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How to Decorate a Small Living Room
Every small living space offers design challenges. While it's important to make all of the rooms in your home functional, the living room is especially key because many people spend a lot of their time at home in the living room. From selecting furniture that is an appropriate scale for the space to maximizing hidden storage solutions to strategically placing a mirror to add depth and light, there are an extensive range of practical and easily attainable design ideas that will help you create the living room of your dreams in your small space.
6 Small Living Room Ideas
1. Select Furniture to Fit the Existing Space
2. Consider Hidden Storage
3. Create a Focal Point
4. Add Light and Depth
5. Don't Be Afraid of Color
6. Take Advantage of Vertical Space
The trunk serves as a coffee table and storage piece while adding a funky vintage touch to the living room.
Amanda Holstein via Advice From a Twenty Something
1. Select Furniture to Fit the Existing Space
Determine Scale and Configuration
When you're working with a compact living room, large-scale furniture often isn't an option. Be realistic about the space. For example, if an oversized recliner won't fit, choose a pair of smaller chairs. Many people also get hung up on common furniture configurations. For example, nothing says that you need a full-sized sofa in your living room. A love seat paired with a bench and an armchair may work more naturally in your space.
Think Multifunctional
Choosing multifunctional pieces will also make the most of your living room. For example, a bench with storage will provide seating while housing pillows and blankets. A coffee table or console table makes a great addition to a living room but only when it makes sense for the space. Your small living room may be better suited for two small tables that open up the space and can be moved as needed to accommodate different functions.
Consider Floating Furniture and Low Seating
Floating furniture and low seating can make all the difference when it comes to keeping the space open and flowing. Design a floating furniture arrangement in the center of the room instead of pushing pieces up against the walls. Install shelves and other built-in components off the floor to create the illusion of space. If you choose low seating, select pieces that don't distract from the focal statement in the room. For example, a pair of low stools in front of the mantel will keep the fireplace as the focus of the living room.
The wall length built-in keeps this narrow living room streamlined and clutter free.
Tory Kingdon via House and Garden UK
Concealed storage is a great way to house items in the living room without creating a cluttered space. Furniture pieces that boast concealed storage, such as an ottoman with built-in storage, are a great option. You may also want to consider decor pieces that do double duty as storage, such as colorful baskets or jars. Do you have a hard time finding concealed storage pieces that don't take up a ton of floor space? Think about biting the bullet and devoting a single wall to built-in storage. To further streamline the storage, keep your items in the built-in hidden behind doors or curtains.
Read More From Dengarden
The living room layout showcases the focal fireplace and mantel.
Kendyl Young, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.com
3. Create a Focal Point
A focal point is ideal for drawing people into a space while making it more uplifting and even sophisticated. Think about focusing your living room around a fireplace, sofa, coffee table, artwork, or mirror. Once you've settled on your focal point, design the rest of the living room around your statement piece to pull the entire look together.
The mirrors reflect the whole space, making it appear larger, while bringing more natural light into the room.
Brunet Souet via Milk Decoration
4. Add Light and Depth
Small living rooms with flat features and dark corners look dreary, even when they boast unique furniture and wall hangings. Maximize the natural light in the room, and don't be afraid to add artificial light sources as well. You'll bring even more light and depth into your compact living room with wallpaper and strategically placed mirrors and plants. Purely decorative mirrors still pack a visual punch and draw extra light into the space.
The floral theme ties the colored items in the room together.
House to Home UK - link no longer active
5. Don't Be Afraid of Color
Many people steer clear of color in small living rooms, believing that it will overwhelm the space. While there is nothing wrong with designing a small living room that features neutral shades, color can make the space appear larger. Select a color scheme with a maximum of three shades to create a unified aesthetic. If you want to use additional colors, incorporate them as accents. Typically lighter shades make a space look larger, but careful use of darker shades takes the style and drama in the room up a notch.
When you paint a small living room, select a satin or semigloss finish to reflect the light. If you want to tie the color scheme in the room together without painting or buying new furniture, consider an area rug. Layer a rug over carpeting to make the room feel cozier or conceal dark flooring with a brightly colored rug to lighten up a dark space.
This set of floating shelves draw the eye up while adding room for knick knacks in otherwise wasted corner space.
Sarah and Joshua Rhodes via A Beautiful Mess
6. Take Advantage of Vertical Space
Build up instead of out to maximize the available space. When you hang curtains, place the curtain rods right below the ceiling. Then choose curtains that extend all the way to the floor to make the ceiling look higher. If you're selecting art or other wall hangings, consider designing a gallery wall or choosing a few large pieces that fill the whole space. Do you have an odd nook that currently serves little or no purpose in the living room? Think about constructing shelves to simultaneously add storage and draw the eye upward.
Small Family Room Design
Finally, creating the ideal flow for your small living room is an ongoing process. It often takes weeks, or even months, of living with a living room arrangement to determine what is and isn't working. Don't be afraid to keep making tweaks and adjusting the layout until you find a arrangement that suits you and your family.
Additional Small Home Resources
Frugal Storage Ideas for Small Homes: Creative, Unique Organization Methods Creating functional storage for a small home is simple when you're equipped with the right organizational tools. Pick up purchasing resources, general organization tips, and much more.
How to Make the Most of a Small Kitchen: Simple, Affordable Kitchen Solutions for Every Budget Organize and brighten up your small kitchen space with practical solutions to create a functional yet inviting space for family and friends.
