Create your ideal living room: 7 Inspiring decoration ideas 

Decorating your living room can be daunting, but if you break it down into small steps it suddenly starts to feel much easier. Begin by building a mood board and lists of what you want in your living room to make it look great and function brilliantly. Using a virtual or real pinboard, start collecting photos, textiles, furniture layouts, paint swatches, etc., this will help you narrow down your favourite living room decor ideas and get a feel for the look you want to create.

Use your mood board and lists to guide you through the living room decorating process. Start with the wall and flooring decor and move on to the window dressings and furniture and finally the accessories.

You want your living room to be stylish, comfortable and functional all year round and with careful planning you can achieve all this and more. First, work out what you want to use your living room for. Next choose flooring, a colour scheme and furniture that allows you to do this, but make sure it’s all comfortable and fantastic to look at too.

Consider how different colours impact your mood and draw on this to build a colour palette that works best for the atmosphere you want to create with your living room decor.

Make sure that the colours that you choose for different elements of your living room – the paintwork, wallpaper, furniture and accessories – either compliment or contrast beautifully with one another.

The perfect living room combines style with ergonomic comfort and functionality. To maximise comfort, look for on-trend furniture that is cosy and practical to use. You also need to design a room layout that is easy to move around,  has a coffee table or side tables close enough to reach; and, if you have children, space for them to play.

If your living room is a multifunctional space, where you work, eat and entertain, think about keeping the decor neutral, so it easily lends itself to different tasks and social situations. This means sticking to restful, natural colours and avoiding busy patterns and clutter. A well-designed neutral space will equally suit a cocktail party, an intimate chat with a close friend or an afternoon nap.

Team natural light with artificial light sources to create an environment that is relaxing and restful at any time of the day, night or year. By layering your lighting, you can adapt the atmosphere in your living room to suit any occasion. Patio doors, windows, roof windows, sun tunnels and skylights will maximise the flow of light into the space; overhead spotlights will ensure the room is bright on even the dullest day; an overhead pendant light will throw an intimate pool of light over the seating area; and, floor lights can provide directional light for specific tasks, such as knitting.  

You can personalise your living room decor with carefully thought-out accessories. Add chunky throws and plump pillows to the sofa, a textured rug to the floor and unique artwork to the walls. Let your living room be an extension of you and your family’s own personal tastes so that you all feel at home there.

Just keep in mind, if you over pack your shelves with books, yours walls with art and your sofas with cushions and throws you may make the space feel cluttered and appear smaller than it is.

To create a warm and welcoming space where you and your family and friends want to spend time all year round, your living room decor should have a sense of balance and harmony. With careful planning, you can achieve this with a neutral theme and a bolder colourful palette.

As you seek to create your perfect living room, embrace innovation and your creative side.

Take time to develop your ideas, don't be afraid to mix styles and seek advice from a professional interior designer if you are unsure about anything. Shop around too and explore DIY options to add your own unique stamp to your living room.

Follow these tips to transform your living room into a place that reflects your personality and meets your needs.

You don’t have to create your living room project quickly. Take time to do your research. You don’t want to have to redecorate every few years, so assess the latest technological innovations in home entertainment and smart lighting, so that the room is future proof. Look for the latest environmentally friendly paints, furniture and wallpaper to reduce your carbon-footprint and optimise your well-being while spending time in the room.  

It’s better to let your decoration evolve than make rushed choices and regret it later.

Smart living rooms incorporate automated functions, timers and sensors that allow you to adjust the heat, light and sound from the touch of a button or an app on your phone. 

Smart living room features include:

• Home automation hubs that incorporate multiple functions
• Smart thermostats that self-adjust to keep temperatures constant
• Smart windows that regulate temperature and ventilation
• Smart lighting
• Smart speakers

Don’t be afraid to combine different decor styles. With careful thought, this can add charm and character to your living room.

Follow the principles set out above: experiment and innovate, but don’t make hasty decisions and don’t be afraid to change your mind if you can see that your idea won’t work in practice.

Talk to relatives and friends about your living room makeover ideas. 

Asking others for advice can help you develop your own ideas and get useful feedback. You can also consult an interior decorator or other design professionals.

You often need to hunt around to find the best products for your living room. Don’t just stick to the high street and online stores. Car boot sales, local markets and antique shops are all great for unearthing interesting finds.

Don’t be scared to take on DIY projects either, such as painting a canvas or knitting a throw. It can be fun and rewarding. It’s easy to find how-to guides online that help you create quality DIY decor at a good price.

