Where to start designing an apartment? Which room to focus on? What style would look best in a room with large windows and high ceilings? What design solutions to apply if the room, on the contrary, is small? Should the living room be connected to the kitchen? We will answer these and other questions in the article about living room design trends 2024.
1. What should be the living room interior design 2024
First of all, you should like the interior of the living room. In this room you will spend a lot of time: meeting guests, relaxing from a working day, and possibly working during the period of quarantine restrictions due to Covid-19. In addition, it is the living room that is the central room of the entire apartment, and therefore it is usually decorated better than other rooms, since it is a business card.
1.1 How to zone space
The organization of the living room space is a headache for most of the designers’ clients. The problem becomes especially acute in small apartments, if there are few square meters, and there are many functional purposes of the room. Often in one room you need to effectively arrange a workplace, a sleeping area, a relaxation area, a place for family dinners and more.
With what you can zone the living room:
- furniture – it can be a folding sofa, bookcases
- mobile and stationary partitions
- glass sliding doors
1.2 What colors to use
We wrote an article about winning combinations of different colors with each other – after reading it, you will have a clear understanding of which shades to use. The most popular color for decorating the ceiling and walls is white: it adds air, space to the room, and allows you to create a noble atmosphere. In some cases, it is possible to use milky, beige shades, light gray.
If you are the owner of a living room on the bright side, then choose cold shades for decoration and vice versa. The same technique is used if you generally want to create a warmer or colder atmosphere in the room. The larger the finishing area, the lighter the shade of any color should be. For example, use a light gray shade on the walls, and use a dark gray color to place accents (sofa cushions, figurines, carpet, armchair). If you create an interior from one color, but play with shades, then use no more than 5 tones, otherwise the living room will look sloppy and inharmonious. If you want to create a spectacular living room interior, a photo selection with examples is below in the gallery:
1.3 What furniture to choose
There are basic rules that allow you to choose the right furniture for the living room:
- proportionality – if the room is small, do not choose large massive furniture, otherwise it will visually reduce the room
- color – light shades are suitable for living rooms of any type, and dark ones – only for large and spacious
- functionality – please note that a folding sofa is required if you plan to place guests in the living room, the dining table should also be sliding
- style – all furniture should be combined with each other and selected in accordance with the style you choose
1.4 In what style to decorate
The most trendy living room design of 2024 is Scandinavian. This is due to the availability of materials and furniture for finishing the entire apartment (Ikea and Jysk will help you choose from many variations). In the premium segment, the popularity of living rooms in the style of modern classics is growing – you can see the implemented design projects on Instagram of the best studios.
2. Modern living room design – top trends for 2024
More and more designers keep up with the times and use a modern approach to creating comfortable and aesthetic interiors. This also applies to the creation of the central room – the living room.
Among the color schemes, pastel muted shades are increasingly being chosen – it is believed that they create an atmosphere of calm in a busy period in the life of all mankind – a pandemic.
One of the main trends that almost every designer uses in their projects is sophisticated lighting. Moreover, the more light points that functionally zone the space, the better. These can be various points of overhead light that can be turned on separately, wall lamps in the reading area, floor lamps, ceiling lighting around the perimeter, niche lighting, mirrors and even floor skirting boards (which, by the way, is very convenient if you need to go to the toilet at night and not wake the household by turning on the overhead light).
The coronavirus pandemic has set the trend for creating comfortable interiors. If earlier comfort could be neglected due to the fact that most of the time we spent at work and then went on vacation, then the lockdowns showed weaknesses in the convenience of each apartment, which became for a while a place of work and rest at the same time. Now it is imperative to provide for a large amount of storage in order to free up balconies and loggias (remember the Italians singing on the balconies during the lockdown period?), transformer tables (in case the apartment is very small, but you need to work in it).
3. Best Styles for Living Room Design 2024
The development of a design project almost always begins with the main area – the living room. It is this room that is rightfully considered the leading, central one and sets the style for the whole house. Therefore, it is at the stage of creating a living room that it is important to decide on the style in which it will be expressed. Let’s look at the main styles for living room design in more detail.
3.1 Classic style
An unchanging classic is the personification of the owners’ fine taste, luxury, presentability, sophistication and conciseness. The classic interior of the living room in the apartment will be in demand in the premium segment not only in 2024, but also in 2025. A separate trend is finishing in dark colors using large-format tiles and dark wood parquet boards.
3.2 Loft
The design of the living room in the apartment can be done in a spectacular loft style. This is a combination of open communications, exposed brick walls, vintage decor, soft aged leather furniture. The loft looks very advantageous in large living rooms, where it is not necessary to provide for zoning with partitions. Loft living rooms are very popular among young people and creative people.
3.3 Provence
The rustic luxury of Provence is revealed through colorful patterns, pink, yellow and light green hues, antique wooden furniture. The bright design of the Provence style living room is the dream of any housewife! The use of sand, beige, white and pastel colors create an atmosphere of comfort and warmth. Often the living room is combined with the kitchen to provide additional space for a large dining table.
3.4 Country
No less “rustic” style to create a cozy living room – country. It uses natural materials, simple furniture and utensils. Such living rooms look even more advantageous if the room has large windows through which a large amount of sunlight enters.
3.5 English style
People of conservative views and habits adhere to the maximum conciseness in the development of the living room interior idea. The English interior is distinguished by restraint and at the same time reflects the high social status of the apartment owners, which is expressed in antique solid wood furniture, expensive finishing materials in brown or green shades.
