70+ Chic Living Room Ideas

When Kim Alexandriuk was tasked with designing a family’s vacation home in Montecito, California, she sought to highlight many of the space’s European features. In the living room, she added a Paola Navone sofa and a slipper chair by Paul Marra Design to play off the extravagant fireplace.

Designer Isabel López-Quesada refreshed this charming Madrid apartment—which the actress Ava Gardner used to call home—with soft, romantic details. Highlights include sofas reimagined in Brochier velvet, Pierre Paulin’s Mushroom chairs, and artwork by Donna Huanca.

Designer Tom Scheerer added some uptown opulence to this Manhattan apartment with a 1950s Danish desk by Jacob Kjaer and textiles from Holland & Sherry, Borderline, and Kravet. With a neutral backdrop—as well as the occasional pops of green and blue—this living room is both elegant and eclectic.

Designer Ernest de la Torre updated this Tudor-style home in Bel Air—which was built by Hollywood architect Paul R. Williams in 1934—with modern panache. A vintage Jean Royère chair and a rug by Edward Fields soften the sleek space.

When restoring her apartment in Tbilisi, Georgia, interior designer Eka Papamichael juxtaposed the space’s rich Art Nouveau architecture with a vintage cocktail table, a Murano glass ceiling pendant, and sofas by Gervasoni.

Srila Chatterjee and Mahesh Mathai put their bold aesthetic on full display in their Mumbai living room. The vibrant purple walls are paired with flea-market finds, a tiger sculpture from Kerala, and a custom ottoman and chairs.

Blending two distinctly different styles in one space is a tall order. When newlyweds asked Natasha Baradaran to decorate their Santa Monica, California, home, she filled the living room with various textiles in an easy, neutral color palette. The result? The perfect compromise between bohemian and Art Deco.

At this 16th-century retreat outside Siena, Italy, restored by Hubert Zandberg, more is more. The designer added a hefty dose of color into the living room, covering the furniture in textiles from Mulberry and de Le Cuona.

Being neck-deep in a gut renovation—in the midst of the pandemic, no less—can feel overwhelming. However, Dimorestudio’s Emiliano Salci turned his new Milan apartment into a theatrical abode. He furnished his pigmented living room with antique finds as well as pieces from his home-furnishings brand, Dimoremilano.

As the mogul behind 1 Hotels and the Baccarat Hotel, Barry Sternlicht brings a well-appointed eye to his hospitality ventures. So it’s only fitting that his personal residence follows suit. Sternlicht gives his Miami Beach living room the first-class treatment with a Jean de Merry armchair, side tables from MS Ceramic Design, and a sofa covered in Loro Piana fabric.

When Lucinda Loya was tapped to design fashion model Maya Henry’s London flat, she wanted to fill the cold space with plenty of personality. From the fringed Munna chairs to a candy-coated color palette, this living room feels feminine and edgy in equal measure.

Furniture doubles as art in this Hamptons home. A white sofa matching the wall and floors sets the stage for cream vintage Joe Colombo chairs that flank a custom Marmoreal coffee table. The Egan Frantz artwork spans the length of the sofa.

Exposed beams, a plaster fireplace, and wrought iron door frames create a Mediterranean vibe in this Newport, California home. A mix of cream upholstery with wood furniture and floors looks elegant but not fussy.

An accent wall made of dark charcoal tiles boldly stands out in this elegant Mill Valley living room. Deep blacks complement warm whites with gold accents to create a glamorous scheme.

A sophisticated, neutral living room in Chicago’s historic Palmolive building features a clever mix of antiques and vintage finds, which create a sense of balance.

A 1920s Palm Beach home, owned by art adviser Heidi McWilliams, serves as the perfect backdrop for displaying her impressive collection. The living room is furnished with claret armchairs (right) and a hexagonal table by Rose Tarlow Melrose House, along with a neutral rug by Patterson Flynn Martin. An Anish Kapoor mirrored wall sculpture accentuates the 16th-century Italian limestone mantel, and the coffered ceiling, which is original, adds character to the room.

Kara Mann’s Chicago living room is a lesson in minimalist design. A pair of white chairs complement the marigold-colored rug by Miyabi Casa. The floors are large-scale limestone tiles.

In a Buenos Aires home, the original marble mantel in the living room was specified by Maison Jansen, who decorated the apartment in the 1930s. The circa-1940 chairs in the foreground, the console (left), and the side table (right) were designed by Jean-Michel Frank for the Argentine firm Comte. The 1930s Frits Henningsen settee is covered in a Holland & Sherry mohair, the chairs next to the fireplace are 18th-century Gustavian, the circa-1950 Sphere cocktail table and lamp are by Jean Royère, and the 1930s table (front left) and sconces are by Maison Jansen.