Very good article you wrote very helpful tips and pictures are so beautiful you added.
Chitrangada Sharan from New Delhi, India on April 05, 2016:
Excellent hub!
I enjoyed going through your tips and suggestions to design and lay out a small living room. Using the place below staircase is a very nice idea. Very attractive pictures to complement your interesting and useful hub.
The living room is one of the most important areas in your house for a great hosting experience. It's likely you and your guests will spend countless hours in this room, discussing and entertaining.
Decorating your living room properly will deliver deeply satisfying living for your leisure time. To get there, however, you must pay attention to all of the following areas:
1. the colors that you select
2. material and quality of seats and furniture
3. wall decorations and art
4. lighting and light fixtures
Below we show you some great ideas for decorating your living room.
The Best Colors for Your Living Room
One area that will have a disproportionate impact on the mood of your living room is the color you choose for the walls. While you can install wallpaper to change the look of certain walls, there are areas that wallpaper cannot cover. Getting the wall color right, therefore, gives you the best shot at creating a remarkable effect.
Some of the best color palettes for living rooms include:
1. White - White walls add a touch of class. They are the perfect backdrop for decorating with upscale furniture.
2. Turquoise - This color is great for creating an informal but refined feel. Your kids and family will love the refreshing mood this color creates.
3. Cream - Striking a balance between formal and informal, cream-colored walls create a quiet, soothing effect.
Furniture Choices
With your wall color selection made, you should select furniture that pairs well with the colors you've already chosen. For example, combining white couches with white walls will create resonance in your room design.
Make sure to provide ample seating to avoid crowding. Add multiple sofas, easy chairs and other seats that can accommodate a complete roomful of people, depending on the size of the room.
Furniture like TV stands and tables should generally blend in with the colors of the room and ceiling. There are some natural materials, however, that can work regardless of the colors on the walls. For example, wooden table surfaces look good whether your walls are white, blue or another color.
Lighting Ideas
You can greatly improve the aesthetics of a living room with bright lighting and impressive light fixtures.
To start, you can consider a beautiful chandelier in the center to provide light around the whole room. This central masterpiece ensures adequate lighting throughout the living room while adding an air of elegance.
You can then add to the light sources in the living room with individual lights on tables and around the walls in areas where people will not knock them down.
Carpeting
Consider adding carpeting to your living room to create a comfortable walking area. Carpeting lets you and your guests go barefoot if you choose. The living room almost demands this since you will want to take off your shoes and kick back on occasion. Warm plush carpets provide a good, comfortable surface for this. There are many choices when it comes to carpet size.
If your living room is very large, you can opt for wall-to-wall carpeting. On the other hand, if it's smaller, you can add just an area rug in the place where you will sit. For example, you can have a rug around the sitting and TV area where your kids will play.
The advantage of area rugs over wall to wall carpeting is, mainly, lower costs and ease of replacement. You can completely change the area rug and create a new aesthetic in a fraction of the time it would take to begin installing new wall-to-wall carpeting.
Art Ideas for Your Living Room
Many homeowners like to have some wall art in their living room. If your living room is spacious, it can accommodate a good-sized piece of art mounted alongside one wall. In some instances, you can consider multiple art pieces. Invariably, tasteful art adds to the sophistication of a living room. It adds an interesting item that sparks many conversations from impressed guests.
Selecting art is an opportunity to express your unique personality. If you are fairly conservative, you can select some classical type pieces that portray a quiet life. If you are more adventurous, you can experiment with a post-modern impressionist piece that others might consider risky. It's your space, and so feel free to decorate it to express who you are.
With some beautiful and cozy new furniture from The Brick, we gave our living room a rustic glam makeover for Fall in shades of deep charcoal, white, pink and gold. Come take a tour and get some DIY ideas to make your own living space warm and inviting for the season!
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by The Brick. As always, all of the opinions here are my own.
With Thanksgiving come and gone, snow already on the ground, and our winter jackets unpacked and at the ready, it's the perfect time to make our home feel warmer and cozier for the Fall and Winter months. With some paint, a couple of simple DIY projects and some gorgeous furniture and accessories from The Brick, I transformed out living room into a warm retreat for our family.
Here's how our living room looked this summer:
And here's how our living room looks now:
We decided to move our Paris sectional down to the basement so that we can start creating a "tween hangout room" for our girls this winter. For this space, we wanted something a little more formal but still inviting.
The Meredith Velvet Sofa from The Brick was the piece that set this whole makeover in motion. When I saw it, I fell in love with its gorgeous texture, tufting, and chrome legs. It has a traditional shape, but it's still very comfortable and I've found the velvet very easy to clean so far.
To add to the traditional feel of our living room, I took some inexpensive white curtains and sewed some black grosgrain ribbon on the edges to create some striking drapes. It's an easy DIY that makes an impact!
The deep charcoal colour of the sofa prompted me to continue the DIY board and batten around my entire living room and paint the whole top of my walls this lovely, rich charcoal too (it's called Shades On by Behr). You can find my DIY board and batten tutorial right here. It's a great way to add beautiful detail to your room and it's not too hard to install - I did it all myself! You can see where I have to continue the trim work and paint into the entry, but that's another project for another day!
The new paint prompted a new light fixture installation (thanks, Hubby!) and I love how it really centers the room now.
