Over 35% Of People Would Pick This Design Feature For Their Living Room

When it comes to design features, everyone has their preferences. Some homeowners love a blank slate with clean, modern lines that they can liven up with their furniture selections. Others would rather keep their furniture neutral and simple to allow unusual architectural details of the home to shine.

The living room is an area where most homeowners spend a ton of time relaxing with family members, kicking back and binge-watching the latest show on their list, chatting and enjoying the company of friends, and so much more. In fact, for many, it comes in second only to the master bedroom for areas where they spend the most time in their home. Moving Home Advice stated that the average individual spends about 4.4 hours per day in their living room, making it all the more important to truly love your space.

To get to the bottom of what makes a dream living room for most homeowners, House Digest surveyed 596 people and asked which design feature they would choose for their living room if they had to choose just one. Read on to learn more about what survey respondents said — and which design feature was the clear winner with over 35% of the vote.

Of all the survey respondents, 35.74% decided that a fireplace was the design feature they'd select above all else when envisioning their ideal living room. For some lucky homeowners, their space may already have a fireplace that just needs a bit of refreshing — as Fireplace Painting demonstrates, they may simply want to paint or whitewash a stone fireplace to have it better fit their home aesthetic.

A homeowner who moves into a space with a wood-burning fireplace may also have a learning curve as they figure out how to care for the feature, as My Chimney Pro reports. However, there's nothing quite like cozying up in front of a crackling fire on a chilly day — it's no wonder that 213 respondents flagged this as their ideal living room feature.

If you move into a space with no fireplace, that doesn't mean you have to go without it if it's your dream feature. While it's certainly more complex to install than many other design features, you can add them. As blogger Lisa Canning explains, there are a few key things to consider. From a logistical standpoint, you'll want to be mindful of venting and installation restrictions, which vary according to the type of fireplace you decide on and where in your living room it will be. You also need to carefully select the material to clad your fireplace, which impacts both the safety and the appearance.

A fireplace can add a ton of ambiance and also serve as a gorgeous focal point in a living room. However, there's another thing that many homeowners value in this space where so much time is spent — they want it to feel light, bright, and open. No matter how small or how large your living room is, there are a few design features that can achieve that goal.

Coming in second, 24.16% of survey respondents said that vaulted ceilings would be their pick amongst living room design features. These can be particularly desirable in smaller living room spaces, as they draw the eye upward and help create the illusion of more space. A close third in the survey were floor-to-ceiling windows, a design feature that 22.48% of respondents said would be their pick in a living room. As Shutter & Shade Shoppe explains, there are countless perks to having an abundance of natural light in your home, from economic savings to health benefits.

Only a small percentage of the survey respondents decided on furniture-related features for their dream living rooms. There were several art lovers who wanted a gallery wall, and that response came in 4th with 12.75% of the votes. Coming in last was a particular material for a key piece of living room furniture — a velvet sofa, which 4.87% of respondents wanted in their living room.