While the kitchen is considered the heart of the home, people also spend a lot of time in the living room and lounge area. By themselves or with guests, many hours are passed here, so it is only natural that most of your focus should be on decorating your living room to be both comforting and practical in equal measure.
Modern Living Spaces Ideas
Here we have created a list of the most elegant and modern living room ideas. These elements will elevate your living room style and make it a focal point of your home without hiring an interior designer. Whether you want to completely revamp your space or simply add a touch of modern here and there, we have ideas for all.
Modern Rustic
If you are a fan of the more neutral styles and tones of decorating a room, why not add a touch of modern rustic to it? This way, your modern living room will embrace a contemporary design with a rustic feel. By having a beamed ceiling, you can easily incorporate a little rustic to your room. You can also mix some décor vintage pieces with contemporary designs to uplift the whole look.
Victorian Modern Living Flair
Neutral living rooms go particularly well with Victorian-inspired design. Without much effort, you can easily add such style through Victorian-style paneling. It will make your room light, airy and welcoming. To take things up a notch, you can use a modern print on one wall, a geometric rug, and cushions that will match the colors of the wall print to add some vivacity to the neutral space.
All-white Modern Living Room Look
If you love the crisp white look and are a fan of the minimalist style, you can still create a fun design in your modern living room by adding a few tweaks. This way, you are avoiding the dull look.
Namely, you can create a complex style by displaying potted greenery, decorative trays, and an assortment of vessels all across your room. This will add a pop of color without overwhelming the all-white design – a perfect idea for small flats.
Colorful Light Fixture
If you have vintage light fixtures collecting dust in your basement, it’s time for a revamp. Bring out the paint, some light bulbs, and some fringe for a whimsical touch, and start painting in bold colors. Such design makes the room collect around the fixture and pull together the room’s eclectic vibe.
Modern Living Room Shelves
To create a new look in your living room that is interior designer-approved, you don’t have to change every single element. There are many interesting designs where bookshelves alone are able to add a touch of freshness to a room. How? By repainting them in different colors or using colorful posters inside the shelves that go well with the displayed books.
Such a funky piece of furniture can be enough to create an eclectic vibe in living rooms.
Lush Living Room Design
Nothing adds depth and richness to a living room style as lush greenery does. Pick an underused nook or corner with no furniture and install some small coffee tables, a table lamp, or shelves on the wall. Then, fill it up with different flowers and plants.
Don’t forget to tuck the pots in woven baskets to add a rustic look and include touches of black for definition and depth.
Soothing Living Room Design
It is essential to pick one primary color scheme for the living room to create a soothing palette with colors matching the entire home. All other colors can be a unique addition to each room, but in general, letting the vibes flow from room to room is a very calming design.
This is especially good if your home isn’t getting enough natural light, so having light colors can help make your home look and feel bigger.
The Mindful Living Room Design
No matter how many elements you have in your room, it’s important to create a flow around all those. Note that where you place the furniture isn’t as important as its style. Therefore, when picking a coffee table near the sofa with armchairs around it, make sure it’s oval or round. This way, you avoid knee bumping from its square corners each time you walk by.
Dark Living Room Walls
Take a break from beige and white walls. Navy, emerald, dark grey, or even brick wall are all excellent colors for your walls when paired with light furniture and elements all throughout the room.
Such dramatic tones will add surprisingly neutral backdrops that are very easy to pair with any lighter hues.
Living Room Design with Metallic Accents
Slate and copper are some of the most underrated metals that work very well with traditional wood pieces. So, if you have coffee tables or a dining table with chairs or any other elements made from wood, adding slate or copper will add depth and visual interest to your living room.
Cozy Living Area
Many living rooms nowadays are designed in an open-plan setting, and they fit the lounge area, kitchen, and dining room together. With a starting point of such a vast design, it’s essential to create cozy seating areas all across the living room that flow together.
This way, a guest or a family member won’t feel cut off when sitting in one area of the living room with people located in another.
Family-Friendly
If you have small children or pets, you don’t necessarily have to opt for dark colors. Even if you are a fan of white furniture, you can still add it as long as it is made of durable fabrics.
