10 Living Room Features Pros Always Recommend

Kitchens and bathrooms get a lot of remodeling attention. But there’s been a surge of interest in living room updates in recent years. Many updates to living rooms are typically less expensive than the major changes often involved in kitchen and bathroom renovations. And the pandemic has changed the way many people want to live in their homes. That often starts with updating the living room.

With that in mind, we reached out to more than 50 home design and remodeling professionals and asked them which living room features they always recommend to homeowners. Here are the must-have living room features that came up again and again.

Living Room Features

National Association of the Remodeling Industry

LIVING ROOM FEATURES THE PROS RECOMMEND

Connection to the Outdoors

By far, the living room feature pros most often recommend is a connection to outdoor spaces. This helps virtually and physically expand the living space and maximizes natural light and views. “Of all the spaces in a home, the living room is the one for which we strive the hardest to create continuity between the interior and exterior,” says Coby Linton of Linton Architects.

This approach can take on many forms. At the top of the list would be sliding doors that completely open the indoors to the outdoors, as shown in this San Diego living room by Jackson Design & Remodeling.

But large windows that offer a view to an outdoor space also get the job done. “Large fixed windows are inexpensive and can really open up your home to views and light,” says designer Justin Cipriani of Cipriani Studios.

Living Room Features

Pure Salt Interiors

Performance Fabric

The next-most-recommended feature is performance fabric. This durable upholstery is stain-resistant and easy to clean, which also allows homeowners to feel a little more confident in choosing white and creamy colors for things like sofas and sectionals. “In living rooms, especially for clients with families or pets, I always recommend performance fabrics where possible,” says designer Natalie Meyer of CNC Home & Design. “Whether on sofas, chairs, or upholstered ottomans, a performance fabric will stand up to your family’s lifestyle and help protect against stains or spills so you can actually enjoy and live in your space.”

Living Room Features

Omnia Construction

Comfortable Furniture

This is an obvious one but it’s worth emphasizing: Comfortable furniture is a must-have in a living room. That means using more soft fabrics, deep cushions, and rounded edges rather than solid, hard-backed pieces and sharp corners. “I always tell my clients that the most important living room feature is comfort,” says designer Lindsey Machado of Designed With Grace & Joy. “We will always make any space look beautiful, so it’s more important to me that they’re also happy with the way it feels. That not only includes actual materials — think plush rugs, soft pillows and throw blankets, a nice-feeling sofa — but also ambiance.”

Designer Krista McGrath of McGrath Interiors tells homeowners to get the best-quality seating they can afford. “They will spend hours sitting on their furniture,” McGrath says, “so it should be very comfortable and hold up well.”

Designer ​Sabrina Lowe agrees. “The sofa is the one item in the living room that clients should put resources toward,” she says. “Most people who invest in a good couch have it for decades.”

Living Room Features

Jill Litner Kaplan Interiors

Multiple Seating Options

In addition to choosing comfortable furniture in durable fabrics, you should strive for plenty of seating options to accommodate family members and guests. Consider sofas, loveseats, ottomans, and armchairs.

Pros also recommend pieces that can be moved around, like accent chairs and footstools. Swivel chairs are another pro favorite. These allow the user to rotate to face a conversation area, a view, or a nearby room such as the kitchen.

And think about how window seats or a fireplace hearth might add to your seating arrangement.

Living Room Features

Ryan Street Architects

Large Area Rug

One element you’re almost guaranteed to find in a professionally designed and decorated living room is an area rug. This helps anchor the room and provides a jumping-off point for building a cohesive color palette. “It adds warmth and coziness to a space and is a great way to tie furniture and decor together while also providing a way to add detail and texture to the space,” designer Anna Butler says.

Designer Allison Crawford always recommends an oversize custom or vintage rug. “When all four feet of a living room’s furniture can sit on the rug, the entire space is elevated,” she says. “It creates a sense of elegance and really pulls the room together.”

Living Room Features

ORIJIN STONE, LLC

Fireplace

Many design and remodeling pros feel a fireplace should be a standard feature in a living room. It gives the space ambiance and provides a captivating focal point to arrange furniture around. “It allows for gathering and instinctually brings people together for conversation and creates memories,” says John Annis of Galbraith Carnahan Architects.

