Adding decoration to your living room is one of the simplest and most effective ways to make it more beautiful and inviting for guests.
Thankfully, there are plenty of great ways to add living room decor ideas in your home without breaking the bank or spending a fortune on interior design.
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Here are some of my favourite and creative living room ideas to bring in new decor, or enhance the living space that you have:
1. Add Statement Furniture
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If you're looking for bold and eye-catching living room ideas to enhance the look and feel of your home, consider investing in a statement piece of furniture.
This could be anything from an armchair with intricate patterning, a coffee table with an abstract design or many other living room storage solutions, the possibilities are wide and varied.
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A large piece of furniture like this can instantly transform any modern or traditional living room scheme and make it look more luxurious and inviting. Plus, they are often just as practical as they are aesthetically pleasing, so you get twice the benefit.
When adding a statement piece of furniture to your living room, first of all make sure that it fits in with the rest of the decor, then take some time to consider what kind of style you want to achieve, and finally find the perfect place to locate it.
2. Style the Floor with a Rug
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Interesting Rug Fact...
The earliest known example of a rug was discovered in an archeological dig in the Pazyryk valley. The “Pazyryk carpet” is a well-preserved early rug dating back to the 5th century BCE
Rugs are an important part of any modern living room. Not only do they add style, colour and design to the floor space, but also provide necessary comfort and warmth underfoot.
A rug has the potential, depending on what you choose, to make an airy living room feel more inviting and cosy. It can create a focal point in any living space, as well as act as a barrier against cold floors during winter months.
Furthermore, there are even indoor-outdoor rug options available for living rooms, if you prefer to keep things more versatile, while still having the look of an interior rug.
3. Concentrate on Two Colours
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When it comes to living room ideas, finding the right balance of colours is key to creating a living space you love.
One way to not overdo your colour combinations is to concentrate on just two colours for your decor scheme, this will give it ample depth and character without overwhelming the aesthetic of the space.
Start by selecting one bright or bold colour that you love and use this as your primary shade. This will provide your muted living room space with energy and vibrancy, producing the perfect focal point in the front room. For extra depth and dimensionality, add accents with different tones of the same hue, such as light grey or dark navy blue.
Finally, use accessories and soft furnishings to mix and match further elements of the two chosen colours into the living room design.
4. Make the Most of Lighting
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If done correctly, living room lighting can be used to establish a cosy atmosphere and set the ambience for any mood that you wish to create. Done wrong however, and it can be either too bright and overpowering or too dim, leaving the whole room feeling dark and oppressive.
When choosing your living room light fixtures and bulbs, wherever possible opt for energy-efficient LED lights that are dimmable. This will enable you to adjust the brightness depending on what type of activity is taking place or what mood you want to produce, whether entertaining guests, watching TV or playing games with your family. All whilst saving money on your energy bills!
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The size of your light fixtures should also take into consideration the size of your living room. You don't want to go overboard with a large chandelier or oversized floor lamp for example if space is limited. If you do have the living room space however, make the most of it and go large and extravagant, whilst also adding as many types of light as possible, such as flush ceiling lights, table lamps, wall lights, and a pendant light.
5. Consider Other Interior Styles
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Choosing the right interior design style for your living room ideas can make or break the look of any living space, so it's worth taking the time to make sure you get it right. With careful consideration of your personal style and desired aesthetic, you can create an elegant and comfortable living room that reflects who you are.
Whether it’s contemporary or more traditional, be sure to also select the right furniture pieces and accessories in line with your chosen design style, this will help bring out the very best in your home.
6. Pimp up your Radiators
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When sprucing up your living room, paint can be a great way to bring life and colour into the space. However, on this occasion I a not talking about walls, but your radiators. This often overlooked area of the room could certainly benefit from some colour and a refresh.
Either match the entire wall by selecting the very same colour, or choose a bold colour that compliments or perfectly contrasts your existing living room decor. As a final flourish, you may want to add some stencil designs or patterns, along with other decorative touches such as glitter for instance.
7. Create a TV and Entertainment Wall
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A TV and entertainment wall will not only provide your modern living room with the perfect area to watch movies, TV shows and play console games, but it also produces an attractive focal point for any family room.
The wall itself can be completely tailored to fit your individual style and preferences, so you'll have plenty of options when it comes to materials, colours and overall design. Not only that but it can also be used to display family photos, art pieces or decorative objects and has a wealth of useful storage space.
