20 Creative Living Rooms for Style Inspiration

The tricky thing about living room design is that it needs to suit all your own personal quirks while also being welcoming to friends and family.

In the modern trend of open floor plans, the living room also has to mesh well with the surrounding rooms while still managing to set itself apart. Overall, living room is much more than a sofa and a television: it's a place where you should feel safe and happy. Where a nap is easy and sometimes getting up is a little hard. Each of these 20 living rooms has its own distinct personality, but all manage to create an amazing space where anyone would be lucky to kick up her feet and spend a few hours.

A large area rug creates a separate area in this open living room while gauzy curtains can be pulled closed to prevent the dreaded television glare.

A cozy nook for a few friends, the light fixtures in this room remind us of deconstructed bird cages. Molded wood chairs are perfectly modern, though the plush sofa is probably a better place to snooze.

A cool, neutral color palette keeps this living room simply chic.

It can be tedious to keep checking your phone for the time. In this living room, that won’t be an issue.

An area rug is one thing, but painting an entire section of wall in a contrasting color really drives home the point that this living room is separate from the rest of the home.

Natural sunlight plus a white color scheme keep this lofty living room so open you might feel like you’re literally on a cloud.

A calming beige and brown complement natural wood paneling on the walls and floors in this sweet and simple living room.

The living room and dining room in this particular design play off one another with space age dining chairs and an ultra modern sofa that are both brown, but it slightly different shades.

Just enough space for a casual conversation in this sunny sitting room.

This living room is everything urban from the skyline views to the sleek and simple furniture.

A hipsterfied apartment would be nothing if it weren’t for an Eames-inspired chair and a bicycle. Look out, Park Slope.

The mustard yellow area rug in this otherwise neutral space really ties the room together.

While most homes don’t have the luxury of a two story living room, when you do you need to take advantage of it with a massively modern light fixture. Who even needs the sun?

This living room takes full advantage of the sun with its white walls and light gray sofa.

Truly an exercise in fantasy, none of us will ever live inside a clock. But imagine how cool you could make your house if you did?

Skewing towards a side of the spectrum that’s the opposite of most of the other rooms in this post, this dark den of drama is fit for a vampire.

A soft rug for bare feet is perfect as long as you don’t stub your town on the ultralow chrome coffee table.

The wood slats running across the ceiling in this space give the illusion of a much bigger room and provide an interesting texture.

Our final living room is lovely and bright, with carefully chosen furniture that works together without matching.