When we first moved into our home in 2015, I had a sofa + two chairs in this room. I really liked this layout because of all the space and versatility it created. That prompted me to look for the perfect chair pair to coordinate with our new couch.
After quite some thought, I settled on this gorgeous duo - the Wynn Accent Chairs in Morning Dew from The Brick. Even though these chairs are patterned, the pattern is neutral enough to match with a more colourful patterned pillow on my sofa. I also love how this fabric has shades of warm gold and cool grey to tie in all of my warm and cool colours in our living room.
The chairs contrast enough with the sofa because they aren't tufted and they're a different sort of fabric, but their scale and shape mimics the sofa just enough to make them look like a coordinating set. They're so comfy, too!
Because of all the tufting, velvet and pattern in this room, I wanted a couple of accent tables in the space that were rustic and rough to add a different sort of look and texture. I love the combo of rustic and glam! This fabulous coffee table is the Keir Coffee Table from the Scott Living Collection at The Brick. It features a rough, beautifully coloured wood with casters and black metal accents.
It adds the warmth of wood to this room and ties into all the other black & charcoal elements. It's a great size!
I've decorated the coffee table for Fall with a rustic looking galvanized tray I found in store at The Brick, and used some faux peonies and faux boxwood to create a very simple floral arrangement for Fall. Florals and candles are always a great choice for coffee table decor!
This little side table also adds warmth and function. Its the Luda Accent Table in Oak (also from the Scott Living Collection), and its colour and look mimics the coffee table.
It's a lovely size for a coffee cup and a book! I really like its organic shape with all of the more crisp shapes in our living room.
The farmhouse style wood art in our living room is from local artist William Rae Designs, and the black & white shag rug is the Ahmar Rug from The Brick. I had it in my studio, but I also love how it looks here! The pattern helps tie in all of the other black & white elements in the room, and the shag is so comfortable.
I'm so happy with how our living room makeover turned out, and our whole family loves it! It's elegant and glamourous, but still comfortable for everyone.
I'm so grateful for The Brick, my handy husband, and my arsenal of paint and DIY supplies that made this makeover possible.
I can't wait to relax and enjoy this cozy space this Fall & Winter!
Now tell me: What elements are must-haves for a cozy Fall living room in your home?
Watch this video of our rustic glam living room makeover for Fall:
The living room is one of the most important areas in your house for a great hosting experience. It's likely you and your guests will spend countless hours in this room, discussing and entertaining.
Decorating your living room properly will deliver deeply satisfying living for your leisure time. To get there, however, you must pay attention to all of the following areas:
1. the colors that you select
2. material and quality of seats and furniture
3. wall decorations and art
4. lighting and light fixtures
Below we show you some great ideas for decorating your living room.
The Best Colors for Your Living Room
One area that will have a disproportionate impact on the mood of your living room is the color you choose for the walls. While you can install wallpaper to change the look of certain walls, there are areas that wallpaper cannot cover. Getting the wall color right, therefore, gives you the best shot at creating a remarkable effect.
Some of the best color palettes for living rooms include:
1. White - White walls add a touch of class. They are the perfect backdrop for decorating with upscale furniture.
2. Turquoise - This color is great for creating an informal but refined feel. Your kids and family will love the refreshing mood this color creates.
3. Cream - Striking a balance between formal and informal, cream-colored walls create a quiet, soothing effect.
Furniture Choices
With your wall color selection made, you should select furniture that pairs well with the colors you've already chosen. For example, combining white couches with white walls will create resonance in your room design.
Make sure to provide ample seating to avoid crowding. Add multiple sofas, easy chairs and other seats that can accommodate a complete roomful of people, depending on the size of the room.
Furniture like TV stands and tables should generally blend in with the colors of the room and ceiling. There are some natural materials, however, that can work regardless of the colors on the walls. For example, wooden table surfaces look good whether your walls are white, blue or another color.
Lighting Ideas
You can greatly improve the aesthetics of a living room with bright lighting and impressive light fixtures.
To start, you can consider a beautiful chandelier in the center to provide light around the whole room. This central masterpiece ensures adequate lighting throughout the living room while adding an air of elegance.
You can then add to the light sources in the living room with individual lights on tables and around the walls in areas where people will not knock them down.
Carpeting
Consider adding carpeting to your living room to create a comfortable walking area. Carpeting lets you and your guests go barefoot if you choose. The living room almost demands this since you will want to take off your shoes and kick back on occasion. Warm plush carpets provide a good, comfortable surface for this. There are many choices when it comes to carpet size.
If your living room is very large, you can opt for wall-to-wall carpeting. On the other hand, if it's smaller, you can add just an area rug in the place where you will sit. For example, you can have a rug around the sitting and TV area where your kids will play.
The advantage of area rugs over wall to wall carpeting is, mainly, lower costs and ease of replacement. You can completely change the area rug and create a new aesthetic in a fraction of the time it would take to begin installing new wall-to-wall carpeting.
Art Ideas for Your Living Room
Many homeowners like to have some wall art in their living room. If your living room is spacious, it can accommodate a good-sized piece of art mounted alongside one wall. In some instances, you can consider multiple art pieces. Invariably, tasteful art adds to the sophistication of a living room. It adds an interesting item that sparks many conversations from impressed guests.
