Transform your living room into a cozy, functional space—here’s how!

When a space feels welcoming, it means many aspects of the interior design have been done right—even if you can’t pinpoint exactly why the space feels so pleasant. You can enhance the feel and atmosphere of your living room in many ways, even with small adjustments. We’ve gathered the most important design insights to help you create a space you’ll love.

Expand with lines

You can influence how spacious a room feels, regardless of its actual size. To add height to a low ceiling, incorporate vertical lines. Horizontal lines, on the other hand, can make a room feel wider. You can create these lines with surface materials like striped wallpapers and paneling, or with furniture. Long, horizontal wall shelves can visually lower and widen a space. Feel free to divide a long room with furniture to make it appear shorter.

Transform space with colors

If lines alone aren’t giving you the effect you want, try enhancing it with colors. A simple rule is that warm shades appear to come close to the viewer, while cool colors recede. The purity and intensity of colors also influence the effect. Generally, light shades with lots of white contribute to making a space feel open and bright, while strong or muted colors usually make it appear smaller.

The eye is drawn to the bold horizontal line, further emphasized by the use of color.

The secret lies in proportions

You can visualize the proportions of your living room using various modeling programs. These tools allow you to create a three-dimensional sketch of your space and furniture, making it easy to experiment with furniture placement and see how everything fits together.

Another option is to draw the room’s floor plan with a scale ruler so the proportions match reality. You can draw the furniture directly onto the plan, or draw them on another sheet of paper at the same scale, then cut them out and arrange them on the plan in different ways until you find the best arrangement.

If you prefer an even more tangible method, you can mark out the area of the sofa you’re considering with masking tape on the floor, or set up cardboard boxes to represent it. This helps you see how much space the furniture will actually occupy.

Empty space is not wasted

Appreciate empty space—it is just as significant to the overall feel as the furnished and decorated parts of the room. You should plan out the empty spaces as well, because they can greatly affect how spacious or cramped a room feels. Arrange furniture, decorative items, and houseplants into clear groups. Furniture is easier to use when there’s empty space around it, items stand out more, caring for plants and cleaning become easier, and the room appears spacious rather than cramped.

The furniture is arranged so that each piece shines individually as well. There are clear passageways, and the overall feel is airy. The subdued color scheme is enlivened with a few carefully chosen accents.

Choose furniture of the right size

To make your living room functional, plan out the room’s pathways before furnishing. When choosing furniture, pay attention to their proportions and visual impact relative to the size of the space. Naturally, the intended use of the furniture and the needs of users of different ages affect your choices—for example, is the sofa meant for lounging comfortably while watching movies, or for sitting upright?

Without exact measurements, it’s easy to be tempted by overly massive furniture in the store because the showroom is often vast compared to your own living room, and the furniture in display settings are proportional to each other. The reference to your home’s dimensions is usually missing. When decorating a small space, it’s safest to choose simple, lightweight furniture that maintains a sense of openness and airiness. Dark and heavy furniture, on the other hand, are better suited to large rooms.

If your living room has high ceilings, make bold use of it. Built-in bookshelves that reach the ceiling are stunning. You can place other beautiful items alongside books on the shelves. Choose large artworks or arrange multiple pieces into a collage that extends well above eye level, even up to the ceiling. Large houseplants instantly add character to the space. In a high room, light fixtures can also be heavy and impressive. In a low room, it’s safest to preserve empty space even at the top of the room to maintain a sense of openness.

The muted soft hue of the walls brings intimate coziness to the space. The mirror placed above the sofa expands the room and reflects light. The sleek armchairs are a good counterpoint to the velvet sofa. The small movable tables are practical. Houseplants of different sizes and heights add rhythm to the ensemble.

Arrange furniture effectively

Consider whether you want to emphasize the position of the television in the living room by arranging seating to face it, or whether you’d prefer to hide the TV altogether. You can achieve this by placing the TV in a cabinet or on the wall next to a window, so you can pull a curtain over the screen if you wish.

To support interaction between people, it’s advisable to position seating facing each other or in a circle so that it’s easy for people to see each other. Also, consider the distance between pieces of furniture so that conversation partners aren’t too far apart. Group your furniture so that there are clear pathways of about 50–60 centimeters around them.

At its best, a rug functions like a playing field or ice rink; it creates clear functional boundaries and gathers furniture into a distinct group. A rug is large enough when the entire sofa set fits on it. Or, if the sofa is against a wall, at least its front legs should comfortably sit on the rug along with the other furniture in the group. In a large space, this solution effectively creates a new, more intimate, room within the room. If a single large rug seems impractical, you can achieve the same effect with two or more rugs placed side by side.

An expansive, richly textured rug has been chosen to complement the smooth-surfaced furniture. The cushions on the bay window bench are arranged symmetrically, but the overall look is lively and playful because the cushion covers are partially different.

Let lighting help

In addition to conquering darkness, lighting can create atmosphere and coziness. Light can also be used to alter the perception of space and either conceal or highlight details of the interior. Feel free to leave unfinished areas in shadow and highlight only the best features of the space.

The most effective and pleasant lighting is achieved by combining different types of fixtures. General lighting is always appropriate, but in addition, it’s good to have a task light in the living room under which you can immerse yourself in the twists of a novel. Indirect lighting, where light reflects into the room via the ceiling, walls, or a surface integrated into the fixture, provides soft, non-glaring light. Light filtered through a lampshade completes the cozy atmosphere. In addition, a painting or other piece of art may need its own spotlight.

With this in mind, when choosing lighting fixtures, it’s important to consider what kind of light your living room still lacks and complement the lighting accordingly. Almost all light fixture models offer options for different needs, whether you’re looking for a floor lamp or a wall lamp. Utilize all surfaces of the room in your lighting.

An uncomplicated floor lamp pairs well with a multidimensional ceiling fixture. A nested table set is not only practical; its various levels add rhythm to the ensemble.

Create rhythm and tension

To prevent the result from being dull, interior design needs rhythm and tension. Create an interesting space by using combinations of different materials, styles, and sizes.

By mixing furniture of different styles and ages, you can create layering that makes the interior feel timeless and fascinating. It’s worth cherishing heirloom pieces, as grandma’s old side table can be the finishing touch to a space filled with modern furniture.

Also combine different materials. Pair a square, glossy coffee table with a shag carpet, and adorn the sofa with velvet cushions of various sizes and shapes. Contrasts bring the desired tension to the final result.

If mixing styles and materials on a large scale feels challenging, start with decorative items or houseplants. Assemble them into different arrangements where you can experiment with combinations of shapes, colors, materials, and sizes. Generally speaking, an odd number of decorative cushions or houseplants works better than an even number. However, if you want to emphasize symmetry, choose an even number.

A harmonious ensemble has been created from furniture of different ages, using varying materials, styles, and shapes.

Furniture of different styles and ages has been combined into a bold and personal ensemble. The blue color is like an artwork at the center of the symmetrically hung paintings. Houseplants of varying sizes and shapes add just the right amount of rhythm and richness.

Source: Frida Ramstedt: Tyylikäs koti - Sisustamisen käsikirja (Tammi 2020). Also available in English: The Interior Design Handbook (Penguin Books 2020).