At the heart of every home is a welcoming living area where family and friends can meet and share precious moments.

Here are a few original and practical ideas to transform your living room into an inviting space all year round.

You want to design your living room so that it works for relaxing and socialising. You want to create a space that family and friends enjoy hanging out in.

Choose seating, tables and storage that supports all the activities you are likely to use your living room for.

Create seating areas for different situations. Perhaps place an armchair next to a bookcase for solitary reading, sofas around a coffee table for entertaining and directed towards the TV for movie nights and gaming.

If you like to switch things up, opt for a modular sofa that lets you play around with its layout or a mix of a sofa, armchair and chaise longue, which can be moved around to suit your mood or the season.  

Your living room may have several designated zones, each with a specific purpose. It might double up as TV room, playroom, dining area and relaxation space. A well-planned layout will ensure that it works well and can adapt for all of this and more.

The sofa can be arranged to face the TV, for example, a dining table and chairs can be placed in a corner and, if you have space, you could also pop a small indoor swing or rocking chair on its own for quiet activities, like reading.

A living room with a place for everything functions best. Add elegant, discreet hidden storage, such as a sideboard, for toys, gadgets and crafts, and stylish open shelving for storing more attractive items, like vases and ornaments. Keep your room organised with everything you use regularly within easy reach.

Lighting is key to creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere in your living room all year round.

Create an inviting living room atmosphere with a combination of natural light from windows and soft artificial light.

Position your living room furniture to make the most of natural light during the day.

For evenings or cloudy days, integrate an automated lighting system that adjusts the colour or brightness of artificial light according to your mood and needs. This will create a modern, dynamic living room environment to suit every occasion, whether it’s a party, a quiet evening on your own or a movie night.

If your living room is always dark and gloomy, you won’t want to spend a lot of time there. 

If your living space is on the top floor of a building or in a single-storey room, the best way to brighten it up and make it feel more welcoming is to bring in more natural light and fresh air from above. You can do this by fitting a roof window.

Combine these with blinds and shutters that allow you to play with light, control the temperature and reduce external  noise.

Discover how to select the perfect blinds for your roof windows with our guide: Which blinds are right for your home?

Make the most of your living room’s best features. If the room has a lovely fireplace or views from the windows, direct the furniture towards these highlights.

If your living room is on the small size, use clever tricks to make it appear larger. A mirror placed opposite a window, for example, will help to bounce light around the room and make it feel more spacious, a light colour scheme will open the space up and sofas with hidden storage under the seats will help you to keep the room neat and uncluttered. 

If your living room is on the large side, you can afford to opt for chunkier furniture  and opt for a richer colour scheme that will draw the walls in and create a more intimate feel. A mix of textures will also make a large space feel cosier.

Personalise your living room with items made from different materials. Metals, wood and glass are all popular decor materials and you can bring in fabrics, such as cotton, velvet and linen, in your upholstery, window dressings, throws and cushions.  Layering different textures will help you to create a warm, elegant and inviting space in winter, while removing the rugs and throws during summer will help keep your living room cool in the heat.

Colour is an essential part of any living room scheme. It can transform your room’s atmosphere, affect your mood and reflect your personal style.

Here’s how to choose the best colours for your living room:

Colours determine the look and feel of your living room.

Warm colours, such as red and orange, create a welcoming and vibrant atmosphere, while colours like blue and green give a feeling of calm and serenity.

Use a colour chart to see how different colours can affect the mood of your living room.

The orientation of your living room influences the way colours look throughout the day.

In north-facing rooms with less natural light, warm colours on the wall  can compensate for the lack of sunlight.

Conversely, if your living room is south facing with lots of sunlight, cool tones can balance the brightness.

To avoid a look that is over-busy or chaotic, limit yourself to a few key tones. You might, for example, choose a dominant colour for the living room walls; a secondary colour for larger furniture, such as sofas; and an accent colour for accessories and wallpaper. This will help you to create a harmonious and balanced living space.

Before painting your living room walls or choosing the wallpaper, it’s useful to understand how different colours make you feel.

This is how some colours make you typically feel: 

• Blue for tranquillity and serenity
  

  Blue represents tranquillity, stability and serenity. A living room with tones of blue (whether dark navy or a light sky blue) can create a calm, relaxing atmosphere.

  In a living room with light blue walls, for example, you can use cushions and accessories in darker tones of blue to create an ideal space to relax in after a long day.