This is one of my favourite living room ideas and has the potential to have the biggest impact on your space, becoming the room's focal point.
8. Personalise Your Living Room Decor
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Personalised graphics, pictures, and art can offer a distinctive look for your living room. Therefore, decorating the space to your personal taste is easier than you might think.
One way to do this is to decorate the living room with cushions that display family photos or shed light on the moments of romance and love. This showcases memorable events to your family and friends in a room where you spend a lot of your time.
Childhood photos or pictures of life achievements are other good options for printing on cushions. Being able to see these memories, while relaxing with loved ones, are a constant source of joy and happiness.
Finally, adding decorative items into your living room that reflect your interests or hobbies is another great way to make the living space more personalised and unique. You could hang musical instruments such as guitars or violins, or objects that represent your hobbies, like sporting equipment or photography items.
9. Cover Unsightly Radiators
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Do you have any unsightly living room radiators that you just don't know what to do with? Radiators can be a major eye-sore, but there are plenty of ways that you can cover them up and make them blend into the rest of your decor.
There are a number of solutions, from covering them with a stylish radiator cover to going all out and building storage units around them.
10. Put Up Some Wall Art
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No living rooms are complete without some form of wall art to add design, style and vibrancy to your walls. Whether you go for a large canvas painting or multiple smaller pieces, it's always nice to have something visual to look at.
You can buy custom prints, commission an artist to paint something special, or even make bold artwork with paints and supplies from any craft store. Once your art is up on your living room wall, you can also get creative and use frames and other decorative items to add even more interest to the wall space.
Try hanging several identical frames side by side with the same print inside them, or using an interesting shelf set up to show off multiple pieces of art in one place. With a bit of effort, you can create an impactful focal point that looks like it came right out of an art gallery.
11. Optimise Space With a Corner Sofa
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A corner sofa is one of the most versatile and stylish pieces of furniture you can have in your sitting room and is also a cosy and comfortable space to relax.
They have many benefits over a classic sofa that make them an ideal choice for any living room style and design. Not only do they provide extra seating, but it also helps to form a more spacious living room feel, while also producing a great area for socialising and entertaining.
There is no reason why you have to go for a matching furniture set either, you can use the corner sofa as part of an eclectic mix-and-match design scheme. This will give your living room its own unique personality and character.
12. Replace Tired Skirting Boards
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There are two good reasons to upgrade and replace your existing living room skirting boards. The first is to remove old, worn or generally tired ones, and the second is to match the profile and styling with a new interior design scheme.
Additionally, due to skirting boards often being plain and uninteresting, replacing them with more modern or decorative variants, will enhance your living room and elevate its overall look.
13. Go Bold with Wallpaper
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Using wallpaper to make a statement in your living room is an easy and affordable way to upgrade a sitting room or living space quickly and simply. With so many colours and designs available, there’s something for everyone and every taste.
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From traditional floral prints to a bold wallpaper with modern shapes or geometric designs, there are countless possibilities for creating an eye-catching display. Additionally, wallpaper can be swapped out easily if you grow tired of the look, or simply want to change your living room decor.
Wallpaper can also add texture and form to your walls which creates more visual interest in your living room space and makes furniture pieces or artwork pop out against it.
14. Create a Living Room Gallery Wall
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Gallery walls are without doubt one of the best living room ideas to add interest and personality to your living room. A gallery wall consists of several pieces of artwork arranged together in an aesthetically pleasing way, usually on one wall of a room. The artwork that you use can be anything from prints, photographs and paintings, to 3-dimensional items such as sculptures.
A living room gallery wall is also incredibly versatile, as it's easy to switch out any individual pieces for something else if you want to change up the look.
There are plenty of templates available online that can help you plan out where each item should go (and make sure everything is perfectly spaced). So have fun experimenting with different combinations until you find the perfect eclectic living room inspiration for your wall space.
15. Decorate Your Walls With Mirrors
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Mirrors can do so much more than just give you a way of viewing yourself, they also reflect light into your living room and make any small living room seem bigger. Try finding a large, statement mirror and hanging it over your mantel or above a console table. It will not only make the living room space instantly brighter and more inviting, but it will also draw the eye to any artwork or other decor you have nearby.
You could even opt for something more unique. There are lots of interesting shapes and sizes, from small round mirrors to large sunburst designs. Whatever you decide on, it's a sure-fire way to add an extra touch of style and personality to your living room.
