New trends in living room styles are all about healthy living and wellbeing, with a focus on nature, family connection, and light and space to counter-balance our synthetic and digital world.
While binge-watching Netflix and talking to Google or Alexa may be our favorite pastimes, we want to do it in spaces that make us feel happy safe and offer a few touches of luxury.
Here are some great ways to enhance your living room:
1. Let there be light
Natural light boosts both emotional and physical wellbeing. If you’re remodeling, look for ways to open up your living room to the kitchen and garden to bring darker rooms back to life. Consider skylights, large retractable glass doors and reglazing. Make sure the ventilation is good. Downlights and fittings of gold patina add a wonderful touch of luxury.
2. Embrace some green
The use of color plays a fundamental role in its capacity to inspire calm and take away the stresses of the day. Designers are veering away from pastels to work with patterns of cultural and natural authenticity.
Splashes of green or blue underpin the trend, signalling a close-to-nature approach. Green hasn’t been a fashionable color since the Art Deco days of the 1920s, yet it is now seen as a way to bring nature closer. Pantone colors such as martini olive and quetzal green are growing in popularity.
3. Be bold and luxurious
And while we’re talking color, striking wallpaper is making a comeback. Bold patterns, botanical artworks and even animal prints are in this year. It’s another extension of the trend for an environmental vibe that is also lush and luxurious.
If you opt for sensational splashes of colour, make sure the rest of the room features relaxing neutral tones. Too much colour will undermine the feeling of calm and make the room feel a lot smaller. It’s important to get the color balance right.
4. Minimal curves
In keeping with the desire for more space, minimalism in the living room is also on-trend. It represents a move away from multiple pieces of furniture that clutter and make a room feel busy or full when it should create an aura of relaxation.
However, furniture is moving away from the straight and austere lines of the sparse Scandinavian look to more natural curves. High-quality fabrics for couches and chairs are essential. Velvet is enjoying a renaissance as it offers a feeling of luxury.
5. Throw on some culture
Rugs and throw cushions have moved towards the artisanal rather than the manufactured with a preference for sustainable and natural fibers. Traditional, cultural patterns are popular on rugs, wall hangings and cushions. Natural textiles work well across many styles of a living room. In summary, handmade imperfection is in, and the laser-cut precision of the factory is out.
6. Get personal
No living room is complete without a few personal touches. This room more than any other should be about you and your family. It has to connect emotionally, or it becomes cold and featureless. Don’t be afraid to add photos, books and art that have meaning for you. Just avoid cluttering the surfaces.