How to Decorate a Living Room

Living Room Features

Cuppett Kilpatrick Architects

Layered Lighting

Pros can’t say enough about the importance of a layered lighting scheme in a living room. “We always recommend layers of lighting, such as overhead lighting like a chandelier and then sconces,” says Alexandra Ford of Cummings Architecture + Interiors. “Living rooms can be used for so many activities — socially for entertaining, reading, watching a movie — you want to be able to have a variation of the lighting based on the task.”

Layered lighting is the go-to living room feature for designer Virginia Betty of Betty + Co Design and Consulting. “It’s nice to have a combination of small can lights on dimmers, sconce lights on the wall, reading lamps, and art lighting,” she says. “You can have it bright for cleaning time, task lighting for reading, and dim, cozy lighting for evening relaxing.”

To create flexibility with lighting, designer Wendy Black Rodgers recommends that homeowners install floor outlets so lamps can be positioned next to seating pieces without worrying about tripping over cords.

Christie Sobran Designs

Built-Ins

Built-in cabinets give homeowners customized storage and display space while creating a finished look. “One of our top living room features that we recommend is built-in shelving or custom woodwork — cabinetry, built-ins, room dividers,” says designer Ivana Stojanovska of Arete Renovators.

Designer Christie Sobran added these custom built-ins flanking a porcelain fireplace surround in a Bridgeport, Connecticut, living room. A bar sits to the left, with additional storage on the right.

Living Room Features

The Sitting Room

Open Floor Plan

Many family members and guests spend the bulk of their time at home in the kitchen or living room, so creating a connection between the two spaces makes sense. That’s why many pros recommend an open floor plan when it comes to living spaces.

Keep in mind that you can still have some delineation of space within an open plan. Furniture arrangement, ceiling treatments, and partial walls can give the feeling of separation between spaces while maintaining openness.

Beth Haley Design

Ceiling Treatment

A lot of living room design centers around elements close to the ground. But pros urge homeowners to consider what’s above too. Attractive ceiling features like coffered millwork, beams, or even statement light fixtures will make a room feel complete. “We always try to incorporate a generous ceiling height in a living space and include a special ceiling feature tailored to the homeowner’s style and design aesthetic,” says designer Jennifer Whisenant of Noble Johnson Architects. “This may include a wood ceiling, coffered beams, accent paint color, or heavy timber beams.”

The article was written by Mitchell Parker, Houzz Editorial Staff.  Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative trends, breaking news, industry analysis, and humor.

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For high-end home design, build, and remodeling in the greater Phoenix area that reflects your vision, Tri-Lite Builders will help you love your home again. Start your project by calling us at (480) 895-3442 or emailing [email protected] to discuss your remodeling project. We offer no-obligation in-home consultation. Our NARI-certified award-winning designers and craftsmen are eager to work with you to make your vision for your home a reality!  See our portfolio here.

5 Stylish New Living Rooms with Personality

A well-designed living room often reflects the people who use it. And design and remodeling pros are good at teasing out homeowner preferences to create a special mix of color, pattern, decor, and architecture that feels full of personality. Here, pros share details about how they did just that in five stylish new living rooms with personality.

living rooms with personality

Amy Pigliacampo Interiors

Midcentury Mood

Designer: Amy Pigliacampo
Location: Boulder, Colorado
Size: 450 square feet (42 square meters); 18 by 25 feet

Homeowners’ request. “The architecture of the space was so special,” designer Amy Pigliacampo says. “It’s a midcentury home designed by Thomas Nixon and Lincoln Jones that incorporates indoor-outdoor spaces with large windows and design elements that continue past the glass. But the homeowners had dark, heavy furniture from their old home that didn’t do the room justice. So the goal was to highlight the beauty of the space by utilizing elements that felt complementary and like a natural extension of the design.”

Main feature. “Every space should tell the story of the people that live there — what’s important to them, how they live their lives, and how they come together to celebrate moments big and small,” Pigliacampo says. “So my aim is always to highlight the key features of the home while optimizing the space based on the realities of their day-to-day.

