Here's Everything a Comfortable and Modern Living Room Needs
For many people, the living room is the room in the house where they spend the most time. It's where you unwind after a long day at work, watch your favorite movies and TV shows, and hang out with family on the holidays. In other words, it's not just a room—it's part of your home's culture. You deserve a living room that's comfortable and stylish—whatever that means to you. Pulling that off can be daunting, though. From placing the rug to choosing a sofa, there's a lot designers know from experience that makes these spaces look and feel pulled together. That's why we've gathered gorgeous, modern living room ideas from design experts to help you create exactly what you want.
We may all prefer different design styles, but most of us can agree that every living room needs certain essentials: multiple places to sit, tables to rest drinks and books on, a few throw blankets here and there, and a television. That last item can sometimes be a bit controversial—there's a reason why designers love creative solutions to hide TVs—but the majority of people agree a TV is a necessity. How you check off those creature comforts is totally up to you.
To create a space that feels modern and personal, consider creative seating solutions like a curved sofa or a pair of fun accent chairs. You might hang a statement pendant instead of a floor lamp. Whatever you're picturing as your ideal, you'll find inspiration here. Read on to see the best modern living room ideas from designers.
Go Scandi
Nothing says "modern" like Scandinavian design. Designer Brian Paquette created this warm, sunken living area in a Southern California home by using jewel tone colors and keeping the furnishings relatively close together. It goes to show that even if your living room is smaller, it doesn't have to feel cramped. Just be intentional about the pieces you pick and how you arrange them.
Embrace Midcentury Modern
The midcentury modern living room in Ashley Maddox's Waco, Texas, home is one to emulate if you're trying to lean into the aesthetic. It captures the 1950s charm with streamlined furniture, sculptural light fixtures, and geometric accessories.
Add a Mirror Wall
Make your living space feel bigger by adding in a wall of mirrors. This gorgeous space in a Houston pied-à-terre by M. James Design Group utilizes classic picture molding as frames for the mirrors, opening up the living room and bouncing light around.
Aim for Timelessness
In this Texas lake house by Marie Flanigan Interiors, neutral tones, natural textures and materials, and minimal decorations harmonize to create a calm, elevated living room. With the right simple pieces, your modern home can feel timeless.
Expand a Gallery Wall
There are many ways to hang a gallery wall, but we favor one that's anything but basic. Take a page from the M. James Design Group's book and cover any bare section of wall you can. It'll draw the eye upward is a great way to avoid painting your living room walls. Just cover them up with artwork, objects, and photos you love.
Add Fun Accent Chairs
Don't stick to solids—bring in playful furniture if you're looking for a way to add more intrigue and depth to your living room. Gray Space Interiors completed this blue hangout zone in influencer Zakia Blain's Pennsylvania home with two wild armchairs.
Go Monochrome
As much as house flippers push the all-white, blank-canvas look, we promise you can choose a monochromatic color scheme that's more interesting. This beautiful blue den in a Kansas City home by Mark D. Sikes shows how you can use tonal colors to create depth.
Match Your Furniture to the Woodwork
Follow in designers Justin Hafen and John Hurley's footsteps by adding deeply hued furnishings to a bright space. The matching bookshelf and couch give the living room of their contemporary home in Napa Valley an elegant vibe, creating a space that looks very intentionally put together and cozy.
Hide the TV
It's no secret that interior designers love to find ways to keep televisions out of sight, so you might as well take a suggestion from the pros and do the same. The blue lacquered cabinet Lisa Tharp used in the living room of this Boston apartment is a perfectly chic option for hiding that big black rectangle from visitors.
Choose a Sculptural Light Fixture
It takes time to find art you love. Until you happen upon the perfect piece for the mantel, pull eyes toward the ceiling with a sculptural pendant light like the one in this Seattle home by Hoedemaker Pfeiffer. It's not just functional but extremely stylish.
Let It Double as a Playroom
This kid-friendly space in a San Francisco townhouse by Studio Plow proves a stylish living room can also be a play zone. Just keep a basket handy to stash the colorful toys you don't want on display.
Hang an Oversize Mirror
A big enough mirror can seemingly create a tunnel to another world. The gorgeously cut example in this living room by Studio Plow looks almost like an arched doorway into another room, creating the illusion of more space.
Combine Vintage and Modern
The Brownstone Boys are known for their historic renovations, and they're the ones to look at if you're searching for inspiration on how to make your older home look good with your modern furniture. The light fixture and curved couch are obviously not from the same era as the ornate crown molding and the fireplace, but they contrast in an elegant way. The effect is almost museum-like.
