Since common areas like your living room, dining room, and kitchen are often the most seen rooms in your home by guests, the look of these rooms is essential in creating a positive first impression. In fact, you should consider your living room to be the center of attraction and the focus of any guest that comes through and it needs to be as attractive as possible. Aside from that, it also needs to be functional and comfortable because since everyone will be spending a lot of time in it. And Décor Aid interior designers know how challenging it can be to get contemporary living room ideas right; so we’re breaking down what it takes to inspire you.

Here’s our take on the 15 best contemporary living room ideas to consider refreshing yours with ease, no matter the amount of living room space you have to work with.

SKIP A SOFA

Since modern contemporary living room ideas call for thinking outside of the box, do reconsider a completely fresh take in your living room to make it all the more unique. Instead of having the traditional setup involving the expected chairs and sofas around a coffee table, think about how you can make your living room feel one-of-a-kind.

How about skipping out on a sofa altogether? This is an especially clever idea for a small living room as sofas can be bulky while taking up tons of visual floor space. Instead, group seating together to keep it conversational while also evoking an elegant clubhouse feel. Or you could opt for a backless bench instead of a couch or an elegant chaise lounge to keep the overall look relaxed in spirit.

STAGE EVERYTHING AROUND FLOORING

Ask any interior design where to begin when decorating any room in your home and they’ll be more than likely to immediately suggest that you start with flooring.

Use a large-scale rug to tie a room together while thinking of it as a decorative starting point to guide you through channeling modern contemporary living room ideas. Take the living room featured above. Without that graphic extra-large cream rug, it would come off as cold and incomplete, and if it was too small, the scale would look and feel all wrong. And if you’ve got carpet or flooring that you don’t want covered, simply clean or refinish it to make it look anew.

CURVED FURNISHINGS

Though they haven’t been in vogue since the late-’60s, curved furnishings have made quite the comeback when it comes to updated contemporary living room ideas over the past few years and will remain timeless in appeal for years to come.

Let them lend your living room a more laid back yet pulled-together spirit that’s much easier on the eye than rigid silhouettes.

KEEP IT SYMMETRICAL

By keeping furniture placement symmetrical while considering the best contemporary living room ideas you’ll have a much easier time making the entire space feel tidier every day.

Simple symmetry allows the eye to keep moving throughout a space without any distractions and will help your living room feel a bit more formal and well-judged. That said, too symmetrical and your living room could come off as too rigid, so do angle pieces here and there to create a natural flow that’s far from uptight.

EXPERIMENT WITH THROW PILLOWS

Throw pillows and blankets provide the easiest and the most comforting way to give your living room a seasonal refresh especially when you are bored with the look of your modern interiors. If that’s the case, you should consider restyling your living room with affordable decorative throw pillows.

Printed and patterned throw pillows are a great source to draw and inspire the eye with when it comes to contemporary living room ideas. Adding two or three throw pillows on top of a sofa can bring out the subtle design features in your living room and can be switched out with ease seasonally.

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR FLOOR SPACE

Neutral staples and white walls can help you make the most of your living room space, especially if you want it to appear larger than it really is. Trust us, the best contemporary living room ideas 2019 can’t go without this factor.

If you have classic pieces like a sofa and coffee table, you can use one item to bring out create a splash of colorful energy which can range from a piece of accent furniture, art, or flowers. Which will make for a striking and unique direction for anyone considering contemporary living room design ideas on a budget?

REDEFINE NEUTRAL

When you redefine neutral options and maximize them in your living room space, it will bring out the uniqueness and versatility of your decor. All you need are a simple mix of frames, a classic carpet, a light-wood paneled wall, and a dark colored sofa.

However, if you love neutral tones, but you find yourself more and more attracted to brighter hues, you should consider darker neutral tones such as navy, forest green or dusty raised sofa as an alternative to a neutral sofa. These neutrals will give you a fine blend of colors to work with but not too much to be considered overtly colorful.

GO FOR BOLD WALLPAPERS

Consider living wallpaper a classic trend that never goes out of style as long as you go for a timeless print. Choose classic Chinoiserie-inspired wallpaper that will allow you to add bring in every decor style and art as you please for the ultimate in layered juxtapositions.

Don’t be afraid to go for a statement-making print because they can be room-defining while remaining trendy contemporary living room ideas 2019. Create an accent wall for needed depth and paint the rest of your living room in a different color that brings out the aesthetic beauty of your living space, and your walls will thank you if they could talk.

STATEMENT LIGHTING

Stylish contemporary room decor is such that it will allow you to inject touches of everyday glamour without making too loud of a statement in your living room. Statement lighting will blend in perfectly with metallic features, frames, and a metallic based coffee table.

Dramatic lighting is also ideal for living rooms with a relatively small scale with not more than two sofas, a window, and a coffee table. Adding a ceiling light that isn’t too visually loud is all you need to make the most of your living space while adding some conversation-starting drama to it.