In today’s fast-paced and stressful world, finding solace and tranquility within the comfort of our own homes has become increasingly important. The living room, as the heart of the home (I’m not a believer that the kitchen is the heart but the stomach of the home!), plays a significant role in creating a calming and peaceful environment. By incorporating thoughtful design elements, decluttering, and utilizing soothing colors and textures, you can transform your living room into a serene sanctuary where you can unwind and recharge. Don’t think that calm spaces or the slow living lifestyle will limit you from using color, I’m all about, but used in intentional ways that leave breathing room for the mind to wander.
Declutter and Simplify Your Living Room
The first step in creating a calm living room is to declutter and simplify the space. Remove any unnecessary items, excess furniture, and visual clutter. Adopt a minimalist approach, keeping only essential and meaningful items. Simplifying the room will create a sense of openness and spaciousness, allowing for a more tranquil atmosphere.
This is also the time to really go through your belongings and decide on what serves you and what no longer serves. As an interior photographer in Denver, I’ve learned how to curate a space to look best in photos, this almost always means removing quite a few pieces. While I will over remove things to make an image (which is flat and needs the extra space) look its best, the principle still applies to a room in general. Have you ever noticed that after putting things back in their place and cleaning up, how much better the energy of a space feels? The clutter that consumes a room also consumes space in our minds, so the more we can discard the lighter we feel ourselves. I personally like to “Spring” clean, at least twice a year and really remove the things that no longer serve or spark joy in my home.
In our living room restyle I took special care to remove excess from the mantle which is a place to easily add things to display when you have nowhere else to put them (bookshelves are the other go-to space). But some of these items I keep out of guilt, not wanting to hurt the feelings of those who gave it to me. In the end, when I look long and hard at an item and I can decide if it has a purpose in my life and if it doesn’t add to our story (a mid-century boho feel that should make you feel like you’re traveling the world as an artist) or it doesn’t spark that joy, then its time to let it go.
Natural Light and Soft Lighting
Lighting plays a crucial role in setting the mood of a room. Maximize the use of natural light by making window treatments easy to keep open (like our drape hooks in this space) or translucent to allow ample sunlight to filter through. During the evening, opt for soft lighting options, such as floor lamps, table lamps, or string lights, to create a cozy and inviting ambiance. Avoid harsh, bright lights that can be jarring and disruptive to the calm atmosphere.
In this space, we got lucky with having a skylight already added in before we moved in (the pros of buying an older home). My favorite thing to do is sit on the couch with the fireplace on while it rains and you can hear the drops hitting that sky light. It also adds ample light to this space which made painting the fireplace a deep jewel tone blue even more eye catching because the light really shows off the color.
Along with the skylight and a big window framed with Modern Magic Curtains, we’ve added vintage lamps to the space. These lamps are very special to me because they were my grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s. The Rococo looking one was originally a kerosene lamp that was later converted to an electric lamp and is one of my favorite possessions. This is when you story takes precedent over having perfectly aligned design. This style of lamp is not something I would have bought at the store nor does it go with our overall vibe, but the story behind it, the connection to family, and it’s uniqueness all add to it and make it a great piece to have in this space.
The thing I love about slow living is to be intentional with all that we do. If you have a reason for bringing a piece into your space then it makes sense for the design. I don’t believe in making cookie cutter houses that look like everyone else’s. I want pieces no one else will have to start conversations and share something about who I am, that is what home means to me. And for that, these items passed down or found on trips are the pieces that will make the most of your space and should always be used as statements!
Calming Color Palette
Choose a soothing color palette that promotes relaxation and calmness. Soft and muted hues like blues, greens, grays, and earth tones have a calming effect. Incorporate these colors through wall paint, wallpaper, fabrics, and décor.
Here you’ll notice that I’m not afraid of a little color. In my free guide to choosing soothing colors for your space I break down color theory more extensively but to keep it simple I’m looking for colors that are less saturated and feel a little more earthy. Blues, greens, yellows, even reds all come in these shads. (Think sky blue, or a deep ocean blue, sage green, soft yellow, and terracotta). You don’t have to stick with grey and white to make your house feel calm, to me that feels more like a hospital than an inspiring place to rest and get reinspired. Instead, think of what a spa is like with warming colors, patterns that remind you of nature, and scents and sounds to add to the experience.
In this room, you’ll see that I went bold with a blue curtain in a fun pattern. I could have downplayed it and chosen something in the sage green shades that are used in the adjacent rooms but I thought, “why not?” My space is meant to be a statement, something to start conversation, and a place where our family and others can get inspired. So I went for it. Add to that our favorite article chairs in a terracotta color we can’t get enough of, a deep blue fireplace, and a rug that pulls it together with grays and reds that bring the whole space together. In the end I experimented with different shades and hues to create visual interest while maintaining a serene environment.
Nature-Inspired Elements
Every design blog will tell you to bring nature into your home. It’s because we’re meant to be in nature. We need that connection. When the season blues take their hold of me, I need to get my hands in dirt which usually means tending to my indoor plants. While our home might be bright and colorful, we actually get limited direct sun and therefore are restricted to what type of indoor plants we have (a lot of leafy things that don’t flower). However, every room has some sort of plant in it, and the living room has the most light so it has the most plants with, I’m sure, more to come!
Integrate nature-inspired elements into your living room to establish a connection with the outdoors. Use indoor plants, such as peace lilies, snake plants, or aloe vera, to introduce greenery and purify the air. Incorporate natural materials like wood, bamboo, or rattan in your furniture and accessories for an organic and grounding feel. You’ll see that we have baskets within the space as a touch of nature as well as the fibers on the pillows on the couch. Together they add little pieces of nature that invite a calm energy. Nature-inspired artwork, wallpaper, photographs from your travels, or even the curtains with a variety of animals all bring the wild outdoors in to evoke a sense of calm.
Cozy and Comfortable Seating
We waited four years (maybe more) to get those Article wingback chairs. It was love at first sight and they weren’t in our budget at the time, nor did we have a space that would fit them. Then, it came time to get new furniture for this space and our family room and we knew we needed two of these chairs. Our old people chairs like Ellie and Carl in Up! It was worth the wait to invest in something not only beautiful but insanely comfortable too. You can sit in these chairs in any different way and still be able to fall asleep. To add to the coziness I have a blanket on almost every piece of furniture in the house. They don’t always make it into the photographs because it can look messy, but when it’s the naked eye in the room it’s one more way to add texture, color, pattern and of course coziness!
Invest in comfortable seating options that invite you to relax and unwind. Consider plush sofas, armchairs, or oversized floor cushions that provide ample support. Opt for soft, natural fabrics like linen or cotton for upholstery, as they add to the overall comfort and relaxation of the space. Layer with cozy throw blankets and pillows in soothing textures to enhance the sense of cozy
Styling a Calm Living Room Space
This living room was developed over the course of three years of living in this house and years of dreaming of the right furniture, and it’s still not done. To me, that’s the most important thing to remember in a slow home, it’s never finished. We dream of replacing the carpet with hardwood floors when the budget allows and to add some more paint and maybe a new door that leads to the garage. While we think that once we re-decorate a space we’re done for good, the truth is, there is always something we’ll want to change or add. Styling a space is never done but when done slowly and with intention it can be a creative act that takes a lifetime, and is well worth it!
Get the Guide to Using Soothing Colors in Your Space
In this free guide you’ll learn to discover new ways to find color, gain tips on making any room into a retreat, and understand the basics to color theory.