For designer Patrick Printy, his bungalow in Oakland, California is all about eccentric design. In this living area attached to his study, a pair of vintage sofas are upholstered in a Ralph Lauren Home stripe, the Eero Saarinen table is from Design Within Reach, barstools by CB2 are covered in a Katie Ridder fabric, the ceiling lantern is by Visual Comfort, the rug is by Ralph Lauren Home, and the busts are by Oly.

The artworks include photographs by Jason Fulford, Garry Winogrand, and Richard Misrach, flanked by silhouette portraits by Julian Opie.

This London townhouse has a living room filled with custom designs, such as a sofa covered in a Donghia patterned velvet, another upholstered in a Le Manach silk velvet, and a round banquette, which is topped with a 1940s French bronze sculpture.

The living room in this Greek Island home features a custom cocktail table and banquette, and striped pillows upholstered in a Les Toiles du Soleil fabric. The Queen Elizabeth II print is by Andy Warhol.

New York-based designer Becky Shea crafted a stunning New York City loft for Homepolish co-founder Will Nathan. The living room, which showcases a mix of industrial elements as well as Shea’s organic-modernist aesthetic, is a lesson in open-concept living.

Christiane Lemieux’s New York City loft includes artwork by Robert Swain, custom sofas covered in a neutral linen, and a coffee table and side table from the Brimfield Show and a Paris flea market.

Architect Piet Boon and designer Jennifer Schmidt transformed a Washington, D.C. loft with a palette of grey, white, and wood in light tones. Textured accents, including grey velvet chairs, add interest to the open space.

A Brooklyn townhouse in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, features a sofa from ABC Carpet & Home upholstered in a fabric by Soraya Shah for Studio Four NYC. The space also includes a chaise by Timothy Oulton, a Danish cocktail table, the Akari pendant light by Noguchi, window treatments in a Rebecca Atwood fabric, and a vintage Moroccan rug. The walls are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Huntington White and the trim in Iron Mountain. A photograph by Claire Nitze and a cameo portrait by Doug Meyer complete the living room.

For a Gramercy Park apartment, designer Bennett Leifer upholstered a settee in a Sabina Fay Braxton velvet, and chose a pair of carved wood armchairs by de Gournay covered in a Stark velvet. The Empire console is from Lucca Antiques, the cocktail table is by Ebanista, the vintage stool is by Maison Baguès, the Louis XVI secretary was purchased on 1stdibs, the Tabriz rug is antique, and the walls are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Alexandria Beige.

Architect Luís Bernardo Brito e Abreu renovated his São Miguel home to reflect his family’s artistic, maritime history. The living room features a vintage chair by Illum Wikkelsø, and the mantel and stone benches are both of local basalt. The sculpture of a head on the bench at right is by Ernesto Canto da Maya, and the wall sculpture above the mantel is a 16th-century naval decoration.

Alisa Bloom recreated the environment of a French interior in her sophisticated Chicago penthouse. In the living room, she opted for a custom sofa in a Kravet fabric with pillows in a Jim Thompson silk. The 1970s chairs are from Revival, and the vintage cocktail table is from Martin La Brocante. She finished the space with a console by Crate & Barrel, a vintage chandelier by Hans-Agne Jakobsson, and curtains in an Oscar de la Renta fabric for Lee Jofa. The walls are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Cement Gray.

In the living room of Vivia Horn’s Japanese-style retreat in Hunter, New York, the leather-and-plastic Italian sofas, cocktail table, and wool shag rug were purchased in the 1980s at Bloomingdale’s. The Japanese-style fire pit and tin range hood are custom, the floor lamp is from the ’70s, the sisal carpet is by Stark, the ceiling beams are Douglas fir, and a series of color lithographs from Japan are displayed along the pine wainscoting.

John Robshaw’s vibrant Connecticut house is overflowing with character: The living room sofa and its fabric are by John Robshaw for Duralee. The armchair, custom banquettes, and bone-inlay side table are all Robshaw designs, the cocktail table is from India, the table lamps are by Christopher Spitzmiller, and the dhurrie is a custom design. An Elliott Puckette artwork sits on the mantel, which is painted in Yukon Sky by Benjamin Moore, and the large painting of a perfume bottle is by Doug Wada.

The Manhattan home of interior designer Frank de Biasi and textile artist Gene Meyer flaunts a living room with a circa-1790 American secretary, a pair of bamboo étagères that are from a Paris flea market and curtains of a John Rosselli linen. The screen is by de Biasi, and the vintage wicker stool is by Franco Albini.

In the living room of Evan and Ku-Ling Yurman’s TriBeCa apartment, the mid-century furnishings include a pair of Nanna Ditzel chairs, a Hans Wegner armchair and a cocktail table by Hendrik van Keppel and Taylor Green, purchased at auction.