• Green for harmony and renewal
  

  Green is the most natural of colours and has a peaceful, refreshing effect. It inspires renewal and harmony. A living room in tones of green, for instance sage or mint, can create a lively, but peaceful space that evokes the serenity of the countryside.

  For a chic earthy look, opt for a forest green accent colour, hanging plants suspended from the ceiling and touches of natural wood (perhaps a wooden floor).

• Yellow for joy and energy
  

  Yellow is a bright colour that creates warmth.

  In a living room, adding touches of yellow, such as a mustard sofa or sunshine yellow curtains, can create a sunny atmosphere – ideal for boosting energy.

• Red for passion and energy
  

  Being such an intense colour, red tends to be used sparingly in interiors.

  In a living room, use red for accessories, such as cushions, vases or frames.

  A red accent wall can provide a dynamic focal point but balance it with more neutral colours to prevent it overwhelming the space.

• Grey for an elegant, contemporary look
  

  Grey has a restful, modern feel.

  Grey walls can be matched with modern furniture and metallic details to create a chic, modern living room.

  Use pops of colour and layered soft textures to warm up a grey living room decor.

When decorating a small living room, you want to optimise the feeling of space and create a welcoming atmosphere.

In this section, you will learn how to visually enlarge your living room by adopting elegant and functional minimalism and how to make the most of every inch of your space.

• Use a variety of light colours: walls painted in white, pearl grey or pale blue will make your living room appear more spacious and a glossy white ceiling will reflect more light.
• Trompe-l’œil wallpaper and paint that creates an optical illusion: decorate your living room walls with vertical patterns to make the ceiling appear higher. Alternatively, use horizontal lines to widen the perceived space. 
• Strategically position mirrors: fitting a large mirror opposite a window or next to your main light source will make your small living room feel brighter and more spacious. Window-shaped mirrors or a combination of small mirrors can also add interest.

• Discreet decoration: limit accessories to a few key items, such as slender plants, minimalist artwork or designer lamps. Use floating shelves to showcase certain objects.
• Small furniture, big impact: a sofa bed and stackable chairs for guests or a small coffee table can be practical and stylish. Consider low furniture to avoid overcrowding your living room too.   

• Multi-functional furniture: a window bench with storage, a coffee table with hidden drawers or a sofa with integrated storage are some examples of clever multi-functional furniture ideal for small living rooms.
• Making use of wall space: fitting shelves just below the ceiling can create additional storage space without cluttering your living room. Also, consider hanging plants and lamps to free up floor space.

• Visual areas: subtly ‘zone’ your small open-plan space to create distinct areas for different functions. You can use a coloured rug, for example, to separate the living area from the dining area.
• Combine various types of lighting (lamps, wall lights, floor lights and pendant lights) the different tones of light will add depth to your living room. 
• Integrated workspace: if you work at home, a small folding desk can be tucked away behind a door when not in use. Or you could hide an office area within a wardrobe that can be closed at the end of the working day.

A limited budget does not have to be an obstacle. Use your imagination and creativity to reduce costs.

If you don’t have much money to spend on your living room, there are many places you can find affordable furniture and accessories. Charity shops, flea markets, online marketplaces and furniture reuse stations all offer reasonably priced homeware. 

It's important to take time to shop around. 

Don’t rush your living room shopping, you might not find your ideal piece on your first attempt. Some items may need to be restored or freshened up before making it into your living room, but they should still be cheaper than buying new and you will have created something unique.

The are many simple DIY projects that can give your living room personality and save you money.

You can create artwork, craft items, restore old furniture or re-purpose an item. Old wooden boxes can be turned into shelves, for instance.

DIY adds an authentic, personal touch to your living room without costing a fortune.

There are endless ideas and possibilities to be found on the Internet if you need inspiration.

Textiles can radically transform a room on a budget. Scour second hand stores or outlet shops for curtains, cushions and throws.

If you’re looking for creative living room wall decor ideas, you could even turn pieces of fabric into wall art.  

Plants are an economical way to add life and colour to your living room. Buy inexpensive, easy to care for succulent and hanging plants or ask friends and family for cuttings and make your own. Not only are they beautiful, they also improve air quality. 

Reclaimed vases and pots from your garden or outside space, can be used as unique containers for your living room plants. Don’t throw away jam jars or glass bottles either, they make lovely vases for wildflowers.

DIY projects can also involve creative recycling.

Keep a lookout for items that can be re-used in your living room. Old ladders can be transformed into shelves, for example.

Re-using objects gives them a second life and adds a personal, eco-friendly touch to any renovation. 

Combine all these living room decor ideas to transform your space into your everyday oasis.