Living rooms are often considered the heart of the home, it is where you gather with your family and friends and it's often where guests will spend the most time in your home.
Because of this, our clients often feel the pressure when designing their living rooms and find themselves struggling with where to start. Well, fear no longer! If you're considering redecorating your lounge, we have gathered our best interior design ideas for living rooms.
Get ready to make your dream living room come true by creating the ultimate comforting yet functional space. Whether you're looking for living room lighting ideas or ways you can make the most of your small living room, we've got you covered with our complete living room decorating ideas guide.
Living room decorating ideas:
How to arrange and style your furniture
Colour schemes for living rooms
How to decorate a small living room
Image credit: My Bespoke Room
Before diving in and rearranging your entire front room, you should always consider it's purpose as this guide the layout of your living room. Ask yourself: will you use this room for entertainment, relaxation, or a combination of purposes? Once you decide that, you can move on to creating the perfect floor plan...
A great place to start when arranging lounge furniture is creating a focal point; the majority of our best living room designs use focal points to create a sense of purpose within the room. For example, if the purpose of your living room is socialising, place your armchairs and sofas facing each other around a fireplace or piece of art to encourage conversation, if the purpose is entertainment, arrange your seating around the TV.
Image credit: My Bespoke Room
Effective living room layouts also consider the traffic flow around the room, so take a think about how people enter and exit the room and make sure your furniture allows for easy movement around these areas.
One big mistake we see in clients' living rooms is the poor scaling of their furniture; a luxurious and large sofa may seem appealing and comfortable, but is it going to look and feel odd in your small living room? On the other hand, delicate and minimalist shelving and coffee tables might make your large living room feel boring and empty. So before splashing out on some furniture, make sure you've jotted down the measurements and examined how they will fit in your sitting room.
And for those who love hosting, think about how your furniture arrangement will work with multiple guests and if the pieces are easy enough to rearrange. If you're in the process of buying living room furniture, look for pieces that are multi-functional and can always double as extra seating or a place to pop down a drink!
Still struggling with furniture arrangement? We have an entire blog dedicated to living room layout ideas, read it here.
Our designers can help you get the best out of your living room space. Get started and book a living room design for just £450:
Image credit: My Bespoke Room
Okay, so you've got your furniture arranged, but now those walls are looking a little empty! When it comes to front room decorating ideas, we love wall art, but deciding on wall décor for living rooms can be difficult, you want to choose pieces that you love, but that also fit the style of the room and give off the correct atmosphere.
Wall art in your living room is a great way to express personality and it is proven to have a great emotional impact on our mood. Depending on the artwork, it can create a serene, cosy, or relaxing atmosphere.
The placement of your wall art should compliment the focal point of the room, like hanging a painting above the fireplace or placing a large mirror opposite the window. You also most importantly want your wall art to be seen, so make sure it is placed at eye level and perhaps opposite the living room entrance or above your furniture pieces.
There are many living room wall decoration options, but at My Bespoke Room, we are particularly fond of a gallery wall, this is because it can be done in so many ways with so many different wall décor pieces.
Want to learn more about how to create a gallery wall in your living room? Read our blog here.
Image credit: My Bespoke Room
If you're living room feels small or lacks light, then a feature mirror could be a great addition to your living room. Wall mirrors reflect and bounce light around the room, making your space feel larger and brighter.
Living room wall décor doesn't have to be framed art or images, you can incorporate your favourite sculptures, house plans and sentimental items onto your front room wall by placing them on some beautiful floating shelves. These shelves add a touch of personality to your living room without making the space appear too busy or cluttered.
Want to discuss your living room design ideas with a professional? Book a free call with one of our experts today:
Living room lighting ideas
Image credit: My Bespoke Room
Light plays an extremely important role in your home, and especially your living room, with both natural and artificial light needing to be considered when transforming your living room.
Instead of jumping to fun floor lamps and stunning ceiling fixtures, we recommend you try to enhance the natural light in your room as much as possible. Sunlight is well-known for boosting your mood and it has the added bonus of being free, so your electricity bills will be happy!
To make the most of the sunlight, ensure that there are no obstructions in front of your windows or furniture interfering with the light paths. If your living room is street-facing, consider sheer living room curtains or adjustable blinds which give you and your family privacy while still reaping the benefits of that glorious sunlight.