Selecting art is an opportunity to express your unique personality. If you are fairly conservative, you can select some classical type pieces that portray a quiet life. If you are more adventurous, you can experiment with a post-modern impressionist piece that others might consider risky. It's your space, and so feel free to decorate it to express who you are.
Discover the power of your breath to relieve stress, ease anxiety and calm your mind in a free LIVE and interactive session. About this Event
In the online 'Beyond Breath' intro session you will learn how to use your breath to instantly get rid of stress and manage your emotions - right from your own home.
2020 has been a year of challenges, and yet it has also given us an opportunity to grow and seek inner calm despite the uncertainty surrounding us.
In this 75 min workshop you will get the chance to pause, take a breath and clear your mind with the help of a calming breathing technique and a guided meditation.
How breath helps reduce stress and anxiety
Did you know that breathing techniques can quickly help you to release stress and lower your anxiety?
Breathing techniques improve circulation and blood flow to the brain, and activate our parasympathetic nervous system, which means that our brain gets the message to relax. For example, doing the alternate breathing activates the left and right hemispheres of the brain. When balance is created between the two hemispheres, we feel less stressed and anxious, and more relaxed.
In this free workshop you will already learn a technique that you can practice daily to feel calm, centered and stress-free!
Learn breathing exercises that boost health and immunity
Science is recognizing that proper breathing is essential for health. Targeted breathing exercises can actually boost our immunity and improve our overall health. Learning how to breathe is one factor that reduces our susceptibility to getting sick.
We breathe over 10,000 Litres of air per day, and the more expanded our lung capacity is, the more nutrients our body can absorb. It's important to learn how to do breathing techniques under the proper guidance of a certified facilitator, so that we practice them in the right way to get the full benefit.
Why should I attend the Beyond Breath workshop?
During this free live workshop, you will learn:
✔ About the tendencies of our mind and how to overcome negative patterns using certain breathing techniques
✔ A calming breathing technique to quiet and relax the mind, preparing it for deep meditation
✔ A real experience of meditation to effortlessly cut the vicious cycle of thoughts, leaving your mind focused, clear & stress-free
✔ The power of connecting with positive, like-minded people to feel uplifted and supported
✔ About the benefits of SKY Breath Meditation, a powerful technique that will remove deep-rooted blocks, quiet the mind and lead you into effortless meditation.
97+ studies conducted on four continents have demonstrated a comprehensive range of benefits of practicing SKY Breath Meditation.
SKY Breath Meditation is reported to be a fundamental tool for maintaining and improving mental health by the Harvard Medical School and International Journal of Yoga. This science-backed breath-meditation technique quickly calms anxiety, releases stress, and boosts immunity.
Independent research has shown that SKY Breath Meditation
Reduces cortisol - the stress hormone
Supports the immune system
Increases optimism
Relieves anxiety and depression
Increases antioxidant production
Enhances brain function (increased mental focus, calmness and recovery from stressful stimuli)
Enhances well-being and peace of mind
In this live session, you will be guided step-by-step by your certified Breath & Meditation Trainer.
This is not a recorded webinar; it's an interactive experience where you can ask questions and get clarity on what breathing and meditation is all about. We're here to guide you on this new breathing journey!
We only have limited spots available, as we want to keep these sessions small enough to properly connect with and guide everyone.
Learn more about SKY Breath Meditation in our online workshop 'Beyond Breath'.
Sign up for free!
How to contact an organizer for any questions?
Please contact us at [email protected], [email protected]
Everything's better when you share it with friends. Even the breath!
There are many wonderful things about getting older, but going through the aging process also means you might start experiencing bodily fatigue, achy muscles and joint pain more often than you used to. Because of this, you might have difficulty moving and exercising. But you don't have to let that slow you down. It's vital for older adults to get regular physical activity — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity activity — but what if you want to gently ease into more movement without exacerbating aches and pains?
One way to get started is to practice chair yoga. Chair yoga exercises are a perfect way for you to stretch and get moving, all while you're safely seated in a chair — no need to get down onto the floor. This type of yoga can help loosen your muscles, improve circulation, build strength and even relieve stress. Even better? You can do it any time from the comfort of your own home.
Photo Courtesy: [SilviaJansen/E+/Getty Images]
Chair yoga, or sitting yoga, for seniors is a modified version of traditional hatha yoga to help relieve body aches and stay healthy in a safe and accessible way. Hatha yoga is a form of this type of exercise that's more gentle and more slowly paced with a focus on stretching and breathing. It's ideal for anyone who lives with pain that could make more complex yoga poses difficult, such as chronic pain, osteoporosis and multiple sclerosis. Additionally, chair yoga can also be ideal for people who spend long hours sitting in a chair.
Many seniors find their lives become sedentary with each passing year because movement may become more tiring, uncomfortable or painful. Practicing chair yoga regularly can provide a way to prevent or relieve those issues. It's a low-impact way to get the blood in your body flowing and stretch your muscles.
In terms of equipment, all you need for chair yoga is a stable, armless chair. Make sure the chair is resting on a flat, stable surface and that you're wearing comfortable clothes that allow for a generous range of motion. Chair yoga can also be ideal if you're a wheelchair user.
Benefits of Chair Yoga for Seniors
Photo Courtesy: [RyanJLane/Getty Images]
Getting regular exercise can add years to your life and slow the aging process. However, many types of exercise can become more difficult to perform with age. High-impact exercises like weightlifting, running and other types of intense cardio can be particularly hard on your joints and muscles. Chair yoga provides a way to get your body moving without stressing your joints with hard impacts like running does. Practicing chair yoga for 20-30 minutes per session several times a week can provide significant health benefits.
