New Year’s Sale: Get 20% off Dwell with promo code YEAR20
  • Home Tours
    • Dwell Exclusives
    • Before & After
    • Budget Breakdown
    • Renovations
    • Prefab
    • Video Tours
    • Travel
    • Real Estate
    • Vacation Rentals
  • Photos
    • Editor’s Picks
    • Bathrooms
    • Kitchens
    • Staircases
    • Outdoor
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • All Issues
  • Shop
    • Shopping Guides
    • Furniture
    • Lighting & Fans
    • Decor & More
    • Kitchen & Dining
    • Bath & Bed
  • Projects
    • Editor’s Picks
    • Modern
    • Midcentury
    • Industrial
    • Farmhouses
    • Scandinavian
    • Find a Pro
    • Sourcebook
    • Post a Project
  • Collections
    • Editor’s Picks
    • Shopping
    • Recently Saved
    • Planning
SubscribeSign In
  • FILTER

    • All Photos
    • Editor’s Picks
    • living
  • Furniture

    • Bench(1104)
    • Chair(5237)
    • Sofa(5098)
    • Sectional(1103)
    • Recliner(214)
    • Ottomans(880)
    • End Tables(1757)
    • Coffee Tables(3932)
    • Console Tables(584)
    • Bookcase(719)
    • Media Cabinet(294)
    • Table(898)
    • Stools(437)
    • Bar(189)
    • Storage(771)
    • Shelves(816)
    • Desk(142)
    • Lamps(889)
  • Lighting

    • Ceiling(2201)
    • Floor(1129)
    • Table(616)
    • Wall(812)
    • Pendant(1738)
    • Track(401)
    • Recessed(1306)
    • Accent(404)
  • Floors

    • Medium Hardwood(1894)
    • Light Hardwood(1958)
    • Dark Hardwood(447)
    • Porcelain Tile(121)
    • Ceramic Tile(125)
    • Travertine(42)
    • Concrete(1602)
    • Vinyl(65)
    • Limestone(58)
    • Slate(81)
    • Marble(40)
    • Terra-cotta Tile(37)
    • Linoleum(22)
    • Bamboo(8)
    • Laminate(23)
    • Cork(48)
    • Painted Wood(44)
    • Brick(41)
    • Cement Tile(30)
    • Plywood(34)
    • Terrazzo(143)
    • Carpet(276)
    • Rug(2266)
  • Fireplace

    • Standard Layout(1222)
    • Corner(179)
    • Hanging(146)
    • Ribbon(109)
    • Two-Sided(144)
    • Gas Burning(377)
    • Wood Burning(1251)
All Photos/living

Living Room Design Photos and Ideas

After - living room (Rubio monocoat floors, Chantilly lace walls, used fireplace)
Custom furniture sits atop an Ikea rug. The custom fluted glass door opens to the hallway running through the house.
The main space opens up entirely—visually and literally—toward the Pacific Ocean. It’s clad in large sliding windows that connect the interior spaces to the outdoors.
The cabin is perched by the edge of a bluff in the homeowner’s steep, half-acre yard, set some 300 feet above sea level, with cypress trees all around.
Julie bought the sofa at in auction in Stockholm, and loves how it blends into the midcentury modern look and feel of the home.
Glass doors slide open to create seamless transitions between the interior and exterior living areas.
After: The living room overlooks the great room below. Now when you walk in the house, you can see clear out to the trees in the back—an idea sparked by an interior designer friend who commented that the most important aspect of a design is what you see when you walk in the front door.
Ben Kicic and Emilio Halperin have a loft in common—and the Bed Stuy studio showcases their work and curios with DIY shelving and light that’s just right.
The home’s eaves—over eight feet long—allow the garden doors to be kept fully open without rain blowing inside, barring a severe storm. The deep eaves also provide solar protection to the interior.
"The effect of the plantings on the terrace is enormous,” reflects the couple. “Not only do the branches and formations give a sense of the four seasons, but the way it looks from the living room contributes to a sense of calmness. It gives the illusion that we are viewing art."
A Samsung Frame TV blends in with other artwork collected by the homeowners.
The original layout was very much of the time: a perfect midcentury modern flow, with a closed-off kitchen and a fire put in the floor. “They were cool but impractical spaces,” says Schaer.
Oiled birch veneer lines the entire interior. Instead of the staircase, a ladder leads up to the loft where a skylight brings more light into the home. Situated on either side of the bathroom entry, closets make up for the storage lost by removing the stair.
Stover says that the team and the owner were very careful about spatial planning, including the small shelves that are tucked into the curves of the Airstream.
At the back of the Airstream, a U-shaped lounging area converts into a queen-sized bed for adults.
The daybed beneath the window was specifically designed for LOVT. Apart from hiding storage, it can be moved from the wall and split into two unites to provide extra seating.
The living room has a vintage Milo Baughman couch with cushions fashioned from Angora mohair from Architex. The coffee table is vintage, as is the side table base, given a custom stone top. A Seneca Table Lamp is by Danny Kaplan, while the artwork over the couch is by Patton Miller.
The courtyard is enjoyed from multiple vantage points, including the main living spaces and an office on the main floor, as well as a second-floor hallway and bedrooms.
Though the living room only has large windows on one side, an upper window at left helps create what the clients call double sunrises and sunsets, by creating reflections on the larger windows at right.
"Jill and MIke enjoy entertaining at their new house, and are avid chefs and connoisseurs of food, wine, art, and vintage furniture,
“They were the lightest possible way to support the roof,” says Anton of the raw steel rafter ties in the newly vaulted living room. It’s a detail they’d first used in their ADU several years before.
A lounge area in the bedroom is awash in color and cozy texture.
Josh Jessup (left), Louis the dog and Matt Moss, pictured in their rental home's "conversation pit."
“Opening the house to the southwest also gave the best chance of hearing the ocean noises in the house at night,” says Sabbeth. A Malm Firedrum 3 fireplace anchors the corner, with a cream Piero Lissoni sofa, coffee table by Andrianna Shamaris and leather Cassina chairs placed before it.
A steel staircase connects the living room to the new second story while acting as a functional sculpture in the space. Cameron repurposed the timber paneling from another building site.
Although John and Debby ditched the home’s acoustic ceiling tiles, they kept the living room’s original handmade windows for their vintage quality. The grouping of art above the fireplace is by Minneapolis-based artist Jay Heikes.
Sabine Marcelis for IKEA’s coveted ‘doughnut’ lamp adds a pop of playfulness to the open-plan lounge area.
“I love to sit on the top floor with the big windows and see the day change, from the early morning when the fog hits the mountaintops, to the afternoon when the birds fly by right outside,” says Kirsten Dirksen.
The home’s living area now opens wide to the backyard—perfect for SoCal’s indoor/outdoor lifestyle.
RJ and Frances took down the wall to connect the kitchen with the living area, improving the home’s circulation.
The denim-colored sofa is from West Elm (a nod to the jean shorts featured in Tyler's "Sunday in the Park" poster), while the pumpkin-hued armchairs were a splurge at Soho Home.
The home has retained much of its historic character, including its original wood floors and doors.
Benjamin Moore's Barberry paint accents a wall in the living room, which it lit by a chandelier by Andrew Neyer. The ottoman is by Muuto.
In the new living room, the floors are covered in pine wood with a Bona Craft Oil finish in Frost, and the walls and ceiling are coated in lime plaster, Mortex by Beal. The handmade hanging chair, made of plaster, is a favorite spot for the couple’s cat, Paka.
Originally the floor plan had the door to the bathroom tucked over to one side to make way for a stationery bed. Perpetually Devastated reconfigured the layout for more comfortable access by changing the bed into a slide-out design, with a clever nesting headboard that expands and contracts along with the mattress.
A BoConcept sectional is joined by a  Yngve Ekström lounge chair and ottoman and an Eames chair in the living area. The couple found the vintage Danish coffee table at a flea market, while the traditional Indian stools were purchased for their wedding. Whitewashed poplar clads the far wall.
Refinished floors and a coat of Benjamin Moore’s Devon Cream helped breathe new life into the space. The original ceiling fixture remains in place.
Marka and Joe's English Setter named Finn rests in the living room; not pictured is Finn's sidekick Charlie, the couple's other beloved dog.
Large vintage pendants from an old ship suspend above the dining table, crafted by Dave Ball of Jacob May in Oakland. The radiant-heat flooring is reclaimed barn wood from Tennessee. The artwork that hangs above the cabinet and conceals a television was created from pieces of wood painted by local artists during a party hosted by Marka and Joe, who elected to leave the living area's large metal structural beam exposed.
A ladder from the carriage house's living room leads up to a loft bedroom.
“I consider light to actually be one of the materials here,” says Losada-Amor. Skylights (including one in the shower) offer ventilation as well as light.
Sheer, lightweight curtains can be closed to separate the studio from the garden. “It’s a very quiet space where you can retreat into your own thoughts, read, write, and think,” says architect Cristian Stefanescu.
Built-in bunks are decked out with a private window for viewing the outdoors, and an adjustable reading light from Prima Lighting.  A simple pendant hangs above the main space.
Jon, left, and Michael, right, sit in front of a painting by London-based artist Jason Tessier.
Built-in bookcases from a pink marble mantle topped by a pier mirror.
New sliders by Fleetwood open wide to the pool deck, which was redone to match what had been there originally.
“This wasn’t a reconstruction, but a major renovation,” says Dora. “The bones were there.”
The home, after passing through the tiled entry arch, opens directly onto the living area, with a Scott McIntire painting hung above a rug the couple bought in Turkey.
“We’ve tried to create a space that feels calm, with warm lighting, soft textures, natural wood pieces, and beach treasures collected from our trips,” says Leah. The living room features a cozy and durable Movie Night Sectional from Sundays, Zero Waste Coffee Table from Avocado, and handcrafted shelving unit by local carpenter Kaleb Redden—putting family mementos and found objects on display.
The redesign created two arched passageways into the kitchen as part of a rebuilt dividing wall, improving circulation and doubling as built-in storage.
The renovated living room  gave the space a splash of white, icluding a fireplace makeover, but retained the original red oak floors.
Red-stained plywood is a twist on the familiar green construction plywood so often found lining New York City construction sites; the rough plaster finish on the bathroom walls is an allusion to the texture of city sidewalks. “It’s really a streetscape,” explains Khoi.
Upon entry is a charming foyer with ample storage that leads down to the main living areas.
The rock outcropping in the backyard of this house in Victoria, British Columbia, influenced the design of the home’s addition.
Prev123456...156Next

The Dwell House Is a Modern Prefab ADU Delivered to Your Backyard

Learn More

About

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • FAQ
  • Editorial Standards
  • Careers
  • Advertise
  • Media Kit

Subscriptions

  • Subscribe to Dwell
  • Gift Dwell Magazine
  • Dwell+ Subscription Help
  • Magazine Subscription Help

Professionals

  • Post a Project
  • Sell Your Products
  • Contribute to Dwell
  • Promote Your Work

Follow

  • @dwellmagazine on Instagram
  • @dwellmagazine on Pinterest
  • @dwell on Facebook
  • @dwell on Twitter
  • @dwell on Flipboard
  • Dwell RSS

© 2025 Recurrent Ventures Inc. All rights reserved.

  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • DMCA
  • Sitemap