When it comes to choosing blinds or curtains for your living room, try to pick a colour that compliments the room or captures a certain colour featured in your living room. Make sure you research how they control light and consider the amount of privacy and light you want in your living room throughout the day.
When it comes to your artificial lighting, you want to make sure you have multiple options and not just the overhead light. You've heard us say it before and we will say it again, layered lighting is the way to go! By using a combination of overhead, floor and table lighting, you can create more of an atmosphere as well as allowing yourself to have the opportunity to pick and choose the quality of light throughout the day.
With a feature lighting piece in your living room, you can accentuate certain areas in a room, such as a cosy reading nook or a beautiful piece of living room wall décor. One of our top interior design ideas for living rooms is always choosing warm lighting over bright task lighting, warmer light helps you to relax in your living room and creates a more comforting atmosphere.
Get in the know-how with living room lighting by reading our complete lighting guide here.
Our designers are here to help you fall in love with your living room. Get started by filling out our design brief today:
Colour schemes for living rooms
Image credit: My Bespoke Room
The colour of your living room is another element that can greatly impact the room's atmosphere and the mood it creates. Some of the most relaxing colours are warm, neutral and earthy tones.
Before committing to a colour, pick up a few samples and paint patches on your living room wall, by checking it throughout the day you can discover what the colour looks like in different natural lights and with your artificial lighting. You never know, this might completely change your outlook on your chosen colour.
To make your room appear cohesive, choose a living room colour palette of around 3 to 5 colours, which allows for your main base colours and pops of accent colours. Some fun ways to incorporate pops of colour in your living room is with your wall trim and ceiling colour; you don't have to fall for the trap of always painting the room's trim and ceiling white and by painting it a different colour you can often make your living room appear more spacious.
Struggling to choose a room colour? Read our blog here on what to consider when choosing a room colour.
Avoid the time and stress of redesigning your living room by booking a room design from just £395:
How to decorate a small living room
Image credit: My Bespoke Room & Da Silva Design
Small living rooms can be limiting, but they're also frequently some of our most beautiful living room examples that we have here at My Bespoke Room. If you're struggling with your small living room, here are our best living room inspiration ideas for you...
If you want to make your living room space feel bigger and brighter, stick to light and neutral colours. However, if you're looking to embrace the cosiness - dark or warm shades are the way to go.
Another great small sitting room décor idea is to really think about your furniture; for instance, multi-functional furniture allows for flexibility in your space without causing overcrowding, and to make your small living room feel airy use floating shelves and storage units to keep your wall space clear.
Want to read more about how you can maximise your small space? Read our blog on 16 small living room ideas, here.
Open plan living room ideas
Many open-plan living room designs present unique challenges. While small living rooms can feel cramped, open spaces often face the opposite issues, with bright natural light making it challenging to create a relaxing atmosphere and there often being too much space than you know how to fill. Luckily, we have worked on many open plan spaces over the years and have gathered some of our best ideas for decorating your living room that can transform your space.
A lot of our clients also find it difficult to personalise their open plan living room and struggle with it feeling cold or unhomely, a living room décor idea to solve this is ensuring you utilise a variation of layered textures with pillows, throws and upholstery and feature personal items such as books, photos or small sculptures.
To zone the living room area off from the rest of the open space, we suggest painting a feature wall which creates a visual seperation or placing a comfy rug which not only divides the space but instantly makes it feel cosier.
If you're looking for a more stylish living room idea, you can introduce decorative screens or drapery panels to segment your open-plan living room, creating the illusion of distinct zones while maintaining that sense of openness and flow.
Stop letting your space limit your style, transform your home by booking a living room design for just £450:
Modern living room ideas
Image credit: My Bespoke Room
Imagine sleek lines, clean designs, and a touch of "wow" factor that'll have your guests swooning. To create a modern living room, it's all about decluttering because less is more, baby!
Modern lounge ideas include opting for minimalistic furniture with clean lines and choosing a crisp and clean, neutral colour scheme with bold pops of colour. Other modern living room design ideas involve choosing quality over quantity with décor and keeping it to a minimum, as well as featuring statement art pieces and house plants.
To create an interesting focal point in your modern living room, we suggest incorporating statement lighting by installing unique and eye-catching fixtures such as a chandelier or collection of pendant lights. And to fully embrace the modern living room, our best tip is to "float it", so whether you choose floating shelves or a TV, this clean and minimal look will leave your living room feeling more modern.
Learn more about how we can transform your home by booking a free call with one of our experts: