25 Cozy Living Room Tips and Ideas for Small and Big Living Rooms - Holmes

Date: 15th Mar 2022

Category: 2022, Interiors, Styling, Sydney, Trends

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A gallery featuring a wide array of tips and tricks to make your living room–large or small–a more welcoming place for both you and your guests.

Example of a very cozy living room design.

Welcome to our gallery featuring 25 tips on how you can make your living room cozy!

Many people, whether they have a large or small living room, like the idea of having it cozy.

What does cozy mean?

First, of cozy and small are often used together, but that doesn’t mean cozy is the same as small. It also doesn’t mean that a living room must be small in order for it to be cozy. In fact, I debated whether our small living rooms gallery should be combined with this, but after looking into the meaning of cozy, I decided it warranted its own gallery and set of design tips.

Dictionary.com defines cozy as “snugly warm and comfortable“. Notice how “small” isn’t in the definition. I think the synonyms of cozy help get an understanding as well. Synonyms include “snug”, “comfortable”, “warm”, “homey” and “welcoming”.

Furthermore, cozy is not a living room design style. Instead, cozy is a technique or effect that can be applied to multiple styles. Finally, it’s a timeless effect. What’s cozy today will be cozy in the future – elements such as warm colors, a fire, plants, area rugs, large furniture, etc.

About these tips, ideas and gallery

We’ve selected twenty five of our favorite ways to make any size living room cozy, comfortable, and welcoming and have curated them with some truly gorgeous living room designs.

From cavernous great rooms to compact living rooms with an intimate design, we have a tip or trick for every size and style.

You’re sure to find a design that suits your style and your needs. Remember, the most important part of your living room is function, and where that function meshes with aesthetics is design!

The tips and tricks you’ll find within this gallery are designed to help you deal with clutter, empty spaces, adding warm tones to a neutral color pallet, and brightening up a dark room.

Enjoy these great tips!

25 Cozy Living Room Tips

1. Strategically Place Tall Potted Plants

In a tall room, adding tall or voluminous plants can help take up empty corners, spaces, or fill vertical space. Just be sure that any plant you add to your home gets enough light to survive. Dead plants do not make a living room – or any room – cozy!

This living room features medium-height plants to fill space between the seating arrangement and the built-ins on either side of the fireplace. This room's enormous windows provide plenty of light.

This living room features medium-height plants to fill space between the seating arrangement and the built-ins on either side of the fireplace. This room’s enormous windows provide plenty of light.

This more minimalist space also uses a potted plant to take up unused space. The great thing about plants is that they add life and color to a room without adding clutter

This more minimalist space also uses a potted plant to take up unused space. The great thing about plants is that they add life and color to a room without adding clutter.

See more of this home here. Designed by Homepolish.

2. Paint Your Walls Two-Toned

In a large room, painting until several inches from the ceiling can make your room feel a bit smaller and cozier, in the same way that painting a few inches onto your ceiling can make the room feel much larger.

Or add an accent wall in a warm tone to add a cozy feeling. Adding a dusky red to the wall behind a fireplace doubles the warmth of this room.

3. Trade Coffee Tables for Oversized Ottomans

A soft, plush ottoman is a perfect way to make your living room feel cozy and warm. They’re great to rest your feet on, and with the addition of a tray, can serve perfectly as a coffee table as well. Ottomans are also available with storage.

An elegant button-tufted rectangular ottoman adds texture and warmth to this lovely living room in a way that a wooden coffee table wouldn't.

An elegant button-tufted rectangular ottoman adds texture and warmth to this lovely living room in a way that a wooden coffee table wouldn’t.

See more of this home here. Designed by Clean Design.

If you choose an ottoman in a warm color, your ottoman will brighten the room in two different ways.

See more of this home here. Designed by Jerry Jacobs Design.

4. Use Console Tables to Define Separate Spaces

Console tables are an incredibly versatile piece of furniture. Whether pushed up against a wall or against a sofa, these can act as easy barriers to separate different areas of an open-concept living area or to separate seating arrangements.

A simple wooden console table provides storage and creates a barrier between the seating area and the open space around it. Moving furniture away from the walls creates a much more intimate seating area.

See more of this home here. Designed by Garrison Hullinger Interior Design.

5. Fill A Large Living Room With A Large Sectional

A cavernous living room needs furniture to match. A lengthy sectional sofa is a cozy, comfortable way to make a large living room feel more intimate, warm, and inviting.

This metallic blue sofa might be in a cool color, but the sheer size makes it perfect for filling this enormous space. Note that the furniture is pushed away from the walls, and plants are used to fill open space between the back of the sofa and the wall.

Source: Zillow Digs^TM

6. Natural Light

The amount of natural light filtering into your living room can’t be understated when it comes to how inviting your living room is. Dark living rooms are uninviting and can feel depressing and small. A cozy living room is not a living room that feels small. If you can, keep your windows as uncovered as possible to let natural light in.

Seamless sliding doors in addition to a set of windows at the top of the ceiling ensure that this living room gets plenty of light.

See more of this home here. Designed by Wnuk Spurlock.

7. Create an Intimate Space Just for Two

If your large living room just doesn’t seem to host many guests, you might decide to make it feel cozier by adding more intimate seating arrangements. At parties, guests tend to break down into smaller groups.

This living room features three intimate spaces that are perfect for groups of two, including a set of wing-back chairs, a loveseat, and a chaise with a back on either side.

This living room features three intimate spaces that are perfect for groups of two, including a set of wing-back chairs, a love seat, and a chaise with a back on either side.

Source: Zillow Digs^TM

8. Add a Few Throw Blankets

A throw blanket here and there adds texture, color, and yes, warmth. Having a blanket nearby instantly makes your guests feel more at home. And who doesn’t love having a blanket on hand to curl up with when it gets a little chilly?

These blankets serve a double purpose: they add a bright pop of color, while also making guests feel more at home.

See more of this home here. Designed by Garrison Hullinger Interior Design.

While this thick, cozy blanket doesn't add color, it does add a unique texture to the design.

While this thick, cozy blanket doesn’t add color, it does add a unique texture to the design.

See more of this home here. Designed by Webb & Brown Neaves.

9. Create Seating Groups

In lengthy living rooms, create more intimate seating groups with chairs and love seats. You won’t notice how large the room is if you aren’t looking at all the empty seating!

This enormous living room is separated by a single wide archway, which makes it easy to separate the rooms into two distinct seating areas.

See more of this home here. Designed by Roselind Wilson Design.

This room doesn't have the benefit of a separating arch to distinguish between the two seating areas, but the different arrangements and space between the two areas makes it clear that they are separate areas.

This room doesn’t have the benefit of a separating arch to distinguish between the two seating areas, but the different arrangements and space between the two areas makes it clear that they are separate areas.

Source: Zillow Digs^TM

10. Add Bookshelves and Books

There’s something comforting about books. Bookshelves take up a large amount of wall space, so they’re easy to add to a living room where the furniture is pushed away from the walls.

The built-in bookshelves are filled to the brim with the owner's library. They also found a way to attach their television to the bookshelves.

The built-in bookshelves are filled to the brim with the owner’s library. They also found a way to attach their television to the bookshelves.

See more of this home here. Designed by Pohl Rosa Pohl.

For owners with a smaller collection, arranging like items together with knick-knacks and accent pieces is a great way to fill the vertical space. This design also attaches a large piece of artwork to the empty shelves just above the sofa.

See more of this home here. Designed by Wick Designs. Photography by Lisa Romerein.

11. Add Personal or Family Photos

There’s nothing like adding family photos to make your living room feel inviting and warm. Adding these pictures make your living room feel more like it’s yours, which is exactly why you’re told to remove family photos when you are staging your home to sell.

The built-in shelves on either side of the fireplace are filled with books and family photos, with a photograph above the mantle as well.

See more of this home here. Designed by Garrison Hullinger Interior Design.

12. Utilize Floor and Table Lamps

For the evening hours, there’s nothing better than a lamp to add an inviting warm glow to your living room space. When it’s time to close the shades so that your neighbors can’t see into your home, lamps keep your space well-lit.

A combination of floor and table lamps ensures that each seating area has plenty of light for reading or conversing.

13. Expand Your Curtains Floor to Ceiling

Floor to ceiling curtains are an excellent way to add warm colors to your design, and also lengthen a small room, making it feel larger.

Multi-colored curtains add warmth to the light color pallet, and lengthen the walls.

14. Personalize with Your Favorite Accents and Knick-Knacks

Pick your favorite pieces from your collection and arrange them on your shelves to add your personality and warmth to the living room. A living room that feels like yours is a cozy living room.

Exotic sculptures and artwork are displayed on the mantle and shelves surrounding this fireplace and entertainment center.

15. Warm Up with an Area Rug

Tile or wooden floors are popular in contemporary and modern design, but you can’t beat an area rug to warm up a cool floor.

If you want to add texture, go for a plusher rug. For color or visual interest, go with a patterned rug.

16. Add Warmer Tones to Your Color Pallet

Add colors with a warmer undertone to your living room to make your living room feel more inviting.

While taupe is still a cooler color, it brings out the warmth in the brick fireplace and in the wood floor, warming the room.

See more of this home here. Designed by Linda McDougald Design.

17. Layer with Comfy, Bright Pillows

To add color and warmth to a leather sofa, add brightly colored or patterned pillows–and add a lot of them! Make sure they’re super plush as well.

This smaller living room seems a little small, and the bright pillows layered on the sofa add much needed color.

See more of this home here. Designed by ARS-IDEA Interior and Architectural Design.

A wide array of pillows add a great deal of visual interest to this simple, neutral sofa and chaise.

18. Add Something Quirky and Unexpected

Use odd pieces of furniture as accents to add personality to your living room. You won’t believe how welcoming they’ll make your living room feel!

A few unique pieces, including a hunting trophy, cuckoo clock, and an old gas pump, are unexpected additions to this rustic-contemporary living room.

19. Add Bold Artwork

Don’t be afraid to add art to your design, or even to let it take over! A single sculpture or painting can become the focal piece of a warm, inviting living room.

An enormous print takes up almost an entire wall, drawing attention from the solid charcoal gray sectional sofa. Light greens add a pop of color.

See more of this home here. Designed by Turnbull Griffin Haesloop Architects.

20. Layer Materials and Patterns

Choose complementary patterns and materials to create a visually interesting living room that keeps your eye moving, always discovering something new to focus on.

Brick is next to a rich gray wall with a subtle painted stencil. Small, low profile pieces of furniture are layered with patterned pillows.

See more of this home here. Designed by +Modern Design.

21. Stunning Pops of Accent Colors

An incredible pop of color can make a tall living room feel much more intimate, drawing the eye down and keeping it there with bold color.

Bright sunshine yellow and berry purple pillows accent the enormous beige sectional sofa, along with a matching textured area rug.

See more of this home here. Designed by McLeod Bovell.

The accent colors are used a little more subtly in this living room, which features bright yellow at the top of the room and royal purple near the floor.

22. Make Use of Wall Space

A blank wall is a wasted opportunity. Group art, photographs, or other items to display on an accent wall.

This light lavender accent wall is filled with an array of prints and artwork that take up nearly the whole wall.

See more of this home here. Designed by Ippolito Fleitz Group.

23. Decorate with Flowers

Floral arrangements are always a great way to add warmth and life to a living room, but like houseplants, you’ll need to make sure they get plenty of sunlight and love.

Floral arrangements bring richer, more lively colors to this soft beige beach home's living room.

Floral arrangements bring richer, more lively colors to this soft beige beach home’s living room.

See more of this home here. Designed by Emily Gilbert.

24. Don’t Leave Your Mantle Bare

Decorate your mantle! The key is to add complementary, interesting display pieces so that your living room feels homey and inviting, rather than open and empty.

A few quaint details on the mantle reflect the home's design scheme and the owner's personality.

A few quaint details on the mantle reflect the home’s design scheme and the owner’s personality.

25. Group Like Items Together

When adding accents to a room, keep items with a similar shape or theme together to keep your living room feeling balanced and interesting.

There's a lot going on in this living room, but each area has items grouped together that match in some way, color, shape, material, or size.

There’s a lot going on in this living room, but each area has items grouped together that match in some way, color, shape, material, or size.

