Here's Everything a Comfortable and Modern Living Room Needs (2024)

Nothing says "modern" like Scandinavian design. Designer Brian Paquette created this warm, sunken living area in a Southern California home by using jewel tone colors and keeping the furnishings relatively close together. It goes to show that even if your living room is smaller, it doesn't have to feel cramped. Just be intentional about the pieces you pick and how you arrange them.

The midcentury modern living room in Ashley Maddox's Waco, Texas, home is one to emulate if you're trying to lean into the aesthetic. It captures the 1950s charm with streamlined furniture, sculptural light fixtures, and geometric accessories.

Make your living space feel bigger by adding in a wall of mirrors. This gorgeous space in a Houston pied-à-terre by M. James Design Group utilizes classic picture molding as frames for the mirrors, opening up the living room and bouncing light around.

In this Texas lake house by Marie Flanigan Interiors, neutral tones, natural textures and materials, and minimal decorations harmonize to create a calm, elevated living room. With the right simple pieces, your modern home can feel timeless.

There are many ways to hang a gallery wall, but we favor one that's anything but basic. Take a page from the M. James Design Group's book and cover any bare section of wall you can. It'll draw the eye upward is a great way to avoid painting your living room walls. Just cover them up with artwork, objects, and photos you love.

Don't stick to solids—bring in playful furniture if you're looking for a way to add more intrigue and depth to your living room. Gray Space Interiors completed this blue hangout zone in influencer Zakia Blain's Pennsylvania home with two wild armchairs.

As much as house flippers push the all-white, blank-canvas look, we promise you can choose a monochromatic color scheme that's more interesting. This beautiful blue den in a Kansas City home by Mark D. Sikes shows how you can use tonal colors to create depth.

Follow in designers Justin Hafen and John Hurley's footsteps by adding deeply hued furnishings to a bright space. The matching bookshelf and couch give the living room of their contemporary home in Napa Valley an elegant vibe, creating a space that looks very intentionally put together and cozy.

It's no secret that interior designers love to find ways to keep televisions out of sight, so you might as well take a suggestion from the pros and do the same. The blue lacquered cabinet Lisa Tharp used in the living room of this Boston apartment is a perfectly chic option for hiding that big black rectangle from visitors.

It takes time to find art you love. Until you happen upon the perfect piece for the mantel, pull eyes toward the ceiling with a sculptural pendant light like the one in this Seattle home by Hoedemaker Pfeiffer. It's not just functional but extremely stylish.

This kid-friendly space in a San Francisco townhouse by Studio Plow proves a stylish living room can also be a play zone. Just keep a basket handy to stash the colorful toys you don't want on display.

A big enough mirror can seemingly create a tunnel to another world. The gorgeously cut example in this living room by Studio Plow looks almost like an arched doorway into another room, creating the illusion of more space.

The Brownstone Boys are known for their historic renovations, and they're the ones to look at if you're searching for inspiration on how to make your older home look good with your modern furniture. The light fixture and curved couch are obviously not from the same era as the ornate crown molding and the fireplace, but they contrast in an elegant way. The effect is almost museum-like.

If you're lucky enough to have extremely high ceilings, like the ones in this living room designed by Cortney and Robert Novogratz, take advantage of all that empty space and hang up interesting art pieces, like these fluffy pendants.

Maybe your living room is actually outside. If you live in a climate that lets you enjoy the outdoors all year, invest in comfortable and chic patio furniture. This covered outdoor space by Ashley Gilbreath has multiple conversational zones for your family to occupy so you can enjoy being here even when it's raining.

For true cinephiles, the media room is the living room. So take a cue from Kimberly + Cameron Interiors and make it feel like an escape—even when the television isn't on—by finishing it with patterned wall coverings, plants, and warm-toned furniture.

For an intriguing space that skips color altogether, use a mix of textures in your living room. Leanne Ford Interiors used many different patterns and shapes in this neutral living room to ensure it would still be something beautiful to look at and live in. Neutral spaces can easily feel cold, but the layers in here radiate warmth.

Put your green thumb to work and bring fresh plants into your living room, displaying them in ways you may not normally do. In this breezy communal area of Ashley Gilbreath's beach house, a medium-sized palm plant on the coffee table continues the paint color of the walls into the seating area.

Ashley Montgomery enhanced this cozy yet modern, farmhouse living room with light-colored wood throughout. From the side table to the coffee table to the floors, the wood choices make the space look more open and brighter.

If your space allows for one, upgrade from your bar cart to a built-in wet bar off your living room. Jennifer Robin Interiors and Kroeger Janev Architects made this California barn the perfect place for a party by incorporating a bar complete with a long counter and barstools. Hey, if you have the room, why not?