First of all, it can help manage and reduce pain. One recent study from the Journal of American Geriatrics Society found that chair yoga effectively helped relieve pain associated with osteoarthritis. Furthermore, chair yoga involves stretching the neck, upper back, lower back, shoulders, arms, legs, knees and ankles without much impact on the joints. This not only reduces stiffness, tension and pain, but it can also help to improve mobility in the long run.
Another potential benefit is improved flexibility, which can make it easier to perform regular movements as you go about your everyday routine. Being flexible also can improve muscle coordination and posture and lower the risk of future muscle soreness and injuries. Chair yoga helps improve your strength and balance as well, meaning falls become a lot less likely. Having a strong body also increases your ability to withstand injury.
Chair yoga even has benefits for your mental wellbeing. As with traditional yoga, chair yoga involves a lot of deep breathing, which can help clear your mind similarly to meditation. This often results in reduced stress, a better mood, less anxiety and a calmer state of mind.
Try These Great Chair Yoga Routines
Photo Courtesy: [Fitness With Cindy/YouTube]
There's no need to leave your home, join a gym or go to chair yoga classes at a fitness studio — plenty of outstanding chair yoga routines are available online. Some are written out with pictures, while others are instructional video workouts you can follow along with.
If you're unsure about the idea of following along with a chair yoga video, you can simply make your own routine consisting of exercises sitting in a chair. Here are some great options for all skill levels:
The Forward Bend Pose involves bending over so your chest is resting on your thighs and your hands are reaching towards the floor. If you can, place your palms fully on the floor. To get the most out of this stretch, hold for 30 seconds or more, taking slow, long, deep breaths.
The Chair Pigeon Pose is another great chair yoga stretch. Sitting up straight with your knees aligned above your ankles, bring your left ankle to your right thigh. If you can, try bending forward as low as possible to make the stretch more intense. Hold here for several deep breaths before doing the same pose with the opposite leg.
For the Chair Spinal Twist, begin by sitting sideways on your chair facing right. Twist your torso to the right while grabbing the back of the chair with both hands to anchor yourself in that position. Stay here for several deep breaths. Then, switch to the left side.
The simple Overhead Stretch starts with you sitting up straight in your chair, facing forward with your arms relaxed and hanging by your sides. As you take a deep breath in, slowly begin to raise your arms up towards the ceiling. Once they're fully extended upward, take a moment to engage your core and ensure your back is straight. Hold this position for a few seconds. Let out a long exhale while slowly lowering your arms back down. Repeat this a few more times.
You might find it easier and more convenient to follow an exercise video routine that provides instructions and demonstrates the different positions for you. There are plenty of free chair yoga classes and routines for seniors to choose from. Here are some that come highly recommended:
Chair Yoga for Seniors With Adriene: Adriene is a master of making yoga fun and easy for everyone. In this 17-minute chair yoga video, she guides you through the moves slowly and clearly so that it's easy to follow along and enjoy learning the basics.
Gentle Chair Yoga With Mary Beth Kealy: This gentle, stimulating 41-minute chair yoga practice is great if you want to spend a little bit of extra time stretching. The background of the video incorporates soothing, meditative music to make the experience especially relaxing.
Chair Yoga for Lower Back Pain With Cindy: Cindy walks you through 18 minutes of sitting yoga for seniors. The stretches are specifically designed to ease lower back pain while helping you build strength at the same time.
Bask in the glorious brightness and simplicity of these Scandinavian-style living rooms ideas. Ramp up the relaxation capabilities of your own home with a boost of Scandinavian-style living room.
Thanks for visiting our Scandinavian-Style living room photo gallery where you can many ideas in this iconic style.
Types of the Living Room:Family Rooms | Formal Living Rooms | Great Rooms | Libraries | Sunrooms | Bars | Man Caves | Game Rooms | Home Theaters
An open living area with an oval dining table and fabric seats in gray and brown hues. A large distressed rug helps define the living space from the kitchen and dining.
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Source: The House Designers
This is a gorgeous living room with exposed beams on its light beige ceiling that is illuminated by the tall windows. This also brightens up the white textured pillar of the fireplace and the TV across from the gray sofa set on the large gray patterned area rug.
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Source: Redfin
The worn area rug in front of the modern fireplace works well with the brightness of this Scandinavian-Style living room. This same effect is applied to the wall-mounted artwork at the top of the fireplace. The potted tree behind the comfortable sofa is a nice contrast against the tall windows.
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Source: Redfin
The sliding glass doors that have a dark iron frame and slide are paired nicely with the coffee table and the legs of the white sofa. The two brown single sofa chairs stand out against the white ceiling and light-hued area rug over the hardwood flooring.
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Source: Redfin
The beige carpeted flooring works to contradict the dark gray sofa against the white wall. This gray sofa is accented with a small modern side table and a couple of wall-mounted artworks above it. The brightness of the room is dues to the natural light coming from the sliding glass doors and sunroof at the white shed ceiling.
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Source: Redfin
This is a simple and boxy type of Scandinavian-Style living room with white ceiling and white walls that are complemented by a light gray carpeted flooring topped with a gray patterned area rug. Matching sofas are accented with wall-mounted artworks above them.