See more of this home here. Designed by Garrison Hullinger Interior Design.

50 Cozy Living Room Examples (Photo Gallery)

Now that you’ve gone through our extensive list of cozy living room tips, here’s a massive gallery showcasing both large and small cozy living room decor ideas.

Despite the long list of ideas on how to create a cozy living room we set out above, the dominant attribute of a cozy living room is the color scheme. Specifically that it uses warm colors such as earth tones. You’ll see most of the examples below have warm colors – beiges, browns, deep reds, soft oranges, cream, etc.

Living room design with two white sofas taupe walls and zebra area rug. Glass coffee table with steel frame squarely situated in between the sofas. Furniture faces gas fireplace and television.

Formal living room with three sofas and a dark wood custom coffee table. Furniture faces large gas fireplace and is placed on a large area rug. Tall plants in the corner add greenery to the room. 2 glass double doors open up to patio.

Living room with elevated ceiling. Two white armchairs with one long sofa placed on large patterned area rug. The highlight of the room is the white painted wood frames on dark brown wall.

Greenish-brown walls wrap around this living room with fireplace, white sofa, two armchairs, dark wood coffee table, beige area rug with light green border placed on hard wood floor.

The black and white patterned rug sets the dramatic design foundation for this cozy living room design. 2 black and white armchairs match the rug offset with a beige sofa. Blue drapes and pillows add splashes of color to the room.

Contemporary living room design in an open concept home. Fireplace with mounted flat screen television is off to the side. Two armchairs face a sofa. Large rug creates texture on the tile floor.

Open living area home with living room situated around an oval shaped gas fireplace. Living room is small in size but doesn't appear small due to the open concept living space. — Open living area home with living room situated around an oval shaped gas fireplace. Living room is small in size but doesn’t appear small due to the open concept living space.

Brown-centric living room design with glass and steel coffee table. Two ornate armchairs with a small round table face a white sofa.

Bright and colorful living room design with off-white sofas decorated with orange and brown pillows. One wall of large windows flood the space with natural light.

Square living room with a round wood and glass coffee table. Two sofas and one white armchair make up the rest of the furniture along with a small round coffee table in between the two sofas.

Large open concept home with dedicated living room comprised of two white sofas decorated with yellow and brown pillows.

Bright living room with two matching white armchairs and one white sofa. Brown leather ottoman also serves as a coffee table.

Here is a living room that can easily double as a family room with comfortable beige sofas, red leather and wood ottoman and a flat screen television mounted above the fireplace with white mantle.

Great example of a very small living room space well designed and furnished to create an aesthetically pleasing space. Furniture is one mid-sized L-shaped sofa with a rectangular dark wood coffee table.

Living room situated in the corner of a condominium with wrap-around windows letting in plenty of light. Rome is a grey, blue and brown color scheme with two sofas and one armchair placed on an off-white area rug on top of dark brown wood floors.

Different view of the living room above.

Living room design with one dominant color being beige offset with a dark wood coffee table.

Casual living room (or family room). It's very simply designed, but the take-away design element here is how colorful sofa pillows can enhance a room's design. — Casual living room (or family room). It’s very simply designed, but the take-away design element here is how colorful sofa pillows can enhance a room’s design.

Living room with two white sofas and a wicker armchair around a dark coffee table.

Example of a great living room design in a small space. The furniture is a chaise lounge and two armless chairs. All three furniture items match.

Built-in recessed shelving add depth to this white and dark brown living room design. The built-in shelving frames the white fireplace. Furniture includes two white armchairs, one white sofa and a dark brown round coffee table.

Small living room mainly in white with a black and white patterned round ottoman and sofa pillows. Off-white and black bordered rug forms the flooring of the entire space.

White and dark brown living room design. In addition to two all-white sofas, there is a low dark wood coffee table and dark wood and white leather bench. Furniture faces a large white fireplace.

Cozy living room with wood framed armchairs facing a round dark wood coffee table and light brown sofa.

Small living room with reddish-brown carpeting, light beige sofa, dark wood square coffee table and all-white armchair.

Professional design living room with white fireplace, rectangle dark block-style coffee table, two white armchairs with dark wood frames and one sofa facing windows.