16. Create a Contrasting Feature Wall
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A feature wall is one of the most popular living room ideas and an easy way to update your living room design. It allows you to add colour, texture and design to your space without overwhelming it and also visually separate sections of the space. Painting a feature wall can also be an economical way to introduce bold hues or frame a contrasting seating area.
Whether you choose bright colours or more subtle shades that compliment the rest of the room, paint will instantly transform any space.
Painting an accent wall in your living room also gives you the opportunity to experiment with different finishes such as flat, high gloss or matte for added drama and dimension.
I have dedicated a whole article to Blue Feature Wall Ideas that you may also be interested in.
17. Go Monochrome
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Creating a beautiful black-and-white living room is a great way to make a bold statement in your home. Start by selecting a few classic pieces of furniture, with clean lines and simplistic silhouettes, that will form the basis for a calm neutral backdrop to your living room.
You can then add decorative accents in either black or white that will enhance the overall look and feel. For example, choose framed art prints or throw pillows to provide visual interest and texture.
In order to keep a visual harmony in your living room, balance out any patterns with solid blocks of crisp white, black or textural elements, like wood, metal or glass.
18. Embrace Contemporary Design
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Contemporary living room ideas feature an expansive use of clean lines, minimal colours and furniture pieces with unique shapes and stylish designs. Open-plan living is commonly used for this type of interior design, giving the space an airy and spacious feel.
Unique furniture pieces with a contemporary edge, bold wall art, luxurious rugs, stylish window treatments and other elements with a modern aesthetic, all help to create the perfect modern living room space.
By further adding warm tones and natural elements to your contemporary design, such as houseplants and other greenery, you produce a tranquil environment that brings a sense of calm to everyday modern life.
19. Brighten up a Dark Living Room
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The easiest way to generate a bright atmosphere and make living rooms pop is through painting. Adding a few bright splashes of colour to a dark living room is an easy and effective way to transform the entire look and feel of the space. Not only does it make a room feel brighter, more inviting and less gloomy, but it can also be used as an inexpensive way to update your decor.
Choose bold and vivid colours that match the theme of the rest of your living room and use them sparingly throughout the walls. Alternatively, you can choose lighter shades such as pastel blues, greens or yellows which will help reflect light around the room without being too overpowering.
Other great living room ideas for brightening up your living space are to improve natural and electrical light, add reflective surfaces, hang mirrors or paint crisp white walls throughout.
20. Upgrade Window Coverings
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Upgrading your window coverings is a great way to add a fresh and modern touch to your living room. Not only are they an easy and inexpensive way to give the space a quick makeover, but they can also help regulate the temperature in the room, reducing energy bills and making for more comfortable living conditions.
When considering living room ideas and which type of window covering to choose, think about factors such as privacy needs, insulation requirements and how much light you want entering the room. Go for blackout shades or curtains if you need complete darkness or light-filtering shades for adjustable lighting.
21. Go All Out With One Colour
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Having the walls painted the same colour as the trim gives living rooms a cohesive feel that visually ties everything together. This technique creates harmony throughout the entire room instead of having multiple colours competing with each other.
The result is a more polished look that appears stylish and well-thought-out, no matter what design and style you choose for your living room inspiration. As an added bonus, it also makes painting your room much easier, as you don't have to be quite so neat and accurate when cutting-in the edges of the walls!
22. Add Silver for an Elegant Finish
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The reflective qualities and metallic hue of silver add sophistication and elegance to any living room. From an abstract wall art piece to a few small silver accessories or a complete set of furniture, it creates balance throughout the space, and if used conservatively can add just the right touch of glamour.
When decorating living rooms with silver though, it’s important to remember the mantra that less is more. To achieve the perfect stylish look, start by adding one or two large pieces such as a side table or console. Then introduce smaller items such as picture frames or lamps, for a subtle shimmer throughout the room.
23. Create a Home Office Space
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To create your very own office space in your living room, it is important to identify a designated area that is suitable for this cause. This can be an unused corner, a small section of the room, an alcove, or even below open stairs. This will help to establish a clear boundary between the working and relaxed space of your living room.
Next, you will need to select appropriate furniture and storage solutions that are appropriate for your needs. A desk is the first obvious essential piece of furniture for any home office, along with a chair and some form of shelving.
