Your living room is the heart of your home. It is likely where you spend most of your time relaxing, whether that’s on your own, or with friends and family. Read on as we provide our top living room decor ideas that will help you create a space that feels unique, stylish, functional, and modern.

1 – Add a splash of colour with a rug 

Rugs can be a simple way to bring colour, style, and pattern to your living room. Experimenting with different materials and shapes can help make the space feel warmer, while creating something distinctive and quirky. 

2 – Make socialising more comfortable with your sofa choice

A sofa will undoubtedly be a defining feature of any comfortable living room and a corner sofa allows you to more easily chat with guests when hosting. Alternatively, two matching sofas facing each other can create the same effect.

3 – Hang custom art on walls 

Prints, posters, postcards, and photographs can add personality to your walls, making the space feel more cosy for alone time and when people visit. In particular, gallery walls allow you to fill different formations of framed photos and artworks across one wall of your living room, creating the feel of an actual gallery or museum. 

4 – Make your coffee table a centrepiece

Coffee tables are an obvious staple, but adding a rustic, marble, or sleek glass design can help to give the space a different feel. Investing in something more off the wall can provide a statement piece to your home that will create conversations for when hosting parties. 

5 – Add an accent/ feature wall 

Painting one wall a different colour brings focus to that area of your living room. This can be particularly effective near a fireplace, TV unit, or bookcase. Painted ceilings or half-painted walls stretching across all sides, can make the space feel contemporary and striking. Get some more tips with our 20 Accent Wall Ideas.

6 – Go big with your storage and shelving

Storage and shelving can not only be a great way to store books, artwork, decorations, and plants, but it can also be a fantastic talking point when people enter your home. Modular designs allow homeowners to make displays open or closed, to highlight specific items or keep them hidden. 

7 – Think outside the box with wallpaper 

Wallpaper gives you more freedom to decorate than standard painting.  You can go for comfortable tones, or you can opt for unusual patterns and features so that they reflect your interests.

8 – Create the illusion of space with mirrors

Mirrors not only act as a place for self-reflection, but they can make any space feel bigger. Going more creative with your styles and shapes can also allow you to add a bit more personality to this traditional living room feature. 

9 – Maximise natural lighting

Lighting can be one of the biggest things that can change any space. Choosing fixtures that accentuate natural light can transform your room, while also helping to boost your mood. And it’s now hugely in demand, as 84% of people see natural light as being the most important factor when buying a home. 

10 – Bring focus to your fireplace

Making your fireplace a focal point can create a more cosy and traditional ambiance, especially in the winter months. To adopt a modern feel, homeowners are replacing old-fashioned brickwork on fireplaces and adding more contemporary styles to provide a different character.  

11 – Mix the new and the old 

Although it may seem contradictory, there is a place for vintage furniture and decor in modern living rooms. With sustainability now a focus, many opt for pre-owned and pre-loved items to reduce waste. Don’t be afraid of combining styles – your living room should be a patchwork of your life, interests and memories.

12 – Go bold with colours

If you want to add character to your living room, consider getting creative with your choice of colours. Mixing two colours that contrast, like mustard yellow and grey, against a neutral backdrop can help to make your living room stand out.

13 – Adopt shapes and curves 

Living room furniture is traditionally straight with clean and sharp corners. Consider curved or differently shaped furnishings to bring a unique character to your space. This provides a smoother and calmer finish to your room. 

14 – Bring nature in

Plants and flowers are a great way to make spaces feel more colourful and green, and studies have shown how they ease anxiety and encourage happiness. Bigger greenery, such as Montserrat plants or cacti, can act as a statement piece within the home. Alternatively, smaller plants, including ones you can hang, allow you to save space on shelves and tabletops.

15 – Draw eyes with an exposed brick wall 

Exposed brick walls have experienced increased demand, as they provide a focus for new and traditional living rooms. They present a comfortable and cosy feel and they are both texturally and visually striking.

16 – Consider home working station 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, home working has become a trend that is here to stay. While many will dedicate an entire room as their space, others may want to use an area of their living room instead. A stylish and comfortable chair and table will make you more productive in hours, and allow you to switch off after hours. 

17 – Create an active environment with a dining table 

Though a dining table can have its own separate space, bringing it into the living room can make the area feel more social. This can encourage conversation and be an open setting for when enjoying meals. 

18 – Choose warming colours

Neutral colours have long been considered simple, but effective. Burgundy, tan, and beige can make your living room feel warm throughout the year. This colour palette can create the illusion of space, even when there may be limitations. 

19 – Style space with a trendy floor lamp 

Floor lamps, paired with an armchair or nook, can provide focused light for relaxing or reading with a book. As they can come in many shapes and sizes, lamps are a great way to customise your space with a chic and modern feel. 

20 – Pick one of a kind designs 

Having bespoke, one-of-a-kind furniture, artwork, and decorations can make your home feel more personal, while also drawing the eye. It doesn’t have to be overly extravagant, but it can bring an element of unexpectedness to your space. 

21 – Consider window seats

Window seats provide additional seating space and are perfect for relaxing during your free time or looking out at the world from the comfort of your home. Adding striking materials can also bring colour to an otherwise neutral part of your living room. 

22 – Adopt floral decor

Wallpaper and artwork that reflects the spring season can help connect your room with natural tones. It’s a look that has never gone out of style, and we can guarantee that it will remain modern for some time.

23 – Don’t be afraid of darker styles

In the past, many people would have considered darker rooms to feel colder and smaller than their brighter counterparts. However, grey living rooms have grown in popularity in recent times and can provide a modern, chic, and sophisticated look. When considering a darker living room, think about the colour of your furniture that you wish to compliment this style. 

24 – Arrange your bookcase by colour

A recent trend for book lovers is to display their collection by colour. The simplest way to colour code books is to follow a rainbow effect. This creates a real focal point in your living room. Best of all? It’s incredibly cheap and easy to achieve. 

25 – Keep it minimal

A tidy and non-cluttered space is possible and it can be influenced by your choice of furniture and decor. Scandi designs have remained popular for some time and are known for prioritising simplicity, functionality, and calmness. Making these considerations will help to create a liveable room that you want to spend time in. 

26 – Decorate with your favourite records

Vinyl records have seen a resurgence in modern times and they double up as a true representation of your favourite artists, while feeling decorative. They can either be displayed on the wall, or as part of a collection in a storage unit. 

27 – Hang your curtains higher

Hanging curtains 4-6 inches higher than the window frame and fixing your curtain rod closer to the ceiling can help make the space feel bigger and taller. However, make sure that you measure this correctly as otherwise they can look out of place.  

28 – Upgrade your TV display 

A TV is always a staple of any modern living room, however, it can be presented in many ways to make it feel fresh. For those tired of your TV unit, try mounting it to your wall, or even switching to a projector for film nights. 

29 – Control light with blinds

Blinds bring a level of functionality to your home, allowing you to control light and heat within your living room. They are durable, easy to clean, and can increase home value if they are well maintained. Not only this, but they can provide a stylish finish to any room. 

30 – Invest in shutters

Shutters can bring a sleek, sophisticated, and contemporary feel to your living room. They help you to maintain both light and heat and provide higher security and privacy when relaxing at home. And they are relatively affordable when compared with other energy efficiency measures, meaning you can easily transform your space all while doing good for the planet. 

If you decide to purchase shutters, we recommend having them professionally measured and installed. At Shuttercraft, we have a wide range of models for your living room, from bay window, full height, cafe style, or tier on tier. 

Learn more about our shutters now.