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Source: Redfin
A peculiar white spherical pendant light hangs from the bright tray ceiling that matches the white walls. This makes the dark wood finish of the fireplace stand out. The leather sofa complements the wooden floor and wooden frames of the windows and entryway.
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Source: Redfin
There is a delicate balance of gray and white hues in this Scandinavian-Style living room with its white tray ceiling, white walls and white windows paired with gray patterned area rugs and gray sofa. There is a peculiar artwork mounted over the fireplace that has a dark iron grate.
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Source: Redfin
The beige L-shaped sofa frames the living room area quite nicely. Together with two wooden armchairs with hammock seats and the white fireplace, they surround the modern white square coffee table over a light-hued area rug.
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Source: Redfin
The pastel colors of the wall-mounted artworks play well with the light blue and purple colors of the sofa and cushioned armchairs surrounding the white square coffee table. The fireplace is built into a marble housing that matches the floor and complements the white ceiling with exposed beams.
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Designed by: Burnazzi Feltrin Architetti
This is an open-style Scandinavian-Style living room that also features the kitchen in one big room with hardwood flooring paired with a white ceiling. There is a fireplace in the middle to provide warmth for those lounging on the comfortable gray sofa. There is also a nice reading area by the glass windows.
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Designed by: Burnazzi Feltrin Architetti
This simple and wide living room has a white cathedral ceiling with exposed wooden beams. These beams are connected to the hardwood flooring through a large wooden structure that has built-in shelves. This is then attached to the white modern fireplace in the middle of the room.
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Designed by: Pelletier de Fontenay
This Scandinavian-Style living room shares the white high-ceiling room with the dining area, separated by a lovely wooden console table located at the back of the L-shaped gray sofa. This sofa is facing a simple dark iron fireplace against a white wall.
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Designed by: Luc Plante, architecture + design inc
This living room has an abundance of natural light from the glass windows that illuminate the redwood flooring topped with a colorful patterned area rug. A nice leather armchair with a footstool serves as a reading area next to the warmth of the fireplace that is embedded with dark stone and metal.
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Designed by: Kolman Boye Architects
The massive glass windows are a nice complement to the high shed ceiling of this Scandinavian-Style living room. The emphasis of this room is the amazing mountain views that the windows present. To complement that, two comfortable wooden chairs are faced towards it.
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Designed by: atelier BOOM-TOWN
The centerpiece of this Scandinavian-Style living room is the massive floor-to-ceiling window that brightens the whole room with abundant amounts of natural light paired with an amazing view of nature. The plain white walls are a nice background for the gray L-shaped sofa and the small dark iron fireplace.
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Designed by: InArch
This living room has an airy quality to it due to the bright wide windows paired with a wide light gray tray ceiling. This hue is mirrored on the gray sofa and the woven area rug on the hardwood flooring. The yellow leather armchair stands out against the bright curtained windows.
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Designed by: InArch
A nice sea green cushioned armchair and it's matching footstool stand out against the neutral colors of the rest of the Scandinavian-Style living room. The wooden round coffee table by the L-shaped sofa matches the hardwood flooring that extends to the wall where the TV is mounted.
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Designed by: pS Arkitektur
This quaint corner has bare wooden walls paired with tall windows that allow you to admire the patterns of the wooden walls. Each window has a built-in foldable white shelf. There is a couple of woven wicker butterfly chairs paired with a modern side table and a standing lamp.
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Designed by: la SHED Architecture
This Scandinavian-Style living room has white walls and a white ceiling paired with white two-seater sofas flanking a white coffee table. The stark brightness of the room is counterbalanced by a blue-striped area rug and a modern fireplace with its stockpile of firewood.
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Designed by: Aketuri Architektai
This is a simple and functional living room with its L-shaped comfortable gray sofa facing a small detached dark iron fireplace. The hardwood flooring is paired with multiple glass windows and sliding doors. This gives the bare white walls an accent of abundant views of the serene scene outside.
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Designed by: ALLARTSDESIGN
This small Scandinavian-Style living room is separated from the bedroom with a glass wall that creates a cove for the L-shaped gray sofa. Above this sofa is built-in wooden shelving that houses several decors and books. The multi-colored patterned area rug stands out against the white floor and white ceiling.
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Designed by: ARRCC
This a spacious living room that has glass doors that open to the outside. This is a visual primarypiece with its tray ceiling with wooden elements and the amazing visual illusion of the wooden finish behind the massive U-shaped gray sofa.
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Designed by: Maurizio Giovannoni
This Scandinavian-Style living room matches its simple and functional design with an explosion of colors that bring life and vibrancy to the white ceiling and hardwood flooring. The beautiful wall mural of nature pairs well with the avocado sofa and brown cushioned armchair.
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Designed by: Maurizio Giovannoni
This living room has two distinct walls that contrast each other. One is mustard yellow with a simple depiction of a potted cactus plant and a built-in bookshelf. The other is filled with vintage images of the classic blues era album covers paired with a bluish sofa.
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Designed by: Rover Building Company
This Scandinavian-style design maximizes the limited floor space with a gray sofa against a glass wall that separates the living room from the bedroom. A sense of vibrancy is provided by the colorful patterned area rug over the hardwood flooring.
