Living room design 2019 – a kaleidoscope of current ideas

The living room is the central space in any home. The common room serves many functions – it serves as a place for the whole family to gather in the evenings, receive guests on holidays and the closest ones for get-togethers on weekends. Often, the living room combines several functional areas – in addition to a place for relaxation, it can play the role of a dining room, an office, and in studio apartments it can be connected to the kitchen. From this and to the design of this strategically important space, the highest demands are made. The interior should be not only practical, multifunctional, convenient from the point of view of operation, but also beautiful, modern, balanced. Of course, with the arrival of the next fashion season, designers provide our attention with many ideas for arranging our own home. But can all of them be used in ordinary Russian apartments? Let’s try to figure it out together using our extensive selection of 70 design projects for living rooms of different shapes and sizes, decorated in a wide variety of interior styles..

And the happiness of all homeowners, trends in interior design are not changing as rapidly as fashion for clothes, for example. At all times, designers and their customers, first of all, will appreciate the practicality and beauty, comfort and functionality of both the entire furnishings of living quarters, and each piece of interior in particular. Let’s outline the main trends inherent in the design of premises, among which the living room occupies one of the dominant places.

Maximum space and free light distribution. Of course, a spacious and bright room is an ideal blank canvas for a specialist, on which it is pleasant to create any design project. In a space with a large area, panoramic windows and spacious doorways, you can not limit yourself in choosing a color palette, layout, selection of cabinet and built-in furniture, and infringe on interior decoration. But physically, not all living rooms in Russian dwellings are spacious rooms. Even taking into account the fact that for the hall, as a rule, the largest room in a private house or apartment is chosen.

If it is possible to replace standard windows with large openings, enlarge the doorways – this must be done. Due to the preservation of the continuity of the distribution of natural light, partitions, screens, high racks installed for zoning are not used in modern living spaces (only the lifestyle of the owners and living conditions do not imply the opposite).

Another important point in creating at least a visually spacious room is the use of light colors. The white color of the walls will not only create a fresh and light image of the room, but also visually increase the volume of the room – this design technique is known to everyone. And, nevertheless, Russian owners of small-sized homes rarely resort to shades of white to create finishes, motivating their choice with the soiled surfaces. But modern finishing materials can be easily cleaned, no matter what color they are..

Another trend of our time is the use of natural materials in everything that concerns the design of living spaces. Finishing materials, raw materials for the production of furniture, decorative elements, textiles – the total fashion for naturalness has not spared a single aspect of modern design. Of course, the natural origin of materials for interior decoration entails a significant increase in the cost of repairs. But when it comes to safety for human health and the environment, saving and purchasing goods that can be toxic will not even be done by the homeowner with the smallest budget. Moreover, lately, manufacturers have been trying to create the widest possible range of goods produced according to international environmental standards at affordable prices..

Comfortable minimalism or creative space? What does the modern owner of an apartment or private household choose? Designers seem to be divided into two camps – some advocate the rejection of unnecessary luxury, pretentiousness and incline us to use minimalist motives when decorating our own homes, while the latter advocate the manifestation of creative ideas, innovative solutions, courage and diversity to create truly unique design projects.

This trend in the design of living rooms appeared so long ago that it is already difficult to call it a trend. And, nevertheless, the versatility of the common room does not cease to be relevant. The rhythm of life, rather high real estate prices (especially in megalopolises) and the convenience of the location of certain functional segments within the home, dictate the combination of various zones in the living room. The living room, connected to the kitchen and dining room, has not surprised anyone for a long time. A studio room with such varied functions can be not only practical, high-tech and comfortable, but also beautiful and stylish. In addition to the dining room and kitchen area, a workplace is often located within the living room – a home office or a corner for needlework (workshop).

When decorating modern premises, designers recommend following the principles of practicality, aesthetics and environmental safety. Finishing materials should be, above all, non-toxic, easy to use (easy to clean if necessary) and pleasant in appearance. In modern design projects, no special emphasis is placed on wall decoration; most often they are presented in a monochromatic version of a neutral spectrum of shades. Against such a background, it is easiest to place any furniture, which becomes the central element of the interior..

If we talk about the most popular color schemes for wall decoration in the living room in 2018, then they, undoubtedly, become neutral tones. White color is ideal for the execution of walls in a room of any size, regardless of its location relative to the cardinal points, the number and size of window and door openings. Snow-white walls reflect natural light and help it spread throughout the space. In addition, on a white background, any furniture, decor items and textile design of the living room will look advantageous and even accent.

The gray color has not lost its popularity and will remain relevant for a long time. Indeed, besides the white tone, it is difficult to find a palette of more neutral shades. The secret color is easy to combine with other tones, against its background even not the brightest accent will look advantageous. The versatility of this color allows you to use it in the decoration of premises, both in a single color version and as «participant» drawing.

Given the laconicism that dominates the decoration of the modern hall, the main role in the interior is given to furniture. To organize a soft seating area in the living room, practical, but at the same time beautiful furniture is chosen – it can be a small sofa with bright upholstery and a pair of designer chairs or a scale model of a corner sofa with one rocking chair of an original shape. The use of a sofa and armchairs from the same furniture collection is rare and is considered a rather boring option for decorating a relaxation area in a living room..