Choose a thick leather for the couches and lacquer or plastic surface for the tables that wipe clean easily.
Living Room Rug
If you don’t want to add a furniture or décor element to play as your statement piece in the living room, why not go for a statement rug instead?
It can either be in one bold color or in a pattern of several colors that play well with your neutral furniture around. Don’t forget to match your sofa pillows with similar colors or patterns.
Quick Living Room Fixes
If you want to boost your style without spending too much time and money, we suggest starting a decorating project of yours. Namely, you can completely makeover your room simply by rethinking the pieces you already own.
Simply painting your fixtures or your fireplace in a different color or changing the fabric of your chairs or sofas will create a new look. You can restyle your old pillows by sewing a funky trim along the edge, and adding a layer to your curtains will refresh the entire room.
Floral Modern Living Room Design
Don’t be afraid of the floral designs. Use a vibrant floral wallpaper that will define the accent colors in your living room.
For instance, you can use a floral wallpaper with sage green as its main color and then use the same sage for the curtains or the cushions. This way, you are creating a completely cohesive, contemporary look in your room.
Sheer Sitting Room Curtains
Throw away your dark heavy fabric curtains with sheer ones that will let in ample light. This way, your room will be lit and will look more fresh and spacious.
Pro-tip, to make the ceiling look taller, mount the drapes from the ceiling or a foot above the windows. By hanging your curtains just above the windows, you are cutting precious space and making the room look shorter.
Mid-century Living Room Ideas
If you are a fan of velvet but afraid to use it because of its dramatic look, we hope this tip gives you the needed inspiration to create a delicate mid-century design instead. Namely, use a floral wallpaper (not too busy) just behind your velvet sofa.
Make sure the two match in color. Such backdrop will take away the overly dramatic look of the velvet sofa and instead will make it neutral and soothing.
Geometrical Living Room Design
If you want to create an interesting style without using too much décor or too many different elements, use fabric instead. Combine fabrics for your cushions, curtains, and rugs that are patterned with straight, curved, and angular lines.
Add a splash of color to it for a graphic look but make sure you keep the background (the walls and furniture) understated or neutral.
Additional Living Room Design Tips
I hope this list of possible living room designs gave you an idea of how to style your living room without the help of an interior designer. To help you avoid some of the most common mistakes people make when decorating their living room, we have created the list below.
Small Rug
Rugs in the living room should be overstated and stand as the centerpiece. Although the size will depend on the room dimensions, as a rule of thumb, a decent-sized living room needs an 8-by-10-foot or a 9-by-12-foot rug.
If your living room is truly tiny and you don’t have the open-plan space, then stay away from anything under 6-by-9-feet.
Coffee Table Design
Choosing a disproportionate coffee table can ruin the look of your living room easily. You have to be mindful of the size but also the functionality and whether it suits your lifestyle or not.
For instance, the material and color depending on whether you have children or not. Your work and your storage space – buy one that has plenty of storage for remotes, magazines, chargers, and everything else you keep lying around the sofa. The height and the length will also depend on the style of the room. So, choose wisely.
Choosing the Wrong Lighting
Fixing the lighting in your room can improve the overall aesthetic of the living space. Picking the right lighting fixtures will give a sense of sophisticated elegance and comfort. This is one of the most overlooked design features. It is an inexpensive way to really help improve the living room and is the most versatile.
The Curtains Feature
Not hanging your curtains correctly can make the room seem shorter than it really is. If you place your curtain rods just above the window, you will shorten the space between the window and ceiling. So, what you can do instead is, hang the rod half a foot above the window frame so that you get a feeling of openness.
Having Interior Design Clutter
Passionate collectors of vintage décor, artwork, or other elements may have a hard time choosing what to exhibit and what not. To them, all their collections are precious. However, displaying too much in one room will create the infamous “décor overkill” no matter how expensive.
Living Room Ideas Conclusion
Modern living rooms are the centerpiece of the home. When not entertaining, people spend most of the time there lounging, reading, or working. So, creating a practical yet elegant and stylish living room will go a long way in creating a comfortable space for all your daily challenges.