Float Unique Pendants
If you're lucky enough to have extremely high ceilings, like the ones in this living room designed by Cortney and Robert Novogratz, take advantage of all that empty space and hang up interesting art pieces, like these fluffy pendants.
Take It Outside
Maybe your living room is actually outside. If you live in a climate that lets you enjoy the outdoors all year, invest in comfortable and chic patio furniture. This covered outdoor space by Ashley Gilbreath has multiple conversational zones for your family to occupy so you can enjoy being here even when it's raining.
Make It a Cinema Room
For true cinephiles, the media room is the living room. So take a cue from Kimberly + Cameron Interiors and make it feel like an escape—even when the television isn't on—by finishing it with patterned wall coverings, plants, and warm-toned furniture.
Keep It Neutral
For an intriguing space that skips color altogether, use a mix of textures in your living room. Leanne Ford Interiors used many different patterns and shapes in this neutral living room to ensure it would still be something beautiful to look at and live in. Neutral spaces can easily feel cold, but the layers in here radiate warmth.
Bring in Bold Plants
Put your green thumb to work and bring fresh plants into your living room, displaying them in ways you may not normally do. In this breezy communal area of Ashley Gilbreath's beach house, a medium-sized palm plant on the coffee table continues the paint color of the walls into the seating area.
Choose Lighter Woods
Ashley Montgomery enhanced this cozy yet modern, farmhouse living room with light-colored wood throughout. From the side table to the coffee table to the floors, the wood choices make the space look more open and brighter.
Install a Wet Bar
If your space allows for one, upgrade from your bar cart to a built-in wet bar off your living room. Jennifer Robin Interiors and Kroeger Janev Architects made this California barn the perfect place for a party by incorporating a bar complete with a long counter and barstools. Hey, if you have the room, why not?
Add a Breakfast Table
Let a long, narrow living room double as a breakfast area. Jennifer Robin Interiors and Kroeger Janev Architects added an extra-long couch, a round table, and two accent chairs rather than a regular coffee table. This would allow you to get more use out of this one space, and makes eating in front of the TV so much comfier.
Layer Luxurious Materials
Feel like you're swimming in gold by making your living room look as if it were plucked from a boutique hotel lobby. Summer Thornton Design created this gilded space in a Victorian-style Chicago townhouse by using colored mirrors, golden wallpaper, and yellows just about everywhere.
Try Textured Leather
Leather couches are nothing new, but we rarely see textured ones. Corey Damen Jenkins added an interesting layer to the living space of this Massachusetts home with a reptile-esque L-shape sectional sofa—we love how the different scales reflect the sunlight.
Create Contrast
Interior designer Jonathan Savage added depth and brightness to the modern lounge of our 2022 Whole Home with a burst of color from this sculptural yellow chair. If you love dark walls but don't want your space to feel like a cave, this is a good way to add light.
Choose Primary Colors
Lean into bold decorating decisions as British tastemaker Lucinda Chambers does in her London home by decorating the living room mainly in primary colors. It's an unexpected design decision and is very revealing of your personality.
Layer Shades of Gray
Elaine Santos knows that when you want to go monochrome with grayscale, you need to layer different shades to give the space depth. With minimal accents and only a few colors sprinkled throughout, this minimalist space in a New Jersey carriage house feels crisp but definitely not cold.
Don't Forget the Ceiling
DuVäl knows how to make a living room interesting, and it's by putting a fun wallpaper on the ceiling. It creates a cozy little cave of a space, perfect for movie nights and reading marathons.
Make It Busy
Who needs art on the walls when you have wallpaper like this? Go ahead and use busy patterns on big surfaces, as Alexandra Loew did in this Victorian home in Santa Cruz, California. The matching throw pillows on the jewel-toned sofa are the cherry on top in this rich space.
Take Vintage Inspiration
While 1970s-style wood paneling isn't modern, herringbone pattern panels like the ones in this living room by Morgan Madison Design bring a unique, contemporary vibe. It's a chic nod to what once was, plus it makes the space feel warmer.
Mix Unexpected Patterns
Ben and Erin Napier know when and how to mix patterns. One might expect the colorful, patterned quilt on the couch to look out of place in this generally muted living room, but it adds such a wonderful brightness to the space that completes the project.
You Might Also Like