For many areas of modern style, furniture is a key element in the creation of design projects. For example, in the contemporary style, it is the furniture that plays the role of an accent element. The possibility of using original, designer furniture opens up wide horizons when creating truly creative interiors. But at the same time it is important not to forget about the practical side of the issue, because any piece of furniture must, first of all, regularly perform the functions assigned to it.

In modern design projects of living rooms, the lighting system has a direct connection with interior decoration. After all, it is the lighting fixtures that often bear the burden of responsibility for decorating the living room. Often, in the laconic design of the common room, only a central chandelier, a pair of wall sconces or a floor lamp act as an accent element or highlight of the interior.

Even the most modest living rooms rarely manage with only one lighting fixture. Considering the issues of zoning and the presence of several functional segments within one room, each of them needs lighting. Lighting devices will help not only conditionally zone the room, create a certain atmosphere in the room, but also provide the living room design with that share of uniqueness that is available to the owners – at cost and personal preferences in a combination of functionality and aesthetics.

Indoor plants have become one of the favorites in the list of decorative elements of modern design projects. Living plants are capable of not only «revive» any, even the most formulaic interior, but also to give the character of the premises that warmth and coziness that we expect to see in our living room upon returning home after a hard day at work.

Several factors influence the choice of style for decorating a modern living room:

• the style of the entire home – you must admit that it would be strange in a private house decorated in country style to create a hall with a minimalist design, for example;
• size of the room – if the modern style can be used to decorate rooms of any size, then for the classic styles, for example, at least the average size of the rooms is required;
• personal preferences of the owners in aesthetics and practicality and financial possibilities – many stylistic directions are difficult to implement with a minimum budget (but it is possible to use at least the motives of the chosen style to create a unique design project for a hall or living room).

Contemporary style is a kind of mix of various directions of modern style, combining the most advanced and innovative technologies, ultra-fashionable interior items and original design solutions. But at the same time, the contemporary style is created, first of all, for a comfortable stay of a person in a room, not for «Exhibitions» original furniture or designer decor items, not to demonstrate your own creative thinking. At the same time, contemporary can easily and harmoniously combine combinations of modern trends and classic motives. For example, in a spacious living room with a high ceiling and luxurious stucco molding on it, you can hang an ultra-fashionable chandelier of a completely unconventional model. Install furniture from the latest collections of well-known manufacturers on an absolutely ascetic white background of the walls, and leave a pristine beautiful parquet as a floor covering (only by refreshing its surface).

The Scandinavian style is incredibly close in spirit to the entire palette of modern stylistics – it stands for simplicity and laconism, but puts personal comfort at the forefront. The Scandinavian style is famous for its light and airy rooms with a minimum of color schemes that do not distract attention from the central interior items. But the advantage of the Northern European style is that its motives can be easily transferred to medium and small living rooms, creating cozy, but at the same time simple design projects..

Scandinavian style involves the use of natural materials. Wooden surfaces, be they flooring or furniture cases, become accent elements, being located against the white background of the walls, they bring that natural warmth to the atmosphere of the premises, which is so necessary for creating truly cozy living rooms and halls. Textile decoration of space in the Scandinavian style also involves the use of natural materials – cotton and linen, wool and their variations are used for decorating windows, decorating upholstered furniture and even creating carpets.

The eclectic style presupposes a reasonable and harmonious combination of elements of various styles within the framework of one design project. This style is great for those who have not yet been able to decide on the choice of style favorites or have many preferences and would like to see various manifestations of this or that style within their own home. Eclectic design projects are also suitable for those who like to travel, bring various memorabilia from trips that can be used in everyday life or as a decoration for premises for various purposes (living rooms are perfect for this purpose).

It is not easy to create an eclectic living room design and not overdo it with a combination of various stylistic manifestations, colorful solutions and decor. To get a truly original, personalized living room interior in the eclectic style, it is better to seek the help of specialists if you do not have successful practice in creating design projects with an eclectic concept. But it is important to understand that the costs of creating an eclectic living room are always justified by originality, a special spirit and atmosphere, which cannot be found in the template interiors projects, which are presented in abundance on advertising brochures of furniture manufacturers or finishing materials. It will be a truly creative piece of design art, the highlight of your home.

What to do for those who are not attracted by the modern style, who like the traditional approach to decorating their own home? Of course, it makes sense to pay attention to such an interior style as neo-classic. The modern interpretation of classic motifs presupposes the harmonious adaptation of luxurious decorative elements to a practical setting, replacement of expensive materials with functional analogs without compromising aesthetics and the general concept of style.

Neo-classic in a modern living room is at the same time livability and practicality, beauty and comfort. You can focus on the decoration of the room and choose beautiful stucco moldings for decorating the ceiling, lay beautiful parquet as a floor covering, or choose expensive, luxurious wallpaper. Or go the other way and focus on beautiful furniture in a classic style, leaving laconic and practical ideas for finishing in neutral colors from finishing materials of affordable cost.