22 Modern Living Room Design Ideas

Design experts show you how to Incorporate color, texture, light, or plants to bring your space to life.

Pastel Living Room
Photo: Oh Joy!

This treasured space sets the tone for your entire decorating style.

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Pop of Pastel

Pastel Living Room
Oh Joy!

A rainbow-colored living room is hard to achieve without being too overwhelming, but blogger Joy Cho of Oh Joy! knows just how to balance out this swoon-worthy living room. Offset colors with lighter tones and include enough white space or earthy accents like Cho does with the bookshelf here.

To buy: Natural Rattan Cocoon Chair, $230; worldmarket.com for similar.

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Textured White Room

monotone-living-room
Modern Glam

Ashley Stringfellow of Modern Glam created a magical monotone room by incorporating tons of texture, like faux fur. The pops of blush tones in accents combined with her paneled wall make for a visually interesting space to curl up in with a book.

To buy: Ivory New Zealand Sheepskin Area Rug, $80; worldmarket.com for similar.

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Blue Living Room

Blue Living Room
blue-living-room

Add some life to your space with a statement-making plant as designer Grant Gibson does with this larger-than-life Monstera. Bonus tip: Mix things up by incorporating furniture in the same color family but in different shades, like he does here with the blue sofa and chair.

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Colorful Sofas

Colorful Sofas
Your Marketing BFF

One easy trick to mastering a modern living room is to create a dramatic pairing, like contrasting a soothing wall color with these striking blue couches in blogger Tana Nelson's space.

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Cozy Living Room

Cozy Living Room
Jenni Kayne

Stick to lighter, natural colors like whites, creams, and browns to make it feel like a place you can recharge, says designer Jenni Kayne. Using natural textures in contrast to a bright white also adds an unexpected yet welcoming look.

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Boho Living Room

Boho Living Room
Ave Styles/ Photo by Rennai Hoefer

This casual yet put-together living room is giving us serious boho vibes. Pinfluencer Alex Evjen nailed this effortless look with gorgeous, jewel-toned chairs and a unique fringed centerpiece above the fireplace that serves as a fun talking point.

To buy: Macramé Rope Wall Hanging, $39; urbanoutfitters.com for similar.

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Geometric Lighting

geometric-lighting
Photographed by Siham Mazouz from How the French Live, reprinted by permission of Gibbs Smith

Offset a neutral space with an eye-catching light fixture, like Siham Mazouz, author of How the French Live, does in this minimal, French-inspired living room. Lighting sets the tone for the entire space—so make sure you choose something striking.

To buy: Catalina Geo Swag Pendant Light, $80; hayneedle.com for similar.

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Clean Living Room

Nina Jizhar Living Room
Nina Jizhar

A modern living room often features sleek line furnishings and soothing palettes, says Homepolish designer Nina Jizhar. Incorporating an iconic piece such as the Eames lounge chair brings another level of style.

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Minimal Living Room

Minimal Living Room
Katherine Carter

Less is more in this minimal living room by Homepolish designer Katherine Carter. A statement piece is a must to liven up the space, but keep things simple, like with a round mirror or the space can become overwhelming.

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Ornate Living Room

Aphrochic Living Room
Photographer: Jess Isaac

Modern doesn't have to mean simple. Brooklyn-based interior design blog, Aphrochic, shows how to have a playful and visually interesting space that's totally on-trend, but they include some statement-making pieces like the lighting fixture and flower piece above the fireplace.

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Artistic Living Room

Artistic Living Room
Mandy Chengling

When you keep all the elements in a room sleek and uncluttered, make sure there's a focal point in the room to add visual interest, like designer Mandy Cheng does here.

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Sculptural Lighting

Sculptural Lighting
Amy Lind Interiors

To mix up your living room's style, add a lighting fixture with a sculptural quality, like this one that designer Amy Lind used. No need for matching lamps—go for boldly-shaped sconces, an oversized floor lamp, or a statement-making chandelier.

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Dramatic Living Room

Dramatic Living Room
Alec Holland

Think outside the box with this avant-garde living room by Homepolish designer Alec Holland. Achieve this look with oversized, marshmallow-style couches and other interesting-shaped pieces.

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Black and White Living Room

Black and White Living Room
Young Huh

New York City designer Young Huh recommends graphic curtains and a surprising piece of furniture, like this floating wood table, to create an unusual yet stunning modern living room.

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Wooden Accents

Wooden Living Room Accents
Bobby Berk Interiors + Design

A key to warming up modern colors (black, white, and concrete) is throwing in wooden accents, like designer Bobby Berk (of the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy reboot on Netflix) does here. Plus, the wood can double as an unexpected architectural element.

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Luxurious Living Room

luxurious-living-room
Nate Berkus / Christopher Dibble Photography

"Creating a modern living room that feels chic and layered is all about mixing textures and styles," says interior designer Nate Berkus. "Think brass and mixed metals. And bring in vintage. Paired with luxe fabrics like velvet and a neutral, warm color palette, there's no way you can't create an interior you love."

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Organic Living Room

organic-living-room
Sara Tramp for Emily Henderson Design / Crypton Home

Designer Emily Henderson and Crypton Home achieved this organic living room with plenty of standout pieces like leather chairs and a wood table.

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Elevated Living Room

elevated-living-room
Sweat Peas Design

This ultra-modern living room takes things to new heights with swivel chairs, which encourage conversation, instead of a sofa. This space, designed by Sweet Peas Design, is giving us serious living room envy.

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Vintage Living Room

Vintage Living Room
Becki Owens / Alyssa Ence Photography

Who said you can't mix other styles into a modern space? Take a note from Becki Owens, who included a vintage rug in her chic and modern living room design. It brings a surprising element to the space.

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Natural Living Room

natural-living-room
Tichenor & Thorp Architects

To soften a room, opt for organic shapes with "soft" edges to keep it contemporary, advises Raun Thorp of Tichenor & Thorp Architects.

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Calming Living Room

Cupcakes and Cashmere Living Room
Jessica Isaac for Apartment Therapy

Emily Schuman of Cupcakes and Cashmere is giving us serious bookshelf envy with her color-coded book collection. Her living room, featured on Apartment Therapy, is both playful and sophisticated with pops of color and a chic leather sofa.

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Bohemian Living Room

Bohemian Living Room
Marika Wagle's Home Featured in the New Bohemians. Photo by Dabito.

A vintage lucite coffee table can transform even the most boho living room into a modern, eco-friendly space. The barely-there quality of lucite gives the illusion that the colors and texture of your rug are floating up and touching the objects on your coffee table.

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