House Decor Ideas Living Room – Although color experts predict that a wave of saturated colors will dominate our homes, nothing beats the quiet beauty of a calm, neutral room. Not only is an understated palette soothing to the eye (who needs wall to wall after a day in front of a computer screen?) and means effortless elegance, but it also promises to, thankfully!, never go out of style. Living rooms in particular are the perfect place to enhance a neutral color scheme with stylish furniture, beautiful rugs and timeless accessories. But while “quiet luxe” is trending and the “vanilla girl” aesthetic has had a moment on TikTok, a neutral look runs the risk of looking vanilla or worse, boring.
New York designer Augusta Hoffman is well aware of the drawbacks of a neutral decor scheme, but embraces the challenge in her complex projects. The key to keeping things too monotonous? Embrace luxurious materials and sculptural forms. “Working with soft tones really gives more freedom to explore with material and texture,” he says. “To add warmth and comfort to a neutral space, I love the different layers of ivory textiles with rich leather, patinated metal, organic stone and antique wood accents.”
House Decor Ideas Living Room
And you don’t have to stick with white or cream colors. According to experts, next year will welcome a batch of “new neutrals” that allow subtle primary colors (think rose, rose and sage) to seep through the pigment. But don’t take our word for it: these 35 neutral living room ideas from our archives prove it’s possible to go beyond wood.
Modern Decor Ideas For Your Small Living Room
In this proudly understated hotel, designer Chad Dorsey worked primarily with a cream palette on the furniture, walls, artwork and accessories. The trick to getting rid of the “blahs”? Add trendy prints, textures, and silhouettes throughout, like the feather print on the sofa and the changing pattern on the Rug Company rug.
Can’t commit? Play with your favorite neutral palette, like designer Eva Bradley’s classic San Francisco Victorian. Here, she shows that taupe can hold a crowd when done right, like Mario Bellini’s classic sofa and ombre striped curtains.
“We generally like a good amount of color,” the client of this neutral Upper East Side home told us. “But in New York it felt right that the palette should be softer.” ELLE DECOR’s A-List designer Redd Kaihoi embraced this brief with gusto, with his maximalist photographs. Here, the classic palette of cream and beige is kissed by additional materials such as brass, bronze and golden wood.
If the thought of a white and beige wall gives you nightmares, opt for a beautiful handmade wall or landscape wallpaper. Doing it in her own New York apartment, longtime design legend Suzanne Reinstein created a bucolic oasis in the heart of the concrete jungle.
Living Room Decorating Ideas, Photos & Inspiration
And this California residence designed by Andre Herrero of Charlap Hyman & Herrero Studio is a prime example. Here, warm beige lives with bright white, olive green and even stainless steel in a scheme that is easy on the eyes, according to this surreal wall sculpture, in many ways!
Black and white isn’t necessarily short for cozy, but as ELLE DECOR A-List designer Alfredo Paredes proves, the duo is the perfect après-ski pairing. At this Vermont mountain retreat, she painted the entire living room white, except for the fireplace, which she covered in Venetian jet clay. It doesn’t just create a focal point, “It’s modern and like an exclamation point against the lines,” Paredes told us.
Did you know that potential home buyers will pay more for a house painted charcoal and gray? Even if you’re not putting your home on the market anytime soon, it’s a very stylish plan, especially in the hands of celebrity designer Jeremiah Brent. Here, in the New York office hotel, the walls, ceilings and window treatments are painted in gray. Black velvet armchairs, a thick marble table and a gold mirror add a mysterious luxury.
If you’re like most Americans and love the modern farmhouse look, look for a neutral option. Here in a New York country home, ELLE DECOR A-List designer David Netto mixes antique furniture from different eras with popular fabrics and silhouettes in complementary tones. Bonus points for the painted ceiling!
Easy Summer Decor Ideas
If you have an amazing view, when it comes to color, Mother Nature has already done the heavy lifting. ELLE DECOR A-List designer Nicole Hollis embraces her sweet surroundings in this epic retreat, drawn in a palette of travertine, bleached oak, and ultra-cured limestone.
This quiet space in a New York apartment designed by Alyssa Capito is a master class in white layers. Multiple living areas—in soft whites, of course—create the perfect setting for entertaining, while Eric Schmitt’s clay chandelier “gives that beautiful glow and architectural feel,” according to Capito.
As an alternative to plain or bright colors, try limewash. The fabric on trend provides a feeling of warmth like a cave, or in this apartment of the Fashion Space Office in Brooklyn, the feeling of living “in a shack”.
This refined Augusta Hoffman living room showcases the designer’s easy mix of modern silhouettes and heavy wooden antiques. “We decided to take the materiality of [wood] and use it as a contrast to the surrounding spaces,” says Hoffman. “With that, we had to make conscious decisions to keep the rest of the space bright and open so that the dark wood tone doesn’t overpower everything.”
Living Room Decor Ideas To Inspire Your Home Makeover
If you want patterns in your neutral space, go for it! Just make sure they have extra tone and flair. David Netto’s protégé Lily Dierks used Namai Samai fabric in this Nashville residence. The scalloped inner ottoman adds texture.
The tradition is held at Reese Witherspoon’s ranch in Ojai, California. Designer and friend Kristen Buckingham, who has experience designing other Spanish-style homes, created a living room that felt “fresh and young” with linen upholstery, leather and wood furniture, and soft, whitewashed colors.
Just because you’re going for a neutral look doesn’t mean you have to give up on regional flowers or your taste for fun furniture. We love this renovated Austin home designed by architect Paul Lamb, with its wooden walls and modern sofas and chairs.
This Sonoma, California property may be new construction (the previous home was destroyed in a wildfire), but designer Ken Fulk has included plenty of cozy, vintage touches, including a 19th-century stone mantle imported from Italy. Unconventional shapes and large silhouettes, like the Jane Hallworth cocktail table, bring the look back to today.
Easy, Unexpected Living Room Decorating Ideas
Balance your neutral living room with deeper tones. Designer Tim Godbold floored this room with a deep blue rug, a move that draws the elegant stone fireplace into the plan.
Think outside the box when it comes to the neutral hotel of your dreams. Here, in a Manhattan model unit, ELLE DECOR A-List designer Rodney Lawrence defined a gradient night-morning wall to create a soothing mood.
Play around with shapes to keep your neutral design from turning blah. Here, in the Brooklyn home of Ishka Designs, circular silhouettes are repeated in the rug, cocktail table, lamp, and fireplace. “We love the beginning of the cycle,” says Strictly partner Nia Bascom. “There is no beginning, no middle, no end, only constant growth.”
Don’t be afraid to treat green as a neutral. After all, as Pantone’s Leatrice Eisemann tells us: “Mother Nature uses it everywhere in plants and herbs.” The designers at Ashe Leandro seem to have taken this advice to heart, as shown in this Manhattan living room, where an olive green curved sofa is a focal point in a neutral room.
Living Room Wall Decor Ideas
Anna Fixsen, Deputy Digital Editor of ELLE DECOR, focuses on sharing the best of the design world through in-depth reporting and online storytelling. Before joining the staff, he worked for Architectural Digest, Metropolis and Architectural Record magazines.
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