Tiny living room space in colorful design with green armchairs and off-white sofa. Pillows throughout the room are green, off-white and pink adding splashes of color to the space.

Cottage style solarium living room with beige and white striped furniture, one armchair being a wicker frame. Living room enjoys plenty of natural light from wrap-around windows.

Living room space with two reddish brown chairs, one beige sofa and one beige armchair all around a rectangle modern wood coffee table. Fireplace is framed with stone wall and white crown molding.

Asian inspired living room design with brown wall tiles, white fireplace, white L-shaped sofa, brown and white patterned chair.

Living room that doubles as family room with one sofa, one loveseat and two ornate wooden chairs all facing flat screen television mounted in wood shelving surrounded by a brick wall.

Rustic living room design with brick wall containing a fireplace and television. Brown sofas are decorated with red, orange and yellow pillows.

Traditional living room design with ornate dark wood coffee table, two blue-grey armchairs and one brown sofa. Two walls of the space have windows providing this living room with natural light.

Light and dark living room design with off-white sofas and dark coffee table on an off-white area rug. Dark pillows on the sofas match the coffee table.

Simple living room design with extra touches that make it noteworthy such as dark green drapes, lamps on antique round wood tables in the corners and matching gold/green sofas.

Living room interior design in dark brown and blue. One dark brown sofa with two blue armchairs around one dark brown coffee table.

Different view of the above living room.

Modern living room design with two wicker armchairs, one white sofa, flat screen television placed in custom built-in white cabinets and a small gas fireplace with small white mantle.

Great example of creating a great living room in a small space. Living room is part of an open concept living area and is comprised of a blue L-shaped sectional, one simple dark coffee table and two cylinder dark brown and white cushioned stools.

Two brown sofas with yellow and brown patterned pillows with white pillows surrounding a large beige ottoman serving as a coffee table in an open concept home.

Cottage style living room with off-white sofas decorated with white and blue pillows. The coffee table has a dark brown frame with light brown top. Adjacent to the coffee table is a rectangular blue ottoman.

Open concept luxury home with tile floors throughout is the setting for this living room with a white sofa and two brown armchairs and glass coffee table with fireplace off to the side.

Beige dominant living room design with wood coffee table that has lattice design sides. Room includes dark brown wicker armchair and ottoman.

Plush living room in brown and red design. There is one brown sofa and four armchairs all surrounding a patterned ottoman serving as a large coffee table. Brown and red patterned pillows throughout.

Simple living room with one small white sofa, one white armchair and one armless antique chair around a rectangular dark brown coffee table.

The coffee table is what sets this living room apart being a two-level white table with a dark steel frame. The room is situated on a beige, brown and green rug under which is dark wood flooring.

Simple living room design with dark brown matching sofas in L-shape with light brown ottoman serving as a coffee table. The sofas face a fireplace with off-white mantle. A small round dark wood table is situated in between the sofas on which is a clock, plant and lamp.

Mediterranean inspired living room design with built-in shelving in arched recessions on both sides of the fireplace.

Two-story living room looking out on a courtyard. While it's sparse in decoration, the white sofa with color pillows demonstrates how a white sofa with bright pillows can create a great living room design. — Two-story living room looking out on a courtyard. While it’s sparse in decoration, the white sofa with color pillows demonstrates how a white sofa with bright pillows can create a great living room design.

This living room design demonstrates an interesting tip and that's the separate ottoman which can serve as a feet rest or second coffee table. — This living room design demonstrates an interesting tip and that’s the separate ottoman which can serve as a feet rest or second coffee table.

Small living room design with a white sofa directly facing the fireplace.

Living room design with plenty of color - various shades of brown, pink and green. — Living room design with plenty of color – various shades of brown, pink and green.

Living room with the fireplace in the corner built in a diagonal formation facing the entire living room made up of matching purple living room furniture.

Contemporary living room design with two matching off-white sofas loaded with white and soft green pillows. One wicker armchair. Square coffee table supplemented with two small wicker ottomans.

Great attention to detail in this very small living room space with L-shaped sofa, round coffee table and one large brown armchair all on an off-white shag rug.

article by https://www.homestratosphere.com/