Comfort is probably the most important consideration, so be sure to add a comfortable office chair, good lighting, and any other items that you feel will help. Personal touches, such as photos, artwork, or plants, can also help to make the inviting space feel like your own.
24. Paint a Mural on Your Wall
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To make a big impact on your living room wall decor, consider painting a mural. Murals can be any size or shape and be painted on any surface, including walls, ceilings, floors, and even furniture. The floor-to-ceiling tropical design above shows what can be achieved with some skill, patience and paint.
They are a decorative feature that can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be, in any style, from realism to abstract. Just make sure that you take the time to plan out your living room mural before starting to paint, this will help ensure that the finished design looks exactly the way you want.
Alternatively, you can also hire an artist to paint the mural for you. This can be a great option if you don't have the time or skill to do it yourself, but still want something special and unique.
25. Hang Plants in Living Room
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Bringing the outdoors inside is an excellent way to bring a feeling of vitality and energy into any traditional or modern living rooms. By incorporating plants in creative ways, you can have a living garden that will add freshness, life, and beauty to your living room.
Hanging plants is also a good use of wall space, without having to take up much floor space. Look for small potted plants or trailing vines that can hang from window sills or ceiling hooks.
If you don't have a lot of natural light in your living room, there are plenty of low-light varieties that will still thrive indoors. Just make sure they get enough water and nutrients to stay healthy and vibrant.
26. Make Shadow Boxes
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When it comes to living room ideas, shadow boxes are a great way to display a variety of art pieces, from paintings and photos to memorabilia and antiques.
You can also use shadow boxes to help create a theme or narrative within your living room, for example, displaying artefacts from around the world in one box, or using multiple boxes to tell a story about your family's history or life journey.
Creating shadow boxes is surprisingly easy, all you need is some wood or plastic frames, glass panes, glue, paint, and any other supplies needed, depending on what type of items you want to display. Once everything is put together, just add whatever decorations you require, such as pictures, sequins, glitter, etc.
27. Display Tapestries
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Tapestries are a simple way to introduce pattern and add decoration to your living room walls, without taking up too much space. They are easy to hang and display, as all you need is some thread and a few hooks, and you can pretty much hang them anywhere.
There are plenty of different styles, designs and patterns available, whether it's an ornate traditional design or something more modern and abstract. Hanging any form of wall hangings, especially ones that use a neutral palette, can also help create a warm and homely feel to any neutral room.
If you're feeling creative, why not try making your own tapestry with some fabric, yarn, and other materials. It's an easy way to add a personal creative touch to your casual or formal living room.
28. Incorporate Natural Elements
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When considering living room ideas, the use of natural elements can be a great way to add creative artwork and texture to your living room. Try incorporating items such as driftwood, small branches, stones, shells or flowers.
These natural pieces will look beautiful in your living room and instantly bring a sense of warmth and cosiness. They're also very easy to style, just arrange them in interesting ways on shelves or mantels for an organic-looking display.
It will also produce an outdoor feel that is perfect for creating an atmosphere of peace and relaxation. So take some time to explore your local area (or beach if you live near one) and start collecting all sorts of interesting finds that you can use to decorate with. You'll be surprised at how much impact these small details will have on your overall living room design.
29. Repurpose Old Furniture
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If you have some old living room furniture or vintage finds lying around, you could use them to make some unique and eye-catching upcycled pieces.
For example, a used worn-out dresser could be pimped up to construct a shabby chic side table or desk, or you can repurpose old living room furniture into functional items. Maybe turn a rustic style wood bookshelf into a wine rack or transform an armoire into a bar cabinet.
By doing this you will not only have created something beautiful for your home, but it will also be a unique and one-of-a-kind piece.
30. Use Architectural Decor Elements
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If you want to bring a sense of sophistication and luxury with your living room ideas, why not consider adding some architectural elements to your sitting room or living space? Whether it's a grand chandelier or an ornate mantelpiece, these pieces can instantly elevate any formal room with their beauty.
You don't have to limit yourself to just one or two pieces either, try grouping several items together for maximum impact. This could include classical sculptures on plinths in each corner of the room, or antique vases placed elegantly on your coffee table.
My Final Thoughts
No matter what type of living room ideas or decor design you choose for your home, make sure that it brings you joy and happiness. After all, that's the whole point of decorating living rooms, to create a space that reflects who you are and makes you feel good.
So go ahead and explore the wonderful and creative world of living room decoration, and let your creativity run wild!