Refined Living Room Ideas to Dress Up Your Gathering Space

Whether you’re craving color, sleekness, or Old World elegance, these expert tips will turn any living room up a notch

The heart of the home may be its coziest spot, but it’s also one of the most challenging to decorate—if you’re scouring for living room ideas, you’ve come to the right place. To inspire your living room makeover (or even just a light living room refresh), we’ve rounded up a selection of elegant AD-featured living spaces, along with some new inspiration shared by designers from coast to coast. From small space ingenuity to sleek modernism, these stunning spots are sure to spark some ideas for your next remodel.

Opt for a statement sofa

Atlanta-based interior designer Laura Jenkins designed this 1920s living room around a pink sofa, which was itself selected to complement the rustic coffee table. “People are afraid to go bold with their sofa but this is a really fun way to add color to your space,” she says. Meanwhile, an eye-catching textile from Aloka Home ties the color palette together.

Aim for warm minimalism

Sometimes minimalist interiors can read as cold and uninviting, but in this sitting room, Cleo Murnane of the LA-based Studio Murnane opted to soften stark Roman clay walls with a warm but tranquil “European hotel” design style—complete with a Pierre Augustin Rose sofa. A custom fireplace carved from Italian viola subverts the traditional white wood frame.

Set aside smaller spaces for gathering

Consider the living room vibe you’re aiming for: Perhaps what you want is not one centralized living space, but several sections that lend themselves to mingling in smaller groups. Eschewing conventional layouts, the team at Chicago interior design firm James Thomas included a sophisticated salon seating area in this home opposite a long banquette lining one wall. AD PRO designer and firm co-founder James Dolenc says it’s “thoughtfully divided into intimate areas that encourage cocktail gatherings and conversation.”

Tap into a theme

New York–based interior designer and AD PRO Directory member Paris Forino crafted this living area around a theme that honors her client’s love of art and music. Take the Lobmeyer chandelier, the same as those featured in the Lincoln Center’s Metropolitan Opera House, or the grand piano and violin on display as tasteful nods to the same creative motif.

Lean into folksy charm

A gallery wall of folk art infuses warmth and color into this family room Jenkins designed, while bold accent chairs and a carved bald eagle sculpture break up the more subdued furniture pieces in the seating area. The result? “A personal, warm, and inviting space large enough for entertaining but intimate enough for family movie nights,” says Jenkins.

Play up contrasts

Variety may be the spice of life, but balance is the key to preventing chaos in your living room decor. When designing this space in an Upper West Side town house, Forino juxtaposed different forms, textures, and furnishings to add some dimension. A bold sculptural chandelier by Apparatus Studio mingles with the prewar details of the fireplace, and soft velvet and mohair upholstery complement the glossy sconces on the walls.

Let your wall art do the talking

If you have lots of art to display, consider setting an elevated scene in your living room with “gallery-like allure,” as James Thomas did in this Beverly Hills home. The firm drew attention to the homeowner’s impressive contemporary art collection with design features like the soft white of the walls, which allows the bold abstract canvas pictured here to pop.

Revel in cozy textures

Since the living room is a space for gathering and relaxation, incorporating soft textures will make it feel that much cozier. In this family area, Forino focused on creating a sense of warmth through color and comfortable elements that would welcome people into the room, from “the deep sofa upholstered in a rusty maroon shade of rich mohair” to the plush shag rug underfoot.

Bathe the room in calming neutrals

Forino designed this living room for adults to mingle, so a sophisticated palette of tasteful neutrals perfectly served the tranquil intended atmosphere. “The color scheme is neutral and monochromatic while keeping the throughline of warm tones,” she explains.

Add colorful accents

In the former living room of Palm Beach, Florida–based designer Caitlin Kah, the color scheme was built around the space’s featured art, with throw pillows and accessories curated specifically to complement the abstract work’s palette. “I implemented a soft top ottoman that’s a great piece to put your feet up on when you have young children,” she says.

Reach into your personal archive

“Given my love of books and magazines, my collections fill the room and bring me great joy,” Jenkins says of her living room. The seating and coffee table, all from different eras, reflect her love for vintage pieces, while elements like the tall conical pendant and area rug lend some warmth to the white walls.

Get historical

Architect Lee Ledbetter renovated a landmark 1963 house in New Orleans to share with his partner, Douglas Meffert. Surrounding the custom-made cocktail table in the living room are a pair of Harvey Probber brass armchairs upholstered in a KnollTextiles fabric, two Louis XVI–style fauteuils in a Holly Hunt leather, a vintage T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings chair in a Zoffany stripe, and a vintage Florence Knoll sofa in a KnollTextiles Ultrasuede. A large mixed-media artwork by Robert Helmer hangs on the brick wall, which is painted in Benjamin Moore’s Decorator’s White.

Weave in unexpected showstoppers

Designer Sara Story restored a Victorian home in Snedens Landing, New York with a sense of whimsy via color and pattern. An artwork by Sterling Ruby and a zebra hide add pizzazz to the living room.

Pick a refined palette

With the help of architect Eric Ryder, designer Brigette Romanek renovated a historic Laurel Canyon home for her family. The living room, which boasts an elegantly muted color scheme, is outfitted with a pair of Marco Zanuso lounge chairs from Eccola, a Blackman Cruz console (left), and a Hans Wegner chaise longue.

Play with mirrors

What appears to be a gilt-framed mirror in Timothy Corrigan’s Paris apartment is actually a window aligned with two mirrors, one in the living room and one in the dining room beyond. Corrigan highlighted the ingenious hall-of-mirrors illusion by installing matching Napoléon III chandeliers in the two rooms. The armchairs and the curtain and sofa fabrics are all from Schumacher’s Timothy Corrigan Collection; the stools are vintage Jansen, and the carpet is a Corrigan design for Patterson Flynn Martin.

