How to Decorate a Living Room

Once you have your furniture picked out, play around with different layouts. Ideally, the arrangement should encourage conversation and interaction among friends and family. With this in mind, you might position each piece around a living room focal point such as a coffee table, a fireplace or a large window with a stellar view.

Need some inspiration for your table space? Our article has plenty of ideas on How to Decorate a Coffee Table.

Opt for Versatile, Moveable Pieces

Next, you'll choose a few furniture accents. Aside from a coffee table and chairs, you might select nesting tables, small stools, floor poufs, large baskets or a wooden bench. These pieces are all relatively small and lightweight, so you can move them around your living room as needed, like when you're serving drinks or hosting a game night.

Find more ideas in these blogs:

• Side Table Decor Ideas

• 23 Basket Decor and Storage Ideas

• How to Style Your Home With an Indoor Bench

Use Wood and Other Natural Materials

Natural materials are a pillar of feng shui. They're thought to bring positive energy to a space and enhance chi to promote vitality and a state of balance. Think wood, rattan, wicker, jute, stone and earth-sourced fabrics such as linen, wool and cotton.

Our article offers a deeper dive into the principles, with more Feng Shui Interior Design Ideas to explore.

Ground the Space With a Rug

An area rug is a critical component of every living room — yep, even if you have carpeted floors. It anchors the room’s layout, defines seating areas and helps make things look all-around cohesive. 

Braided jute is an excellent choice, especially if you're looking to add natural materials to your space. Then there's wool, cotton blends and everything in between.

What Is a Jute Rug? Find out in our blog, then explore The Best Rugs for Every Room.

Incorporate Texture

When deciding how to decorate a living room, that "wow factor" can be found within subtle details. For example, incorporating texture will give the space dimension and warmth while breaking up the monotony of your primary materials. You can add texture with a tufted rug, woven baskets, knitted throw blankets or velvet decorative pillows.

Learn How to Style Throw Pillows Like a Designer in our blog.

Deck the Walls

One of the most important decorating elements is what you put on your walls. Whether you choose traditional framed art, a gallery wall, patterned wallpaper, a mural, floating shelves, hanging plants or mirrors, this is an excellent opportunity to add character while avoiding a cluttered living room.

These blogs provide more insight into how to decorate living room walls:

• 37 Ideas for Decorating a Blank Wall in Your Home

• How to Decorate With Mirrors Across Your Home

Create Ambiance With Lighting

Nailing your lighting situation is vital. Creating a cozy, welcoming atmosphere is all about layered illumination. For instance, you might include dimmable overheads, an arched floor lamp positioned over your furniture arrangement, wall sconces, wireless lamps on the side tables and candles on the mantle.

Here are 27 of the Best Living Room Lighting Ideas to consider.

Don't Forget Curtains

Window coverings are an often overlooked design element. And while it's certainly okay if they're one of the last living room decor items you choose, the selection process shouldn't be taken lightly. The right curtains will provide light filtration, privacy, insulation and an aesthetic touch that ties the space together.

These guides offer tips and ideas for selecting and hanging drapes:

• Best Curtain Colors, Sizes, Materials and Decor Ideas

• Dos and Don'ts of Hanging Curtains

Add Some Greenery

Last but not least, be sure to add some greenery to your gathering space. This will lend to a fresh, organic appeal while incorporating a hint of color into a neutral color scheme.

Wondering how to arrange plants in living rooms? There's really not much to it. You can set indoor trees and other large potted plants on the floor and place smaller foliage on various surfaces throughout.

Check out the Top 16 Indoor Plants for Clean Air in Your Home.

Have Fun

Whether you're designing your living room from scratch or looking for ways to spruce up the space, the process should ultimately be fun. Yes, it can take some time to choose furniture, settle on a layout and curate a personal medley of decorative accents. But try to view it as an enjoyable, creative project.

Our step-by-step guide to Updating Your Living Room has more tips and guidance.

Mix Dark and Light Shades for Contrast

Mixing dark and light shades is a great way to add contrast, balance and a dynamic appeal to your living room decor. The most common example is mixing black and white. Though these are opposites on the color wheel, the two hues by no means clash. They work exceptionally well together while entertaining the eye.

Use Tonal Neutrals

A tonal color scheme is essentially monochromatic, meaning it features a single color. But by incorporating varying shades of the hue, you’ll still create plenty of dimension and interest.

For example, your furniture arrangement might include a charcoal sofa, a silvery velvet chair-and-a-half and a faded black leather accent chair. Then you might add dove-grey curtains and a rug woven with grey and white fibers.

If this color palette speaks to you, see our blog on How to Design and Style a Grey Bedroom.

Add a Hint of Color

Don't be afraid to add a pop of color to an otherwise neutral space. You might do this by adding something as simple as a few house plants amid a black and ivory living room. Or you may select a marigold accent chair as part of a brown and beige mid-century furniture arrangement.

Want more inspiration? Explore these 35 Stylish Living Room Color Schemes.