Relaxing and Cozy Living Room Ideas

What makes a living room cozy? Is it a place to curl up relax. A place that feels secluded, warm and safe. A place to call your own. If so, the cozy living room ideas below will help you transform your space.

Secluded Seating

Try and have everything in arms reach. Say you like snuggling up on the couch. Then look to have a side table with a table lamp or floor lamp – close enough to reach. The side table is also great for putting down drinks without having to get up. And how about having a quilted blanket sprawling over your couch that you can curl up in?

Some other seating ideas include getting down on the floor just like in picture (1). Having a soft cushy rug and floor cushions makes for a bohemian style living room (or Moroccan). Have a look here for more ideas:

Having a deep and long couch lets you have space to lie down, and fill up with big cushions (2). How about hanging up a hammock in your living room (3)?

How To Add a Relaxing Indoor Hammock to Your Home

Those of you with large living rooms, look to create a little hideaway nook (A Cozy Getaway: Reading Nook Ideas). This can either be done by a window, by having a separate living room section with a floor table and floor pillows, or walling off an area (with curtain dividers or book shelves). Surround the space with piles of books and have a lamp nearby (Ideas Mood Board: DIY Room Dividers).

Calming Greens

Plants always have a calming and relaxing effect. So have a few around the living room (4). You can get fancy and have them play a more decorative role in the living room by either using vintage bottles as planters, or leather/rope hanging planters. How about having a terrarium?

A Softer Space

Try and add as much fabric as you can to your living room space. Use lots of cushions, area rugs, fabric wall hangings, even drapes that hang down from the ceiling. The fabric will really soften the space and make it feel cozy.

You can soften the walls of your living room by hanging art pieces. A gallery wall of canvas pieces, fabric, and photos would be a good addition.

Color Scheme

The color of your living room also helps create the cozy feeling you want. Check out some of the color style posts I’ve put up. Bright colors makes a room feel bright and spacious. While darker colours will make the room feel secluded, smaller, and more intimate (Ideas for Living Room Colors: Paint Palettes and Color Schemes).

Lighting Your Mood

In the day, a great feeling living room will be bathed in natural day light. So look to bring as much in as possible.

To create that cozy feeling at night, look to bring the lighting down. This means avoid using the ceiling lights and instead go for table and floor lamps, lanterns (6) (with battery candles), or a bowl of water with floating candles. For a more whimsical vibe hang up some string lights (5) (Home Decor Ideas: Beautiful Ways to Use String Lights Indoors).

Another idea would be to have a mood lamp like the one below. When it is grey and dull outside, paint the walls with yellow. If you are feeling all romantic, fill the space with dark purple. Or let the mood lamp softly change colors on its own.