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Designed by: Mudrogelenko
The white L-shaped sofa has an inviting comfortable aura to it contrasted by the intricate wallpaper design of the wall behind the sofa. This intricate design is mirrored on the colorful patterned area rug that is reminiscent of the inside of citrus fruit.
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Designed by: PplusP Designers
The simplicity of the sofas, rocking chair, and low wooden tables has a rustic quality to it that fits well with the hardwood flooring, high white ceiling, and the textured wall behind the TV. These are all given a brightness by the abundant natural light coming in from the sliding glass doors.
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Designed by: SNCE Studio
This Scandinavian-Style living room has an L-shaped gray sofa that occupies most of the space. To maximize the remaining floor space, The TV is mounted on the white wall above a long and narrow built-in cabinet across the small round coffee table.
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Spacious Scandinavian-Style formal living room featuring a white sofa set and an area rug, along with stylish wall decors and track ceiling lights.
Scandinavian-Style formal living room featuring a cozy sofa set and carpet flooring topped by an area rug. There's a TV in front of the living set as well.
A Scandinavian-Style great room featuring white walls, tall vaulted ceiling with a single exposed beam, and hardwood flooring. The living set and the dining table set look stylish as well.
A close up look at this Scandinavian-style living room's center table set on the tiles flooring. The living space also features a white couch matching the white piano.
A Scandinavian-Style living room featuring a white sofa set and a glass top, white-framed center table set on the area rug covering the hardwood flooring.
White Scandinavian-Style living room with a tall ceiling and a classy sofa set. The dining table set is situated behind the living space.
Spacious Scandinavian-Style living room featuring white flooring and a white ceiling with a large skylight in the middle. The room features a cozy sofa set and a fireplace, together with a widescreen TV on the wall.
A close up look at this Scandinavian-style living room's sofa set with stylish center tables on top of the rug covering the hardwood flooring.
Scandinavian-Style living room featuring a modish and elegant-looking sofa set with center and side tables lighted by a pendant lighting.
Medium-sized living room in Scandinavian-Style, featuring white couches and a fireplace in the corner.
Large Scandinavian-Style formal living room featuring herringbone-style hardwood flooring, white walls, and a white regular ceiling. The room also features a white sofa set.
This formal living room in Scandinavian style features a stylish seat and a fireplace, along with dark hardwood flooring topped by an area rug.
A Scandinavian-Style living room featuring multiple shelves and a fireplace with a classy seat on the side. There's also a sunroom bench seating. The room is lighted by a gorgeous chandelier.
Spacious Scandinavian-Style living room featuring stylish herringbone-style hardwood flooring along with orange walls and a white ceiling. The cozy sofa set is situated near the glass windows.
This Scandinavian-Style living room offers a nice white couch set on the stylish hardwood flooring and is surrounded by handsome gray walls.
White Scandinavian-Style living room featuring a bench seating, along with a small round table set lighted by a pendant lighting. The room also has built-in shelving.
Large Scandinavian-Style formal living room boasting yellow-accent sofa set and a stylish rug covering the hardwood flooring. The room is surrounded by white walls and ceiling lighted by fancy ceiling lighting.
A classy Scandinavian-Style living space with elegant seats and bookshelves, along with classical windows and hardwood floors.
Medium-sized Scandinavian-Style living room with comfy seats set on the gray flooring topped by an area rug.
Large Scandinavian-Style living room with multiple comfy seats set on the room's classy carpet flooring. The room also boasts a stunning tray ceiling along with a fireplace and glass windows.
Your family tree doesn't need to have strong Scandinavian roots to appreciate the Scandinavian style. If you're looking for a minimalist look, you are probably drawn to Scandinavian living room design ideas.
Out of the 916,645, living rooms and 18 styles analyzed, 1.87 percent (or 17,152) have a Scandinavian design.
A Closer Look At Scandinavian Design
If you're not familiar with Scandinavian design, you may assume that it all centers around the traditional red Dala Horse. While the Dala horse may still be used for inspiration in modern Scandinavian design, Scandinavian style is a combination of modern design and borrowing traditional features and elements.
Traditionally, a Scandinavian style focused on bright colors, efficiency, and space-saving solutions. To combat the long hours of winter darkness, bright colors, white walls, and light-colored woods are some common elements of Scandinavian style.
Although the style may be described as "stark" by some, Scandinavian style is intended to create warmth and comfort in the winter months and all year long. Another essential element of the Scandinavian design is a balance. Even if you have many elements that aren't matching (such as mismatched lamps), they should create a balance throughout the room.
As you browse our Scandinavian Style Gallery for living room design ideas, you may notice that there are Rustic and Modern design elements in Scandinavian style.
Simple Furniture
Even if you don't consider your living room to have a Scandinavian design, there's a good chance you have a piece of furniture from IKEA. While Scandinavian style can be eclectic at times, it's also functional, comfortable, and simple in its design.
A Pop of Color
When you take a look at the Scandinavian design, you will notice that white walls and even white furniture are not uncommon. Despite all the brightness, you can expect to see the use of bright colors; this provides "emotional warmth."
Whether you paint one wall poppy red or have a chair upholstered in classic Nordic blue, you can use as little or as much color as you want in your living room.
Creating a Tech-Free Space
Similar to other living room styles, like Rustic, the Scandinavian design focuses on quiet and tech-free spaces. Rather than showcasing a flat-screen TV, there's a cozy reading nook by a wood stove and a shelf full of books.
