Some luxury living rooms are beautiful and classy but feel too stiff and formal for any prolonged use. However, that can defeat the purpose of having a living room.

As we work with luxury Park City properties here at Jensen and Company, we have seen some of the most inviting luxury living rooms. If you are looking to revitalize your living room, here are some ideas to combine elegance with warmth and welcome, so that family, friends, and neighbors want to stay and visit.

1. Choose Warm Neutral Colors

The colors of your living room can do a lot to set the overall tone. To create a welcoming and inviting atmosphere, opting for warm neutral colors can help set up a feeling of relaxation.

To keep the neutrals from being too cold, use white sparingly, and choose neutrals in the beige/brown family. Grey is also a good neutral, though if paired with too many cool neutral, it loses the warming color diversity. Also, metallic accessories that are brass, bronze, or gold are a great way to brighten up and luxury to a neutral living room.

2. Embrace Wood Paneling

In a luxury Park City home, having wood paneling is not only a natural option, but it also can be an excellent way to design an inviting living room. Wood naturally sets a warm and comfortable feel, and you can embrace the luxury cabin style.

Also, you don’t have to have a full wood-paneled living room. Having a single accent wall with shiplap—a type of wooden overlay—can bring in the same feel without committing to a room full of wood paneling and can allow for more flexibility in the styling of your living room.

3. Display Statement Pieces

Overly busy living rooms that have competing pieces of art and other statement pieces can be overwhelming to spend time in. Instead, choose 1-3 pieces to make a visual impact on your living room.

The art you choose should also help to tie together your color scheme. As you can see in the above image, the large abstract painting helps tie together the couch with the white rug and throw, as the painting contains all the featured colors. That way, the living room is more harmonious and inviting.

4. Combine Different Textures

Bringing in different textural notes can add depth to a room as well as visual interest. Living rooms that have only a couple of different textures can look overly matched. Most people don’t feel comfortable spending time in rooms that have been too carefully staged.

That doesn’t mean that you need to pair a leather armchair with your linen mid-century modern couch! Instead, you can bring in different textures in the accessories in your living room. Changing out your coffee tables, adding new pillows with textures that vary from the couch are some easy ways to alter the appeal of your living room.

5. Test Out Minimalism

Sometimes, minimalism can come off as cold and impersonal. To balance the lack of decor with the desire for a welcoming, luxurious living room, it is important to choose each piece with care and with an eye to the color.

Take the example living room pictured above. There are three main colors in the room—heather brown, white, and black. The repeated colors help showcase the minimalism, and the wood tones and brown cushions help keep the room from being uninviting.

6. Install Plenty Of Lighting

Lighting plays a significant role in adding elegance and appealing warmth to your living room. A standard living room will have one central light, and often no other installed lighting.

To overcome the lack of lighting, there are many attractive options available to make your living room the best spot in the house. Wall sconces are a great way to bring light to all corners of your room, and replacing a simple central light with a chandelier can make an impactful statement. Recessed lighting is also an unobtrusive way to bring more light into your living room.

7. Stash Attractive Throws

In Park City, winter is one of the most popular seasons to visit vacation homes. And even if you have the heater cranked up, large living rooms can still be a bit chilly. An easy and attractive solution is to have various attractive throws and blankets available.

Not only can you bring in more texture with an afghan or simple throw, but you can also settle in and watch the snowfall on the Wasatch Mountains in perfect comfort.

8. Invest In Plush Rugs

Hardwood floors can add luxury to any living room, but they aren’t the most comfortable or enticing if you want people to relax in your living room. Also, in larger living rooms, wood floors can visually overwhelm your decor.

To help break up the wood floor pattern and make your living room more appealing, add one or two plush rugs. These rugs can be a great way to warm up bare feet as well as help tie together your room decor and color scheme.

9. Consider Large-Scale Seating Options

If you tend to entertain on a larger scale or have a large family, seating is a premium in your welcoming living room. While artistic loveseats and armchairs can be an attractive addition to your living room, it can make finding enough comfortable seating difficult.

Sectionals are an ideal option when it comes to living room furniture, and you can find this style of couch upholstered in a variety of luxurious material. Also, once you have a larger seating option, adding the smaller loveseats and armchairs can add seats for easy conversation flow.

10. Set Up A Reading Nook

A cozy and attractive addition to your living room is a reading nook. It can increase the usability of your living room while not detracting from the overall elegance.

If you have a larger window with a window seat—or the space to have one built—that can be an easy way to include a reading nook in your living room. Or, you could set up an area in one of the corners of your living room to accommodate a comfy spot for a reader.

Hopefully, we have helped spark your creativity. While not all of these ideas will work with each other, by trying out different combinations, you can be sure to find something that reflects your aesthetic and radiates comfortable luxury.