3.6 Modern classics
A modern living room interior can be classic at the same time! How does this style differ from the classics we are used to? More concise furniture and simple forms. At the same time, the elegance and luxury of the room is preserved. To decorate the living room in modern classics, pastel colors are used, expensive finishing materials (large-format tiles with marble imitation, parquet boards).
3.7 Minimalism
A living room without unnecessary decor elements is a modern trend in interior design in recent years. The room is designed as simply as possible using standard geometric shapes and shades (white, milky, beige, gray, black). Minimalism adds space and airiness to the living room and will look most advantageous in an apartment with high ceilings.
3.8 Hi-tech
If you want to create an even more techy modern living room, consider high-tech style. Unlike the classic one, in such an interior it is not only appropriate, but also important to place a plasma TV and all possible gadgets. If a smart home system is implemented in the living room, it will look even more advantageous. Shades used to create such an interior: metallic, black, gray, dark brown and blue.
3.9 Scandinavian style
The Scandinavian interior of the living room in the house will warm you on cold evenings and bring a slight coolness to the summer – that’s how it works 🙂 The combination of white, simple furniture, rich wood on the floor and natural textiles create an incredible atmosphere of comfort, which means you will definitely want to invite guests and while away evenings for heartfelt conversations. Recall that the global Ikea chain of stores will allow you to completely furnish an inexpensive living room in a Scandinavian style.
3.10 Art Deco
An extraordinary interior can be created with the help of art deco. It is created by mixing several styles at the same time: luxurious empire style, African and Indian motifs. A characteristic feature of art deco is curved and rounded shapes, vertical lines.
4. Living room colors 2024
Since the living room is the central place in an apartment or house, the selection of color schemes must be approached especially carefully. The choice of color depends on which side the windows of the room face when the light hits the windows, and on the size of the hall.
4.1 Cold gamma
In living rooms with a lot of sunlight, you can use cool colors – blue, light blue, purple, light green. In combination with background pastel shades, they refresh, give the living room coolness and tranquility. Light wood with a natural texture (oak, beech, birch, light ash) is suitable for decorating the living room in cold colors. To combine with more turquoise shades, dark wood (chestnut, wenge) is suitable. Fittings and lamps of silver shades will advantageously set off the cold range of the living room.
4.2 Warm palette
To “warm” the design of the living room, you can decorate it in a warm palette. Orange, brown, rich green, warm yellow will add cheerfulness, family comfort and warmth to the room.
4.3 Monochrome colors
Monochrome living room interior design is created from one dominant color interspersed with shades. Usually darker ones are used for accessories, and lighter ones are used as wall and floor finishes. The most expensive and winning palette is brown, green, white, black becomes relevant.
5. Living room interior 2024 with different zoning
The living room in a house or apartment has one main function – receiving guests. However, most often this room, which is central throughout the room, combines several very different functions:
- workplace
- dinner Zone
- resting-place
- extra bedroom
- storage of things
- music lessons (piano)
- cardio zone (cardio trainer vs. TV)
In order to properly combine all these functional areas with each other, it is important to distribute the space. Let’s see how to do it.
5.1 Design in a small room
In order to make a modern living room design, it is important to properly zone the space. This is especially true for small rooms – the living room should be both functional and spacious without unnecessary trash. An excellent solution would be to play with light and use built-in storage systems.
With what you can zone the living room:
- lighting (divided according to zones into ceiling, wall and floor)
- partitions (these can be bookcases, mobile mobile mechanisms)
- wall coverings (you can separate the workplace with wallpaper of a different color)
- niches (in them you can place a transformer workplace or a folding bed)
- podium (extra storage is placed under it)
- combination with a balcony (note that it is impossible to completely dismantle the balcony block, but the workplace and storage will fit perfectly on the balcony)
5.2 Large space
The zoning of a large living room is most often carried out due to a partial wall partition, but most often they resort to installing a high through shelving. The rack is more convenient, because then it will be possible to rearrange the furniture to your taste, and the design itself leaves the room more spacious and airy. In some cases, a wall partition for mounting a TV is partially left between the kitchen and the living room – practical and convenient.
5.3 Combination with the bedroom
Often the living room is also a bedroom, if we are talking about a one-room apartment. The most common solution is to install a fold-out sofa in the room, which serves as a rest during the day, and unfolds and is used as a bed at night. If you are a supporter of sleeping on a bed, then it is imperative to provide a relaxation area in the room. It can be a pair of armchairs with a coffee table by the window, separated from the bed with a decorative partition.
5.4 Indoor workplace
The pandemic has made adjustments to the layout of each apartment. The main change in the change in our interior is the appearance of one or two jobs.
How to organize a workplace in the living room:
- it is possible to make a folding table
- the workplace can be made from the windowsill
- work at the dinner table
The main rule is to combine a desktop with a kitchen set so that it does not stand out from the general stylistic concept. This problem was easily solved by Ikea, which released a whole series of small desktops in pastel shades.
5.5 Combination with the kitchen
We have already touched on this hot topic on our PRO DESIGN YouTube channel in a video about combining a kitchen and a living room:
In general, we can say that a small kitchen can and should be combined with a living room to create more space and a more comfortable layout. In addition to all other amenities, in place of the partition, you can just put a dining table for family dinners in a cozy atmosphere.
6. Entrust the design of your apartment to professionals
The Anchors design team will help you create a beautiful, practical, cozy interior in any style and for any budget from $500 per square meter on a turnkey basis. We offer not only the design of a living room in a house or apartment, but also a full-fledged design project with architectural supervision and equipment. To start work, you can separately order a planning solution – we will offer 2-3 options, and if you like everything, we can work on creating the space of your dreams!