Ideally, your Scandinavian living room should be a place of comfort, warmth, and happiness. Your living room should be comfortable for one person to enjoy or a welcoming to a whole group of people.
Scandinavian Living Rooms
The Scandinavian interior design focuses on spaces that allow you to breathe. Spaces that are comfortable, but most importantly, orderly, clean, and peaceful. When aiming to shift your decorating skills into the Scandinavian design direction there are some very important aspects you will want to focus on.
While you don't need to follow a textbook definition of what Scandinavian design should be, you can take these elements and incorporate them in ways that will enhance the space you already have. While it's not realistic to completely revamp your home overnight, it's much more reasonable to incorporate new ideas into space and make them work for you.
In this guide, we'll walk you through everything that you need to know when it comes to the key factors of Scandinavian interior design. We'll be able to show you exactly how to integrate these elements into your home environment without them overpowering your own personal style.
You would be surprised at how easy it really is to embrace the design of this simplistic and modern lifestyle. Let us know how you feel about this design and if you would want to make this aesthetic a focal point in your living space, we'd love to know.
Lighting & Warmth
In Scandinavian design, light is a key focal point that should be highlighted as much as possible. Lighting, natural and design-centered lamps of all kinds, are a focal point in many interiors that center on Scandinavian design. It is the element of any interior that completely shift the mood of the space in an instant.
From floor lamps to pendants, chandeliers, and other modern and innovative sources of light. Usually, the Scandinavian design focuses more on industrial lamp designs, so adding an interesting forged lamp in your living space will really create a drastic change that works with mood and function. Keep in mind that you should also focus on bringing some sort of warm glow into space, such as candlelight.
Be sure to check out these savings on your next lighting purchase. "Below you can check out discounted lights for 2017 of all kinds including ceiling lights, chandeliers, pendants, floor lamps, table lamps, wall sconces, landscape, track, recessed, flush mount lighting and more."
Natural Materials
Natural materials are a must if you're looking to bring in a fresh Scandinavian design into your lifestyle. Bringing natural wood and metal finishes into your space, just enough to stand out, you'll bring in an aspect that is unexpected and will seriously make your space look more cozy and expensive.
Focus on what you already have, don't go out of your way to buy cheap faux wood pieces that will downgrade your space. Embrace exposed brick, appliance finishes, and wood floors. Make them shine by decluttering and allowing the focus on the room to be on them. Take those natural finishes and spread them throughout the space in small ways.
If you want to look for some inspiration when it comes to wood floors, we've got you covered. In this list, there are 22 living spaces that embrace light wood flooring (which is also a design element to include in this interior design space). This is possibly one of the most important aspects to include in your Scandinavian living space.
"Our gallery features many beautiful homes who have chosen light-colored hardwood flooring for their living rooms. Each room has its own personality that is aided by the charm of the hardwood flooring that lines it."
Form & Function
Don't add something to your space unless it adds some kind of practicality or function. This way you'll be able to de-clutter without any hassle and you'll have an open space that will be able to keep your mind at peace.
If you're having trouble with getting rid of the things you have to lead to a more open and airy space, try finding a clean and modern wall storage system that not only will help you clean up space, but it will also add another function that is very present in the Scandinavian design. Whether you choose to opt for a wall unit or storage space under furniture, It's up to you to find how this added dynamic will impact your lifestyle.
From Decorilla, they go on to explain just how important form and function really is: "In terms of furniture, clean lines are it. Sofas, tables, and chairs embrace mid-century modern tendencies with smooth rounded edges and natural hues. The Scandinavian design also prides itself on innovative and functional design when decorating interiors.
A trend towards multileveled and sized wall shelving speaks to the need for being space-savvy through practical storage and visual interest." If you'd love to know more about how this design differs from others, check out our latest article on different aesthetics and design for your budget.
You might even find a perfect direction for inspiration in the organization of your office space in smaller spaces, this will be able to help find some storage solutions you're excited about.
Light Flooring
Keep your space even more spacious with light flooring. When you stick to light wood, gray, or white, you'll give the illusion that space is more open than it actually is. This will give even the smallest spaces a more bright and welcoming feel.
Heading back to Decorilla we love their commentary on light flooring and how it plays a huge role in the Scandinavian design, "Wall-to-wall carpeting does not happen in Scandinavian design.
Flooring traditionally is hard-wood, often left in its natural color or painted white. This contributes to expanding the space and inviting in more light. Residential bathrooms often have heated tiles for a warm underfoot during the winter season." This lack of color will create a space that seems midcentury modern and industrial, all coming together to create an open fresh Scandinavian design.
If you want to learn more when it comes to incorporating lighter hues into space, check out this guide aimed to incorporate gray into space with ease.
Open Space
Space is one of the most important aspects of Scandinavian design. Keep your space, open, light, and free of clutter, by doing this you'll already have a head start when it comes to turning your space into this new direction.
Whether you need to get a wall storage unit or a bucket of paint, you can easily make small changes that will make a huge impact in any size space you currently have. By making this change your space will come together and look absolutely amazing even without any other changes.
By making any of these changes you'll be headed in the right direction of this new style choice. You will feel much better knowing that your space has a sense of direction towards Scandinavian design because it breeds productivity and healthy lifestyles with its form and function attitude. Keep your mind open just like you would keep your living space open and you'll notice a difference right away.
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