Inspiration
Furnishing the living room in a warm, modern style
Some modern interiors look sleek but cold, and the living room of all rooms should be the place where you feel at home. The two are not at odds: a modern living room can be warm. It comes down to what you choose.
The examples below come from our own projects.
Inspiration
Choose warm colours
With a modern interior the reflex is black and white. Yet a modern interior takes colour well. In our designs we use plenty of earthy tones, browns and beiges: colours that carry warmth and still look refined. Natural, warm colours also connect the room to the world outside, so the green of the garden stands out more. We usually work from a single colour theme and bring in extra warmth through accents, such as a bronze wall or brown cabinetry.
Inspiration
Use materials that carry warmth
After colour, materials decide how warm the living room feels. The warm ones are:
- Wood
- Natural stone
- Wool
- Leather
Combine them and the warmth takes care of itself. Think of a large leather sofa with cushions in soft fabrics. A wooden floor or a timber wall does the same work at a larger scale, and a rug in warm tones softens the floor further. Let these materials return elsewhere in the house as well, beyond the living room: oak veneer in the kitchen, for instance, with the same oak for the table top. That repetition is what gives a home coherence.
For the interior design of a new-build villa we placed 3D bog oak wall panels against the walls of the living room and kitchen. The colour of the bog oak warms the interior on its own, and the natural surface of the wood gives the room its sense of luxury.
Inspiration
Bring warm elements into the room
On days when the weather gives you nothing, a fireplace makes the house a better place to be. It gives off heat, and it changes the mood of everything around it. A fireplace can also work as a room divider, for instance in a smaller home such as a loft or an apartment.
For a penthouse we chose a bespoke fireplace in the living room. The room had space to spare, so the fireplace doubled as a room divider. That allowed a second seating area, from which you look through the double-sided fire to the far side of the room. The flames do the rest of the work in warming up a modern penthouse.
A good lighting plan is part of it
Warm light decides whether all of the above still works after dark. A lighting plan starts with the base and ambient layer: the light you need to see by, from spots or pendant lights, spread softly and evenly through the room. Dimmers earn their keep here, because lowering the light in the evening changes the room completely. Wall lights are worth considering too.
Inspiration
Light also gives the room depth
Accent lighting puts the emphasis where you want it, on a striking wall, say, or on a piece made to measure. It also creates differences in depth, and depth makes a living room more interesting to look at. The right light keeps dark corners out of the interior, and you adjust the mood simply by playing with its intensity. Mind the colour of the light itself as well: the brighter it is, the less warm the room looks.
The accessories that finish it
Accessories do the last part of the work. Candles in a good candle holder give the room a soft light in the evening. Cushions on the sofa and a vase with flowers add to the feeling that someone lives here and likes it. Choose warm tones here as well: bronze for the vase and the candle holder, earthy shades for the cushions.
More examples of warm living rooms
You will find more warm living rooms in our portfolio. It shows interior designs from the studio, with notes on why we chose certain elements and colours, and what our clients made of the result.
Inspiration
Help from the studio
Perhaps you want this kind of warmth in your own living room, but you are not sure how to make it all cohere, or how your ideas will look once they are real. That is what an interior design is for.
You work on it in the studio, together with us. From the sketch designs we also make a floor plan, inspiration images and 3D sketch designs for you, so you can see the interior before any of it exists.
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