Columns are the necessary building structure for a house with two or more levels. They help hold the structure above and transfer weight to the foundation. Usually, the architect designing a house can hide those columns in the wall, but sometimes for some home layouts, they should put those columns in the center of the room.
Having a pole in the living room can be a bit annoying, as it can block and limit your space. But as we said before, this column is very important to the building structure so you cannot take it off as it can endanger the whole house structure.
So, instead of planning to get rid of your column, you can decorate the boring column, both beautiful and make the living room with a column look much more attractive and interesting. You can also use it for some additional functions to add more flexibility to your space.
To give you some ideas, our team created some design and decoration ideas for the column in the center of the living room. You can use those ideas to get inspiration from what you’ll do with your column.
Before you start, you should know that there are 2 different types of columns commonly used: square or round columns. Round columns are often used in classical style architecture, while square columns are often used in modern or minimalist style houses. In this article, we will focus on decorating a square column as it is the most common type of column used in most homes today.
Use wall art/wall decorations for your columns
The simplest, most effective and cost-effective solution is to use some wall art or wall decor in columns. This will make the column look better and at the same time, you can add more artistic effects to your room.
But before you go shopping for some wall decorations, it’s important to measure the width of the column to make sure you’re buying the wrong size. Of course, you can buy a large or wide piece of art as most columns will certainly not fit it.
Once you have the exact dimensions of the column, you can search for wall decorations that you like.
Decorating house columns with wooden panels
Wood-based elements can be beneficial to help balance any room. It will also bring in freshness and natural vibes, and its texture can give an artistic look to the room. If you find that your room lacks natural elements then using wood for column cladding can be a perfect choice as it will provide a double impact. Firstly, it will give your room a natural look that is lacking in your room, second, it will help you cover up your monotonous looking column so that it looks fresh and more attractive.
There are many different ways that you can use to cover your poles with wood materials. You can wrap the entire column using wood or use some wood panels to wrap some parts of your column, use your own creativity to find the best ways that will match the style. Design your current room.
As for the wood material, there are also many different choices that you can use. Of course, real wood would be a perfect choice, but for some reason you can use other options like using wood grain vinyl or using engineered wood planks.
Use the column as a dining spot or bar
This idea is perfect for those who have limited space in their home so they can’t have a dining or bar table. Yes, you can use your column as a bar or dining table.
To accomplish this, all you have to do is buy a narrow table that can be placed right next to your column. Or, for best results, you can use a folding dining table/bar, such as the one we used in the image above.
By using a wall folding table, you can easily fold the table when not in use, so it will not take up space in your room.
Using Wall Lights / Wall Lights in Columns
In interior design, layered lighting is an integral part of creating a great interior style. Using a different layer of light can create beautiful ambient lighting effects, making any space look more refined and elegant.
One type of lamp that can be used to provide additional light is a wall light, and you can use your column as a place to place it. This way you can not only add light to your room, but you can also make the boring column look much better. What’s more, these lights can also be decorative, you can choose any wall lamp that matches the decor of your whole room.
Use contrasting paint colors
Instead of trying to hide your column, why not make it stand out to give your living room a bolder and more dramatic look. This can be achieved by using a high contrast color to paint the column, where you can use a vibrant or light color or use a darker color. Using light wall paint will make your room look brighter and more vibrant, while darker colors can provide a more elegant effect.
For this example, we prefer the darker option because we think it would best match the contemporary contemporary style we applied to the living room. And the paint color we chose is charcoal dark gray, as it can go well with any other color. If you like this same approach, you can use any other dark color like dark green, blue or brown.
Another approach is to use bright and striking colors like red, blue, green, or any color you might be afraid to use to paint your entire room. Using this color type is great for adding some richness and vibrant color to your living room.
Environmentally friendly green style
Adding some greenery can be a great option to bring freshness to any space, and you can utilize your pole to do just that by hanging some artificial vines and adding some jars and potted plants around them.
This column decoration idea can bring many positive effects into your living room. First, it will bring a fresh and natural feeling into your room. Second, it can turn a monotonous and boring column into more attractive and beautiful and make anyone who sees it feel that the columns are intentionally created to decorate the space. Last but not least, a lot of research has shown that adding certain plants to rooms can make people feel more comfortable and relaxed when spending more time in those rooms.
If you already have some flowerpots and potted plants in your room, the simplest and easiest way is to take advantage of them and move them around your column. If you have enough budget, you can buy some hanging vases or pots to cover and decorate your column surface.
Decorate columns with wall mirrors
Another living room column decoration idea that you can apply is to use a mirror to cover your column. By using mirrors, you can get a lot more benefits than just making your columns look nice and elegant. Using a mirror can also help any room look a lot more spacious, and since a mirror will reflect a lot of light, it can also make a room appear much brighter.
The best way to apply this idea is to take a custom-made real mirror and wrap it with some additional custom frames like what we do in the image above. But of course, this approach will cost you a fortune and requires minor renovation to make this work.
A more cost-effective solution is to use commercially available wall mirrors. Where you can easily hang or mount those mirrors alone and your pole will be much more beautiful than before.
Create a rustic and classic look as an accent
If you want to add some rustic or classic touches to your living room, then why not go on to complete your column? Unfinished columns will look stunning and are perfect for any rustic or industrial decor.
And to make it more interesting, you can then put some decorative items in it, but make sure you choose items that have a rustic, vintage or similar industrial touch. Some items that can go well with this unfinished column style are rustic wall lights or rustic wood wall art.
Decorative marble columns
Marble will bring this shine and shine not only to the column but also to your entire room. Simply cover the columns with stones and enjoy your new decor in a more luxurious and glamorous way.
Of course, this idea will cost you some money, where the marble itself won’t come cheap, and you need to hire a professional to install it on your column. But every dollar you spend will be well worth it as you will get amazing results.
There are many different colors, textures and styles of granite that you can choose from for your columns. Make sure that the one you choose will match your current interior design style to make them look perfect and integrate with your entire living room interior.
Turn your column into a room divider
Another cool thing you can do with a living room column is to make it a room divider. With room dividers, you can separate your living room from another room like the dining room for a more private and personal space.
In the image example above, we used a wooden slat arranged vertically between two different columns to act as a divider between the living room and the dining room. We added some space between each slat to allow some light to still enter the dining room and still keep the whole room looking spacious. You can use your own creativity to create your own column room dividers to create the effects and results you want.
Another approach you can use is to use a ready-to-use divider. But before you buy, make sure you choose the correct width divider that will fit the spaces between your columns. Some room dividers also have unique designs that can be used as shelves, so you can have more storage options for your room to organize or display your accessories or decorations.
Decorate columns in classic style with decorative moldings
As we said above, there are two common shapes of columns: square columns and round columns. Round columns are often used in classical houses while square columns are often used in minimalist or modern style homes. But that doesn’t mean you can create a classic look using a square column.
You can make a square column look more classic and antique by using cast trim. By using them, you can turn a boring column into an artistic and unique one.
There are many different styles of decorative moldings these days, and you can choose any style you want. You also have options to cover the entire column using them or just the bottom or top of the column. In the image example above, we have shown a column that is partially hidden by creating decorative moldings, where we only use them in the lower and upper sections, and leave the middle column intact.
Paint the column in a two-tone style
The last column decoration idea on this list is to use a two-tone style to paint your columns. Using this style you can get a much more interesting column than using a monochromatic color.
An important key to success with this style is choosing the perfect color combination. You can use two of the same tones with a different shade, or combine a light or dark color with a neutral shade. Use your own creativity and imagination to create the best color combination for your column that matches the entire living room interior style.
