Living Room
Living Room Decor Ideas: 21 Ways to Style Your Space
Your living room is the hardest working room in the house. It hosts guests, film nights, reading, homework and quiet mornings, often all in the same day. Good decor is not about...
Living Room
Living room decor ideas, layouts, paint colours, furniture arrangement, wall decor, lighting and cozy styling for the room your family lives in most.
The living room is the room your family lives in most, so it deserves the most thought. It hosts guests, film nights, reading, homework and quiet mornings, often all in the same day, and the decor has to work for all of them. This section brings together everything we have written about living rooms, from the pillar guide to living room decor ideas through to layout, paint colours, furniture arrangement, wall decor, lighting and cozy styling. The guides are written to be used in order: start with the layout, because the position of the sofa determines almost everything else, then choose the rug and the paint colour, then add lighting and the finishing layers. Every guide includes the measurements designers use, such as 35 to 45 cm between the sofa and the coffee table, 75 to 90 cm for walkways, and a rug large enough for the front legs of the seating. You will also find the mistakes to avoid, such as a rug that is too small, a single ceiling light, and art hung too high, because avoiding a mistake is often more valuable than buying something new. Whether your room is large or small, formal or relaxed, the living room guides below will help you make it comfortable, beautiful and easy to live in.
Use the guides below as a sequence or dip into the one you need. The layout guide covers rectangular, square, long and open-plan rooms. The paint guide explains how light changes colour and how to test a sample properly. The furniture arrangement guide gives you the spacing measurements for sofas, chairs and tables. The lighting guide explains layered light in plain terms. And the cozy living room guide shows how to make any living room feel warm and inviting, whatever your budget.
Guides in Living Room
Living Room
Small Living Room Ideas That Make the Room Feel Bigger
Small living rooms punish every wrong decision. A sofa that is ten centimetres too deep blocks a walkway. A dark rug chops the floor in half. A wall of small pictures makes the...
Living Room
Living Room Layout Ideas for Every Room Shape
A living room layout is a plan for how people move, sit and talk. Get it wrong and the room feels awkward no matter how beautiful the furniture is. Get it right and even modest...
Living Room
Living Room Paint Colors: How to Choose the Right Shade
Paint is the cheapest way to change a living room, and the easiest to get wrong. A colour that looks perfect on a small swatch can look cold, dark or pink on a full wall. The...
Living Room
Living Room Furniture Arrangement: Placement and Spacing
Furniture arrangement is the difference between a room that looks good in a photograph and a room that feels good to sit in. The rules are simple and they are mostly about...
Living Room
Living Room Wall Decor Ideas: Art, Shelves and More
Bare walls make a living room feel unfinished, but crowded walls make it feel chaotic. The skill is choosing a few pieces at the right scale and hanging them at the right height....
Living Room
Living Room Lighting Ideas: Layered Light That Works
Lighting changes how a living room feels more than almost any other single choice. The same room can feel cold and flat under one bright ceiling light, and warm and inviting under...
Living Room
Cozy Living Room Ideas: Warm, Inviting and Lived-In
Cosy is a feeling, not a style. It is the room where people stay for one more cup of tea, where shoes come off and books get finished. It does not need a fireplace or a large...
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to decorate a living room?
Start with the layout: face the seating toward a focal point, leave clear walkways, and size the rug to the sofa. Then add layered lighting and a simple 60-30-10 colour palette.
How big should a living room rug be?
Large enough for the front legs of the sofa and chairs to sit on it, usually at least 20 to 30 cm wider than the sofa on each side. For a three-seat sofa that often means 240 by 300 cm.
What colour should I paint my living room?
Warm neutrals such as greige or warm white suit most rooms. North-facing rooms suit warmer shades; south-facing rooms suit cooler ones. Always test a large sample first.
How do I make my living room feel cozy?
Add layered warm lighting, soft textiles, a rug underfoot, and warm wood tones. Lower the light in the evening and keep at least three textures in the seating area.