“This home has so many unique architectural elements, and while we wanted the room to have a curated look, we didn’t want to compete with those strong details,” Pigliacampo says. “The use of indigenous flagstone throughout the home also served as a major inspiration for the palette and design.

“By layering creamy whites with the grays, terra cottas, and pink tones found in the rock, we created a cohesive concept that complemented the original structure. We chose contemporary furniture with clean lines and brought in warmth with soft texture by using natural materials like jute, wool, and clay and a vintage Acrosonic walnut piano.”

Other special features. “The accent chairs are pretty special,” Pigliacampo says. “They were much bolder than anything we initially discussed, but when I showed the client, she loved them immediately — and they really tied everything together in an amazing way.”

Designer tip. “Floating furniture,” Pigliacampo says. “There’s a tendency to want to push furniture up against walls and oftentimes it creates awkward proportions. But you can actually create a much more intimate setting when large pieces ‘float’ in the room. This is also a great way to delineate spaces within a large room, using rugs to anchor the various zones.”

living room with personality

Mark D. Williams Custom Homes

Coastal Character

Designer: Kate Regan of The Sitting Room
Construction: Mark D. Williams Custom Homes
Location: Excelsior, Minnesota
Size: 399 square feet (37 square meters); 19 by 21 feet

Homeowners’ request. “The clients wanted an approachable yet classic-inspired great room that overlooks the lake,” builder Mark D. Williams says. “The intent of this room was to be used and yet also be dressed up and inviting for guests. They also wanted to hide the screen porch and grilling area from the main views.”

Main feature. “The coffered ceiling beams really accent the great room from the rest of the main level,” Williams says. “We also designed the south-facing windows with a hidden remote blind in the bottom of the beam to be used for privacy and to help on sunny summer days. For the flooring, we went with classic 5-inch white oak with an almost clear stain that was really light and played on the natural beauty of the wood.”

Other special features. “The clients wanted to feel very sunny and joyful in their home, so we made sure to incorporate a lot of colors into the furniture selections to play off the neutral tones,” designer Kate Regan says.

CMC Designs Charleston

Pattern Persona

Designer: Catherine Carabello of CMC Designs Charleston
Location: Charleston, South Carolina
Size: 270 square feet (25 square meters); 15 by 18 feet

Homeowners’ request. “The homeowners purchased the home in September and needed a small renovation and a complete face-lift,” designer Catherine Carabello says. “They are a young family and needed a home that they could entertain in but also allow their 2-year-old son the freedom to play and feel comfortable.”

Main feature. “The jumping-off point was definitely the wallpaper,” Carabello says. “We felt it was fun but also classic enough that they would not get tired of looking at it.”

Other special features. Brown Tuxedo-style sofa. Boucle accent chairs. White beadboard wainscoting (Cloud White by Benjamin Moore). “It’s a wonderful color for both traditional and contemporary spaces,” Carabello says. “The natural shades added the softness and texture needed to balance the white wainscoting and the wallpaper.”

Designer tip. “Texture and layering are always needed to complete a design,” Carabello says.

Wallpaper: Thibaut

10 Living Room Features Pros Always Recommend

living rooms with personality

Alison Kandler Interior Design

Cottage Collection

Designer: Alison Kandler Interior Design
Location: Los Angeles
Size: 255 square feet (24 square meters); 15 by 17 feet
Homeowners’ request. Play down the home’s Spanish Colonial Revival architecture with a colorful cottage style. “It’s a fun mesh of styles,” says designer Alison Kandler, who used photos of colorful rooms found on Houzz as inspiration.

Main feature. “The fireplace is symmetrical in the room so everything is designed around that existing, very large fireplace,” Kandler says. “Also, the ceilings are tall — 10 feet — and they had dark-stained beams. To play down the Spanish Colonial Revival style, I painted the beams white and added wallpaper between the beams to make the room feel more playful and cottage-like.”

Other special features. “The white sofas, covered in outdoor fabric, and black furniture pieces are great neutral backdrops to all of the colorful accessories,” Kandler says. “The window coverings are sheer, allowing for privacy and softness but still maximizing the natural light. The colorful vintage rug helps tie the room’s colors together. I always mix in one-of-a-kind vintage pieces so each room feels unique.”

