These Are the Most Stylish Living Room Design Schemes We’ve Seen This Year

Apartment Therapy has published a lot of gorgeous homes in 2022 that feature many smart decorating ideas. Looking back on some favorites, I’ve been especially inspired by all the beautiful living rooms from the past year. 

As arguably the most used space in the home (especially with the number of people who now work remotely in some capacity), keeping the living room stylish and functional can be a challenge. Luckily, these seven living rooms aren’t lacking in the style department and have some excellent decorating takeaways that you can bring into the new year if you’re ready for a little refresh. 

This UK living room is brimming with personality and pops of bold hues, and thanks to a few key color choices, everything works together. For example, the bright pink velvet pillows coordinate with the painted door frame in the room (which isn’t visible in this shot), and the gray sheepskin on the bench relates texturally to the sofa. The acrylic coffee table keeps the space visually light, and that airiness is emphasized by the lofty ceilings. If you have a high roof line like this, don’t be afraid of color. This kind of architecture is ideal for letting different shades “breathe,” but repetition can be used in any space to create cohesiveness.

Who says a successfully decorated living room has to be fully indoors? The screened-in porch meets living room in this Philadelphia home cleverly uses both indoor and outdoor furniture and accessories to make it feel as inviting as a traditional, fully-inside living area. Even though the space doesn’t feature a sofa, all of the seating options are roomy for when guests come over and feel carefully considered. It’s the textiles, from the blankets and rugs to the throw pillows, that give the space that extra layer of comfort and coziness. The glowing string lights don’t hurt, either!

Talk about swoon-worthy! This Barcelona cottage’s living room is exactly what you’d imagine if you heard the term “breezy Mediterranean,” right? This space is all about a very tight, restrained palette. Everything in the room feels very intentional, and you can tell that all the furniture and accessories were very carefully chosen. All-white walls and floors make the living room bright and airy, and the neutral colors and natural materials — from the terracotta pots and woven grass rugs and rattan shelving — feel like they’ve always lived in this space. Thanks to a light touch and some decisive curating, this room hangs together visually in the most beautiful way. 

This living room in this U.K. abode serves bold colors in such an artful way. Vibrant yellow, coral, minty blue, and a mauve-like rose all work together, thanks to commitment to color-blocking. Clean lined furniture, negative space on the walls, and the lack of patterned accents keep the focus on the bands of color, which create a big visual impact. The main colors used in the space echo in the pillows, blankets, and planters found in the space, which adds to the unity created in the room. Even the decorative accessories on the shelving feature the space’s key hues!

When you have an apartment with such good bones like this Harlem space (hello, pre-war details!), you’re gifted one of the best starting canvases you could ask for. This NYC renter purposefully incorporated the box molding to showcase their art collection, and I’ve always love leaning art on the floor; it projects an air of effortlessness. The color palette is a calming mix of blues, grays, white, and creams that makes the light-filled space inviting and relaxing. Plenty of plants and stacks of books round out the coziness of the room.

This one goes out to all the lovers of minimalism. A super-restrained palette, natural materials, clean lines, and an absolute lack of tchotchkes or anything “extra” combined with soft filtered light equals heart eye emoji. The trick in this Kyiv apartment is, as it often goes in decorating, to really commit to a specific aesthetic if you love it. For example, there’s not a single piece of artwork on the walls (that can be seen here), which would draw attention away from the overall effect of stylish sparseness. That’s a bold choice in many ways, but it pays off big time in the tranquility and serenity of this space.

A sculptural, modern sofa sits underneath a gallery wall of vintage-inspired paintings in ornate frames in this Chicago apartment. The juxtaposition of these disparate design styles is refreshing, and since the sofa is so simple and clean (without being boring), it allows the art to take the stage in this living room. On the other side of the living room, mismatched chairs, layered rugs, and an oversized painting add lots of personality and charm. This space stands as proof that you can mix and match aesthetics and still create a beautiful scheme.