Divide with carpets

The heart of the Allegra Hicks’s Naples, Italy, apartment is a long, high-ceilinged room divided into living and dining areas, each anchored by carpets designed by Hicks. The designer also created the Roman shade fabric, the cut velvet on the wood-framed Jindrich Halabala armchairs, and the butterfly specimen table at right.

Add some antiques

Architect Jorge Elias filled his 17,000-square-foot home in the Jardim Europa neighborhood of São Paulo with extraordinary antiques and images. An 18th-century Russian chandelier, vintage velvet sofas, Louis XV fauteuils, a gold-leafed Hand chair by Pedro Friedeberg, and artworks by Serge Poliakoff and Fernand Léger are among the eclectic mix in the living room.

Select statement lighting

The former Manhattan living room of designers Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent features circa-1970 Georges Pelletier ceramic lights above a vintage sofa by Afra and Tobia Scarpa for Cassina, a ’70s Jansen brass cocktail table, and a French steel low table; the vide-poche table in the foreground is a ’50s design by Jacques Adnet, and the windows are dressed with curtains and rods by RH and tassels found at a market in Thailand.

Get into gilded accents

In Pedro Espírito Santo’s frescoed Lisbon salon, an 1860s Orientalist painting is flanked by foil bouquets. The gilt-wood fauteuil is antique and the needlepoint carpet was custom made.

Go monochromatic with your furnishings

The brown and beige furnishings in the Hamptons home of David Kleinberg ground the space while the white of the vaulted ceiling above makes it feel even airier. Two Richard Serra prints flank the doorway, one displayed over a mahogany cabinet by Paul László. The photograph in the hall is by Alejandra Laviada. Twin French Art Deco zebrawood side tables are joined by Art Deco armchairs covered in a Rogers & Goffigon fabric; the upholstery throughout the house was done by Anthony Lawrence-Belfair, the throw is from Homenature, and the raffia rug is by La Manufacture Cogolin.

Design around your view

Seating is arranged to face the windowed wall in the Nashville living room of interior designer Ray Booth and television executive John Shea. Roust, one of their two Siamese cats, strikes a noble pose next to a Minotti chaise longue. A Christophe Delcourt floor lamp and a Robert Lighton side table flank the sofa, also by Minotti; the carpet is by Stephanie Odegard Collection.

Float some shelves

At the Montauk, New York, home of designers Vicente Wolf and Matthew Yee, framed photographs from Wolf’s collection—including images by Louise Dahl-Wolfe, Edward Steichen, and André Kertész—line the shelves above the living room’s sectional sofa, which is upholstered in a Janus et Cie fabric.

Work in a punchy wallpaper

Lorenzo Castillo accented the drawing room of his Spanish retreat with a wallpaper from his collection for Gastón y Daniela; the vintage cabinet-on-chest is by Pierre Lottier. The Castillo-designed armchair at left is clad in a Designers Guild velvet, 1970s patchworks hang above the suede sofa, and the vintage cocktail tables were found at Paris’s Marché Paul Bert.

Go big with artwork

In Holly Hunt’s Chicago apartment, a massive Helen Frankenthaler canvas faces a Louise Nevelson sculptural work across the living room. At center, a Holly Hunt Studio cocktail table topped with a John Chamberlain sculpture joins a Holly Hunt leather sofa cushioned in a Great Plains velvet and a pair of Paul Mathieu chairs upholstered in an Edelman leather; the floor lamps are by Christian Liaigre, the Tristan Auer ottomans are in a Kyle Bunting leather, and the rug is by Christian Astuguevieille. A custom-made Vladimir Kagan sectional sofa in a Great Plains wool nestles in the bay window.

Mix eras with your decor

In AD100 interior designer Muriel Brandolini’s eclectic Manhattan town house, a piece by contemporary artist George Condo is displayed above a midcentury Italian sofa; the cocktail table is by Mattia Bonetti, the vintage light fixture is by Gerrit Rietveld, and the oval portrait is of Muriel’s husband, Count Nuno Brandolini, as a child.

Frequently asked questions

How should people approach designing a living room?

To avoid decision fatigue in figuring out the living room ideas that work for you, Jenkins offers her best advice: “Start with one decision first and build around that.” That could mean using a colorful sofa or piece of art as your design jumping off point, or making more practical calls around lighting. “If there is beautiful natural light, we lean into lighter walls and bring in color through the fabrics and art,” she adds as an example.

Another factor to consider is what kinds of artwork to layer into your space. Both Murnane and Dolenc note that they aim to avoid furnishings and art that feel too matchy-matchy; instead, they advise letting each decorative item speak for itself individually. In one of Dolenc’s residential projects, he recalls specifically avoiding design choices that felt too intentionally cohesive. “We arranged the artwork after designing the interiors so nothing seemed too perfectly paired,” he says.

And if you’re designing a small rental or space that you know won’t be your forever home, follow the instincts of Kah. In her last house, she kept all of the upholstery neutral so it would work in future spaces.

How do you pick a living room color scheme?

Selecting paint colors for your living room can feel daunting, but Jenkins recommends considering how each element will interact with the others, from the window treatments to the large showpiece furnishings. “Think about how color travels from one room to another,” she suggests. “And don’t be afraid to go for color, whether that’s painting the wood trim the same color as the walls or keeping your walls neutral and painting the trim a contrasting color.”