Designer tip. “Adding built-in bookcases at the end of a long room helps shorten the overall look, which makes the room feel cozier,” Kandler says.

“Uh-oh” moment. “My client really wanted a large TV in the living room over the mantel, since there is no separate den in this house, but also wanted the room to feel elegant,” Kandler says. “We agreed on a TV with fine art screen savers so the room would never sit empty with a big black TV on the wall.”

Wallpaper: Quadrille; blue sofa fabric: Jaali in Iznik Blue, Peter Dunham Textiles & Wallpaper

living room with personality

 Moore House Design

Barn Beauty

Designers: Blair Moore and Bromley Moore of Moore House Design
Location: Cutler, Maine

Homeowners’ request. “This was a relatively unconventional and labor-intensive barn overhaul,” designer and homeowner Blair Moore says. “It’s the original barn of an old stick-and-shingle Colonial cottage by the name of Coasters’ Chance that’s been in our family for a few generations. The goal was to extend the livable space of the cottage to turn it into an entertaining paradise. What is now the great room was originally the cottage’s barn and was filled with horse stalls. If you look closely, you’ll see the wide planks on the floor and hints of hydrated lime. We wanted to highlight these hints of the structure’s history throughout the design. Making this space functional, inviting, comfortable and of course beautiful were our top priorities.”

Main feature. “The barn used to be totally limewashed and filled with horses and hay, so we really didn’t want to lose that rustic character,” Moore says. “There was a fair amount of old limewash still covering some of the walls and flooring, so adding plaster walls was a sensible material choice for us that we felt would help blend the old with new.

“After much deliberation with the family and our design team, we made the decision to only bring the plaster halfway up the walls. The original vaulted barn ceiling and beams were simply too wonderful to cover up. They’re the real McCoy that everyone always tries to replicate in new builds — covering them up was a no-go for the family. We also enlarged and rebuilt the windows using traditional techniques and old ripple glass to add more light. The final product is a barn that feels modern but still has ties to its traditional Colonial heritage.”

Other special features. “Since this space was so large, we knew that filling it would be a big undertaking,” Moore says. “Step one was adding a massive, cozy sofa that would almost wrap around the room. We also layered in some of our favorite pieces, like the 1970s Hunter easy chair by Norwegian designer Torbjørn Afdal, a vintage rug and our newly designed Passerine daybed.

“We found this wide-planked table with the most incredible patina and we immediately knew it needed to live in Coasters’ Chance. Obviously, we wanted an equally massive coffee table to go with the sectional, so we added two modern-feeling legs with perfectly placed cutouts so that the table actually slides into them on either end. This gave way to a sleek design without any exposed screws or weird joint plate supports.”

Moore House Design

“Uh-oh” moment. “Our team began by pulling up the gorgeous old wide-plank flooring only to reveal a foundation in worse shape than we had expected,” Moore says. “The foundation was cracked to bits and most of the beams under the floorboards had a significant amount of rot due to a large amount of water. This meant we were going to have to put the barn up on jacks.

“When a structure this old has to be put up on jacks, there is always a possibility that it will collapse on itself. This was super stressful for our team, as we were being filmed and needed this to work in order to renovate the space. After the foundation was dug out and the chimney base repaired, we began the delicate process of replacing the beams. Then, much to our relief, we took the barn off the jacks and relaid all those old floorboards. This was a little more than our design team had bargained for amid a three-month, 3,500-square-foot turnaround, but we love learning on the job and were lucky to have some solid, highly experienced contractors to help us through the process.”

Custom furniture and lighting: Moore House Coasters sectional, Passerine daybed, The Sabi coffee table and Steampunk sconce, Moore House Design; plaster: Dillon Construction

By Mitchell Parker, Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative trends, breaking news, industry analysis, and humor.

Premier Home Remodeling in the Greater Phoenix Area

For high-end home design, build, and remodeling in the greater Phoenix area that reflects your vision, Homework Remodels will help you love your home again. Start your project by calling us at (480) 895-3442 or email [email protected] to discuss your remodeling project.  We offer no-obligation in-home consultation. Our NARI-certified award-winning designers and craftsman are eager to work with you to make your vision for your home a reality!  See our portfolio here.

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