Ideas for How to Decorate a Cozy Living Room

Warm colors and soft throw pillows make this living room seem cozy immediately.Modern Living Room image by Ritu Jethani from Fotolia.com

Living rooms are called exactly that because they embody the space that you live in. They should make not only you, the homeowner, feel comfortable, but any guest in your home should enter the living room and feel just as at home. You can make even the largest living room feel cozy with a few strategic ideas.

Warm Colors

While cooler shades like blue and gray and neutral colors like off-white and beige are popular in home decor, they are also found in hospitals and museums, which are hardly spaces that anyone would refer to as cozy. Warmer colors from the color wheel, such as yellow, orange, gold and red, can make a room seem like a more welcoming environment and even make bigger living rooms seem smaller. You don't have to stick to these colors in paint and fabric; warm colored woods like cherry, cedar and mahogany also contribute to a warm atmosphere.

Soft fabrics in the living room make the entire room more hospitable and make the couch and armchairs seem like inviting places to sit. You can increase this feeling by adding soft, decorative throw pillows made out of smooth fabrics like flannel, velvet, corduroy or chenille. An ornamental blanket tossed over a chair or the couch, such as quilt or one made out of chenille or even fur, makes each seat in the living room a suitable place to cozy up with a book or a hot beverage.

Creating a cozy nook in a particular corner of the living room is one way to make the entire room seem cozier. Drag an armchair or a chaise lounge into a corner, preferably by a fireplace or near a window, add a small accent table with a lamp and drape a fuzzy blanket over the chaise. This creates a clearly welcoming space for reading, writing or curling up with a laptop that gives you a slight degree of privacy and seclusion apart from the rest of the room.

While you'll probably find varieties of Venetian blinds in office buildings all around America, you'll rarely if ever find curtains. Curtains are intrinsically homey and give a room, literally, an extra layer of warmth. Curtains keep out drafts when shut, and when pulled back, they have an appearance that is evocative of country cottages. Select curtains in warm tones that complement your decor.