Inspiring Living Room Ideas to Decorate with Style

Step-down or sunken living spaces have a long history that goes back to the late ‘50s. The style is making its way back to the modern interiors because of more practical purposes. This style of dropping the floor is necessary where raising the roof is not possible. The use of partitions, walls, or thresholds also facilitates smooth transition from one material to another, which is rather difficult with open floor plans characteristic of mainstream design.

living room desert interiors — Open space living rooms unites your home

Image: Own By Design – via

Open plan living room ideas

Created by ‘Ownby Design’, this living room is the part of an open floor plan but a few steps down distinguishes it from the rest of the space along with giving a touch of intimacy. Here, the living room, kitchen, and the dining area are flowing from one space to another but still have visibly distinct partitions. The sectional right in front of the divider and custom-designed pillows have created a comfy seating for watching your favorite show on the TV.

Pendant lamps in a modern open space living room

by Nicole Lanteri

by Adrienne Chinn / Photos: Richard Gooding

by Robbins Architecture / Hedrich Blessing Photographers

You can go after this design if you have an L-shaped divider or at least any kind of divider separating your living room from other spaces of the house. You can box in the divider with drywall and add an attractive wood top as shown in this picture. The divider can even be replaced by open shelving, railings, or possible with a built-in sofa. A couple of pots with flower and plant, table lamps, a ceiling fan, sectional, and a couple of sofas will do the rest for you.

living room sleek modern — Modern and sleek living room ideas

Image: Natalie Epstein Design – via

‘Natalie Epstein Design’ creates this sunken living room. Your present living room can be converted into such a step-down one when you have to remove the partition walls separating kitchen, living, dining, and family rooms and to create one big, open space during complete remodel of your home. Here, the space is separated from kitchen with open glass shelves and cabinets, which are turned into deck area.

So, you can use the same trick to separate your living area from the kitchen. With a mix of brownish, grayish color on the wall, porcelain travertine tiles on the floor, a soft area rug, wood slat chairs, a stylish table lamp, and a couple of coffee tables at the middle can help you catching the vibe of this room. A fireplace with shifting planes is present in this room. Even if you do not have any such fireplace in your living room, you can decorate the walls with a few portraits complementing the brownish taupe color of the walls.

living room open area — Use natural finishes to enhance your interiors

Image: 186 Lighting Design Group – via

Modern home living room with open space plan

by Peter A. Sellar – Architectural Photographer

Large open space living room with a colorful atmosphere

by Ana Williamson Architect

It is the living-cum-dining room of the ‘Edge House’ designed by ‘Studio B Architects’. This space just looks like a movie set on the backdrop of a silver blue mountain. Use of wood ceiling and wood floor panel along with white wall interior has given the place a certain aesthetic look.

While it would be difficult for you to have such an outside backdrop for your living room, you can try the interior by using drywall, wood ceiling, and wood baseboard. Match the dazzling white color of the walls with white sectional and couch while complement the wood flooring and ceiling with a wooden table. Use dark-ash area rugs matching with the upholstery color of the dining chairs.

living room open plan — Use lighting and open space in your living room

Image: Photo Klik – via

It is the picture of a sunken living room in a Downtown Toronto. Here, the room is separated from the kitchen by a divider but the decor of the space prevents this separation to create an isolated vibe from the rest of the living areas. In fact, the recessed lighting in kitchen and living room connects them together. The wall behind the couch with two big paintings on it and the placement of TV above the fireplace adds interest to the decor of the room.

living room modern interiors — Clean and modern lines can make your living room relaxing

Image: Lencioni Construction – via

You can adopt many of these ideas for your living room decoration with timber floors, timber cladding, artwork and similar amenities. Try and keep a balance among the colors used your living room to create a space that is inviting and comfortable for your family and guests.