How to decorate a living room

You might spend a third of your life in your bedroom, but much of your ‘down time’ is spent in the living room. It’s the family room, it’s where you entertain guests, chill out, relax, watch films and generally have fun. It’s important to make sure your living room design is in keeping with your own personal style, but that it also fits in with the ‘flow’ of the rest of the house too. 

Living room décor ideas range from sublime minimalist to traditional farmhouse, cosy cottage to ultra-modern and high tech. what we can’t do is tell you how you should design your favourite space. But we can provide you with some living room interior design ideas to help you make the most of the space you have.

How to decorate a small living room

Size matters, so if your living room is more on the ‘bijou’ side, the trick is to maximise every inch of space that you do have.  Keeping clutter to a minimum is important, so try to incorporate smart storage and display ideas into your living room furniture, such as ottomans and floating shelves. 
Small living room design is all about illusion and illumination, so incorporate mirrors into your design to reflect light back into the room. If you position your mirrors opposite doors or windows then you’ll create the illusion that the room is much larger than it actually is.
Furniture can also be multi-functional, such as sofa beds and nesting tables that can be used or stored as necessary.

Personal touches

Practicality is important, but so is individuality, so make sure you leave room in your living room décor for those little personal touches. Pictures are part of all our lives, so why not create a story by grouping several photographs together, perhaps documenting your key life events such as your first holiday together, your wedding and your growing family? Use frames that go together to create a collage effect that doesn’t take up any room, but fills your space with personality.

Your own character and personality should always shine through in your living room design ideas, so if you’re a gamer then don’t hide your hobby away in a corner – make it a part of your look with furniture that allows you to make a feature of your consoles or displays your collection of games with pride! If you love ornaments but don’t want to fill up the living room footprint with dressers and display cabinets, think about using floating shelves instead, or make use of an alcove to create a bespoke display area.

Decoration - keep it neutral or add pops of colour?

If you want to keep your walls relatively neutral in tone but still want some warmth and colour in a living room, you have two main options. Either use your furniture to add the colour and texture to the room, or go for a ‘feature wall’ that uses boldly patterned wallpaper or a striking colour combination to give your living room that wow factor. 

The modern living room is a canvas for ideas and décor touches that can be as bold or as subtle as you want them to be. Add key pieces to create a focal point such as a striking piece of sculpture or a piece of wall art that really grabs attention, or fill your living room with memories from graduation day to precious holiday moments and cute selfies displayed in smart, on-trend frames. The choice is yours, but whatever you do, make the most of your living room space, and make it yours!