have in your environment. Don't let your interiors compete with nature.  Make sure to use simple curtains to draw a person's eye and highlight the view. Consider using outdoor lighting so the view outside is a focal point during the dark of night as well as the daytime.   Here are some more living rooms for decorating ideas......