9 Luminous Living Room Ideas for Every Lifestyle
From layered and cozy to airy and calm to bringing the outdoors in, these designer-approved spaces provide the perfect place to relax, refresh, and unwind.
These days, the living room has a lot of responsibilities — it’s the hub of family life, a place to rest and recharge, a space for entertaining and connection. Whether you’re settling into a new address or contemplating a major makeover, you’ll love these tips on how to refresh the heart of your home.
First things first: start by surveying the scene. A lovely view, classic architectural details or unusual proportions are the sort of focal points that make a living room memorable. Once you have a solid sense of what you’re working with, begin building out the basics: comfortable seating, a cozy rug underfoot and a spot to set your drink. As you work out the floor plan, consider rhythm and flow, drawing inspiration from the ways you envision the room being used, both day-to-day and for special occasions. Next, add personality with art and textiles that help to tell the room’s story and establish its context within the home. And of course, no living room is complete without a perfectly layered lighting scheme to elevate the interior furnishings, bridge the gap between form and function, set the mood and delight the eye. From traditional chandeliers and outdoor-inspired lanterns to sleek Art Deco pendants and pairs of stately floor lamps, the boundless possibilities of the living room make it a perfect place to play.
Here, we’re sharing our nine favorite designer-approved living spaces – read on to see how these masterful rooms use The Home Magzine. lighting to enhance the look.
Read The Room
Often, the architectural features of a space dictate what goes where … and why. In this serene living room designed by Marie Flanigan Interiors, deep window bays and a striking fireplace direct a traditional floorplan, while the clean and classic lines of the Rigby Grande Chandelier continue the point of view.
Act Natural
When proportions skew grand, walk it back to a more approachable place by layering natural tones and textures. In this living room designed by Erin Fetherston, soaring ceilings are tempered by linen window treatments, rattan swivel chairs, a wooden coffee table, and layered Moroccan wool and seagrass rugs, while a French-inspired mirror and our Mill Large Globe Lantern keep the whole room on its axis.
Don't Forget to Look Up
When proportions allow, playing with scale can spark major joy. In this living room designed by Zoe Feldman, stripes lend a tented look to a vaulted ceiling – the perfect topper for a fun mix of rattan, upholstery, and antiques below. A marble coffee table and fluted mantel offer a dash of modernity, and our Elsinore Medium Hanging Lantern nods to the window trim and verdant views.
Make a Singular Statement
Sure, there’s great poetry in symmetry, but sometimes a room tells a story all on its own. In this contemporary living space designed by Phillip Thomas Inc, an abstract rug meets a moody marble fireplace, a generous chair is pared back by a leggy side table and a single Beaumont Medium Tail Sconce picks up on burnt orange accents in the art and pillows.
Bring the Outdoors In
An answer to the eternal question of whether to stay in or go out – how about both? Colossal accordion doors add a graphic punch when closed, then fold back to extend the footprint of this lush living room designed by Mark Williams and Niki Papadopoulos. Inside, a floor-to-ceiling plaster fireplace contemporizes a sea of cozy touches, from a chocolate velvet sofa to packed bookshelves to a pair of Graves Articulating Floor Lamps.
Think Outside the Box
Lean into strong and irregular features –that’s usually where the magic happens! Designed by Lucinda Loya Interiors, a tone-on-tone maximalism calms this living room’s dark beams and stacked windows, from the geometric rug, a textural wall treatment, and a towering artwork to a pair of bronze Phoebe Stacked Table Lamps and a Marais Large Chandelier overhead. Taken as a whole, it works … even the dogs agree.
It All Comes Down to Composition
In open-plan living rooms, decide what gets to be the star. In this masterfully composed space designed by Neal Beckstedt, plummy tones in the artwork determine the room’s palette, a Darlana Extra Large Lantern and low-slung furniture plays up the high ceilings, and restful white walls know better than to compete.
Keep It Light
The ultimate power move: confine the palette to one color and let shape and texture sing instead. In this cool and collected living space designed by Kristen Nix, creamy tones belie the sophisticated chic of a formal fireside seating arrangement, and planked walls offer a humble contrast to the glamor of lucite side tables and a pair of Brooks Table Lamps.
Strike a Fine Balance
Symmetry helps a seating plan find its footing and brings familiarity to modern spaces. In this living room designed by Pamela Harvey, a coved plank ceiling is grounded by a symphony of matched sofas, armchairs and artwork — and a perfectly situated pair of Swing Articulating Floor Lamps.
Across every aesthetic, the living room is the perfect place to articulate your personal style and your home’s point of view. As always, we learn by looking – explore our living room gallery here.
Lighting is a crucial element in designing a cozy and welcoming living room. It not only brightens up the area but also establishes the atmosphere and boosts the overall ambiance. To successfully light up your living room, multiple factors need consideration. A combination of various lighting types such as ambient, task, and accent lighting is crucial, each fulfilling a distinct role. Ambient lighting offers overall brightness, task lighting is focused on definite areas, and accent lighting emphasizes specific features or objects. Aspects like the kind of bulbs, arrangement of light fixtures, and utilization of dimmers are significant to effectively light a living room and to generate the desired mood and enhance the comprehensive aesthetic appeal. Lighting furniture from above can enhance its visual attraction, although the light source’s position is vital to prevent discomfort or glare for those occupying the furniture. Recessed downlights provide a flexible lighting solution since they can be used to brighten and underline particular objects or areas, inducing a feeling of depth and dimension while providing targeted lighting. Linear LED lighting is a multifunctional and productive way to highlight architectural details, offering versatility, a plethora of color choices, energy conservation, increased lifespan, precise and uniform lighting, and ease of control and dimming, making it a highly usable and practical option for architectural lighting.
The Home Magzine provides the proficiency of our architectural lighting design experts, who have extensive knowledge and experience in formulating the perfect living room lighting solution. Book a free consultation today to let our experts assist you in choosing all-encompassing lighting solutions to bring your dream home to life.