Mansion Global

The Essential Guide to Redesigning Your Living Room

For this high-traffic area, start the process with an object that sparks joy and tie it all together with art and momentos

Designed by Nicole Michael, this living room features sophisticated tonal neutrals. Courtesy of Nicole Michael Designs

Designed by Nicole Michael, this living room features sophisticated tonal neutrals. Courtesy of Nicole Michael Designs

In many houses, the living room is the most well-loved area, naturally, because most families spend the majority of their time in it. And while it should have certain ingredients—comfort, space to spread out and multiple seating areas, the essentials for utilizing the space—it also needs a sense of style.

Whether your living room is so well loved that it’s showing its wear, or you’re simply seeking some change, we turned to the design pros for advice on how to makeover this central space,so that it looks and feels like the very heart of the home. 

Where to Start

Maybe you have a loose idea of the kind of vibe you want to go for but translating it to reality can be difficult without first having some inspiration. Find visual content that illustrates looks you love, said Jenny Dina Kirschner, principal of JDK Interiors in New York. Whether you go to Pinterest or peruse favorite design sites, “I find this really helps both clients and their designers hone in on a specific aesthetic or concept more easily,” she said. 

“As a designer, I always look to something for that first bit of inspiration to get started, whether it be a marble slab, a rug, or even an exquisite textile,” Ms. Kirschner said. “I once designed an entire room by starting with a throw pillow my client fell in love with; she adored the texture and pattern, but most importantly, the colors were incredibly dynamic and just right for her. Everything else in the room was chosen to coordinate with that one pillow.” 

Similarly, before designing a space at Brooklyn Point, a residential and commercial building in Downtown Brooklyn, Charlie Ferrer of FERRER design studio in New York found a photograph of two astronauts touching helmets in a mid-air kiss long before his firm designed the space. 

“In creating the design, I started to think of 1960s and early 1970s design inspired by the space race,” he said. 

Ferrer also tends to shop for foundational pieces at the same time—rugs, furniture and lighting. “If I find amazing accessories during that process, best to grab them. A single object can set the direction for a whole house.”

Sara Barnard of Sarah Barnard Design in Los Angeles also said a starting point should be the object that brings you the most joy. 

“This might be a sofa. Or it might be a small side table that you adore. From there, build out, keeping in mind that all of the elements need to be visual friends, or at the very least cousins,” she said. “There can be an underlying theme, like color or era. But that isn’t as important as the overall space inspiring a sparkly feeling inside you.”  

If you don’t have a specific piece of inspiration, it’s always a good idea to create a mood board—either online or in real life on posterboard. Select images with your heart, not with your head, said Nicole Michael, principal of Nicole Michael Designs in Newport Beach, California. Once you’ve assembled a lot of images, then go back and look for patterns—colors or textures or lines that repeat, she said. 

Mr. Ferrer suggested, in addition to pulling images, write down a list of key terms that convey the feeling you’re after. Pinterest can be a useful tool for this. 

It’s important to consider how the space will be used. “This will determine the best possible layout and help narrow down types of furniture pieces and textile applications,” Ms. Kirschner said. “For example, if a lot of kids will be using the space regularly, you'll want to consider selecting durable textiles, rugs, furniture and fewer fragile accents.” 

All-over wood paneling and built-in shelving add old-world flair to an open living room and study designed by Sarah Barnard. Photography by Steven Dewall; art by Kevin Moore

A chandelier becomes the dramatic focal point in a room designed by Jenny Dina Kirschner. Photography by Ryan Dausch

A chandelier becomes the dramatic focal point in a room designed by Jenny Dina Kirschner. Photography by Ryan Dausch

What’s Popular Now

While style is personal, and there are really no rules when it comes to décor, looking to trends can help give you an idea of a way to go. “Mid-century French and Italian furniture and lighting remain popular as well as neutral-colored warm fabrics and cream bouclé,” Ferrer said. However, he prefers a broad mix and some color. “The mix is what makes it interesting, special and appealing over time,” he said.  

Interestingly, wallpaper, which had fallen out of favor for a number of years, has come back with a vengeance, said Hadas Dembo, principal at Mise en Scène Design in New York. “Some papers are textured to look like faux finishes; others use photography or line drawings to create customizable mural effects. You can really have a lot of fun and add a good dynamic to a room with these coverings.”    

Wall treatment will largely determine the tone of a living space, Ms. Kirschner said. “I’m a huge fan of wall coverings, be it paper, vinyl, grasscloth, plaster or hand-painted linen or silk; they can instantly breathe life into and transform a space with ease. I typically choose my wall treatment in unison with all of my textiles for the living space,” she said.

A chandelier becomes the dramatic focal point in a room designed by Jenny Dina Kirschner. Photography by Ryan Dausch

And then there’s the color palette to consider. While Pantone predicted sunny yellow and muted gray would reign in 2021, Behr picked a rich terra cotta and Benjamin Moore chose a soothing blue green. So creating a color story in your home based on what’s trending can be tricky.

 “Not unlike clothes, you can’t just pick colors and patterns you like and throw them all together. The overall palette has to relate to other specifics in some way,” Ms. Dembo said. Mr. Ferrer suggested considering several qualities about color. “Are you attracted to warm hues or cool ones? Dark or light tones? Saturated or diffused color? Remember, when looking at paint fans and fabrics, once colors are applied in a room, they read darker than they appear as small swatches,” he said.

Making it All Come Together

Ms. Barnard advised planning everything even before starting. “Even houseplants can’t be an afterthought. You have to decide ahead of time where the lighting and space will best support them,” she said. 

This is especially important when it comes to furniture. “The most common oversight we see is people measuring a room to see if a sofa will fit in it, but they don’t take into account the size of the door/entryway. Taking those extra minutes to measure can save so much time, money and hassle,” Ms. Barnard said. 

When looking at the overall vibe, Ms. Michael recommended repeating patterns: colors, shapes, etc. 

“Maybe you have a round side table with a round floor lamp and a round mirror above the fireplace. This kind of subtle repetition unifies a space and makes it feel thought out,” she said. Color can also unify, though you don’t need to use the exact same shade to get that cohesive feeling, Ms. Michael said. 

Once you have a clear vision for the style and color palette, accessorizing the space can mean the difference between “a living room that feels like a sterile furniture showroom and a living room that feels like a well-designed, lived-in, beautiful space with character and relevance,” Ms. Kirschner said. 

“That old quilt or hand-knitted throw your grandmother made for you, an old pair of candlesticks you picked up at a flea market, a piece of interesting handmade pottery, an old black-and-white framed family photograph, a collection of vintage records or a simple trinket you picked up on a weekend trip to the beach; all of these items help to breathe character and life into a living space,” she said.   

Completing the room also means adding artwork, which should contribute to the overall feeling, not just serve as filler for vertical planes, Ms. Dembo said. “Too often, artwork is selected because it fits the space and resonates with the homeowner. But artwork loses impact if it is not somehow integrated into a larger context.” 

For Ms. Kirschner, art is at the forefront of her own design process. 

“I'll often pull my living room schemes from the hues within the pieces I plan to hang,” she said. “When I have a client who either doesn’t care for the idea of purchasing art, or who doesn’t yet have an extensive collection, I encourage the use of more texture and pattern on walls through wall coverings (or wallpaper murals) to give interest and character to their living space,” she said.   

“Without art, you can have all the pretty furniture in the world, and the room will still look naked,” Ms. Michael said.

Graphic accents add interest to a neutral-toned living room designed by Jenny Dina Kirschner. Photography by Chris Mottalini