The living room is most of the times the very first room that people get to see when they come to visit.
In many cases the door to the outside is starting from the living room, without a foyer in between.
This is why it is important that this room is modern, pleasing to the eye and quite welcoming.
However how can you decorate your living room on a budget so that it actually looks the part? First of all you need to look around the room and see what needs to be updated, replaced or renovated.
Write these down and see how many changes your budget actually allows you to do.
For example, you can use various area rugs instead of a huge Oriental carpet that is quite expensive to buy.
Rugs are usually much cheaper and there are some really beautiful ones available on the market today.
They will also add some extra color and interest to your room.
You can also easily add slipcovers and pillows on top of your sofa and your chairs.
Try to find some that match in fabric your other existing furniture pieces.
It is also important to have decent lighting, and you don't even need to spend lots of money on a good lighting fixture.
Use a few well placed floor lamps in each corner of the room to highlight an object of art that you want the light to focus on, or give a nice play of shadow and light in the room during the night.
Finally don't forget about the walls.
You can easily add various wall art pieces, such as wall carpets or a few nice paintings to enhance the walls of your room.
Also you might want to add an LCD television on the wall for those long nights of football and movie entertainment with family and friends.