As one of the most-used spaces in your home, your living room needs to not only look gorgeous, but it should also be comfortable, highly functional, and super-organised. And whether your home is compact or spacious, traditional or modern, you’ll need to make your living room a standout, swoon-worthy space. After all, its the room that gives the first impression of your home to your guests—and as they say, you’ll never get a second chance to make a first impression!
A tall order indeed, and as such, decorating your living room poses quite a challenge. Here’s our curated collection of living room setup ideas, designs and tips to give you some décor inspo!
Create an Accent Wall
No matter what your decorating style is, an accent wall is always a great idea in any living room. Choose one wall that can be your central point of interest, and give it some extra attention. You could choose to paint it a unique colour, as this home owner has done, or play around with textures, murals or geometrics. Whatever takes your fancy!
Set Up a Poster Gallery
A gallery wall is another great way to grab eyeballs and enhance the look of a too-bare wall. Bring out your collection of vintage posters, crazy art, collage craftwork or much-loved prints. Mix and match them on one entire wall and don’t be afraid to go over-the-top with colours and styles.
Upgrade the Ceiling
For a really special touch, consider decorating the ceiling—your fifth wall! Whether it’s a fancy dropped POP slab, rustic wooden beams, wallpaper on the ceiling or a coffered slab arrangement, make sure that your ceiling draws as much attention as the walls.
Go Green!
Indoor plants are one of the easiest and quickest ways to enhance the look of any space. Go green with large Monstera ferns, pretty potted palms or lush hanging creepers in every nook and corner of your living room setup. You could even consider installing a vertical garden all along one wall, for a totally unique look.
Create Sustainable Style
Sustainability is trending these days, and for all the right reasons! You could choose to follow the eco-friendly route and incorporate rattan, wicker and jute in your living room. Look for anything that’s raw and edgy, and retains its natural look and sheen. This lovely living room gets it just right, with lovely rattan lamps, cane and bamboo pouffes and seating, and a medley of organic handloom cushions.
Buy a Statement Rug
No living room setup is ever complete without some eye-catching carpets and statement rugs. Opt for something that’s not run-of-the-bill, and adds a lot of texture, colour of pattern to the room. We know a lot of designers who actually start with the floor coverings, and build up the colours and designs in the room based on the rugs!
Mix and Match Styles
If you’re thinking that you’ll have to choose a décor theme or colour palette and stick to it all the way, then think again. An eclectic theme is one that is all about experimentation and freedom, and allows you to mix and match furniture and furnishings from different periods, styles and cultures. Connect them all together with an underlying thread that creates harmony—it could be the colours, perhaps, or the fabrics in the room that work to create cohesion.
Try an Industrial Touch
The industrial, minimalistic look is in. If you’d like to try it, then exposed concrete walls and ceilings and bare, stripped-down floors and windows should be your décor elements of choice. In this living room setup, the pairing of seemingly unfinished elements with the polished leather sofas creates a lovely contrast.
Go Big with the Artwork
It’s amazing how, sometimes, just a single large piece of art can make such a stunning statement in the room. To complete your living room setup, choose a large, dramatic black and white print, or an original painting by a painter who is as yet unknown, but whose work captures your heart. Larger-than-life art can be all it takes to elevate your living room décor to the next level.
Pile on the Comfort
Living room couches must never be anything but comfy! Pile on the hygge element with a bunch of fleecy soft cushions in different styles and sizes. We love the way this homeowner has picked out variously textured cushions to go with the colours from the painting on the wall.
Add a Touch of Luxe
Playing around with textures can create the most interesting visuals. In this striking living room setup, velvet upholstery in deep jewelled tones on the seating creates a stunning impact. To create contrast, one of the sofas is done up in a modern chevron print in black and white; a very special touch that adds intrigue and interest.
Conclusion
There’s no doubt about it —working to create the perfect living room setup is always exciting! Putting together colours that you love, choosing furniture and furnishings that combine beauty with functionality, and investing in artwork that blends it all together is a lovely experience—but also one that requires a lot of care and thought.
Loving it, or finding it overwhelming? You know that the HomeLane experts are always at hand to help you with your living room designs! We’re just a call away, so let’s catch up over a cup of chai and work toward creating the home décor of your dreams.
FAQs
1. How can you create the perfect living room setup?
No two living rooms are the same, and it’s never possible to create a cookie cutter design for a living room. Your living room must be uniquely you, and it should speak to your personality and your lifestyle.
Here are the steps to follow to create the perfect living room setup!
- Decide what your living room will be used for. Will it be primarily to receive guests, or will it be your go-to family place for TV watching, homework and work-from-home evenings?
- Pick a colour palette and a décor theme. Minimalistic, traditional or rustic? Neutral pastels, or eye-popping vibrancy? Keep this in mind when picking out elements for the room.
- Next, decide on the ceiling design and lighting patterns. You will need to get a nice mix of ambient lights for general lighting, accent lights to highlight interesting areas and task lights for specific tasks like a reading corner or conversation nook.
- Decide on a focal point for the room. It could be a gallery wall, a large painting, or just a very interesting chair. Your living room setup should be designed around this element, keeping it as the main focus.
- Create a central conversation area, and add one or two smaller seating nooks. Your sofas need not be grouped next to the wall, but can be drawn toward the middle of the room (provided space permits).
- What kind of couches and chairs would you like? Choose a centre table and side tables as well. The level of comfort needed will depend on your usage. Pile on the cushions and add a throw or two, for a cozy touch.
- Define the seating areas with area rugs or smaller dhurries. Add curtains or blinds at the windows.
- If your living room setup should also include a TV, then decide on the size of the TV set, audio systems and additional electronics needed for an enjoyable movie night experience.
- Are any of the walls looking bare? Consider grouping together eclectic posters, biophilic prints or family photographs to create a stunning gallery wall.
- You can even personalise your living room setup further by displaying your hobby on the walls. Is painting your thing, or do you collect straw hats of all shapes and sizes? Put them up for the world to see and marvel at.
- Your living room setup is never complete without the right accessories to tie it all together! Artwork on the walls, bookshelves, mirrors, and green plants will add an extra dimension to your room and complete the look.
2. How do you plan a room layout?
Whether you’re upgrading an existing room or doing up a brand-new house, the first step is always to start with a clean slate. Take measurements of the room to the nearest centimetre (or inch, if you’re more comfortable with that measure). Mark the positions of doors and windows.
Next, measure the furniture you will be putting into the room. Sketch out a plan and see how well the furniture fits. Use a rough-and-ready scale, with approximate sizing. There are plenty of online planning resources that are well suited for use by novices.
Keeping practicality in mind, map out the main areas in the room by function. These could be conversation areas, TV viewing area, and a reading nook.
Figure out the main traffic flow in the room, and leave at least a 3 foot clear walking path between doors that are entry points and exits.
Position the larger pieces of furniture first, and then add on the smaller elements in the room. Make sure that your room is not cluttered too much. Empty space is very important as it draws attention to the main elements that you want everyone to focus on.
Once you’ve positioned the main pieces of furniture, you can figure out where storage units, bookshelves, side tables, and accessories will go.
Make sure that all the elements in the room are well balanced, and there is a cohesive flow of form and function within the room.
