Top 10 Trendy Living Room Ideas of 2022

From movie marathons to chip-snacking sessions to a place to practice the piano, the living room is often a boisterous, multi-functional space. So, give it the love and attention it deserves! These tempting trendy living room ideas we’re seeing everywhere in 2022 — including bold fireplaces and wildly wallpapered walls — are your gateways to a gorgeous sitting space. Add one of these projects to your to-do list today.

Lauren Kolyn

1 / 10

Low-Slung Sideboards

Sideboards are having a moment. Perhaps it’s their versatility. Offering long and lean storage that’s easily customizable (hello, IKEA), the pieces look fantastic in a living room. There’s tons of room to stow everything from toys to tomes. We adore the space-efficient styling going on in this Montreal-based Scandi-inspired home, where the sideboard meets the lengthy window perch.

2 / 10

Fun Wallpaper

Newsflash: Your walls don’t have to be white. Or putty. Or green. In fact, it doesn’t have to be just one colour at all! Consider inviting more excitement and aesthetic detail into your living room using wallpaper. Choose a print that matches the setting. HGTV Canada’s Scott McGillvray went with a coastal palette in this vacation home. So soothing!

Lauren Kolyn

3 / 10

Plants Walls

Nature is healing — whether flowers or foliage of any kind, it just feels good to be near plant life. That’s why we’re chuffed by the living plant walls that have been popping up everywhere. Bursting with greenery, the pieces add a whimsical element to a living room. But beware: They must be maintained. Think proper drainage and manageable plants.

Andre Rider

4 / 10

Grandmillennial Style

Old is new again. A hackneyed phrase, perhaps, but in the living room it’s the truth. Grandmillennial style, as it’s called, is a comforting, layered look. Hunt around for chintz, caned furniture, fringed benches and wingchairs to get the look. In this beautiful rendition, Montreal design firm Les Ensembliers created a sumptuous, old-world look that feels refreshingly current.

Getty Images

5 / 10

Arches, Arches Everywhere

You can’t open a home decor magazine without seeing a swoop. Archways are trending. They’re bewitching transitions into rooms. Like a camera’s viewfinder, the trick is to capture an interesting scene, like this book-filled beauty seen here.

A white living room with boho touches: A large red and teal Persian rug, a live edge wood bench, a tiled border around the fireplace, and patterned cushions on the seating.

Jessica White

6 / 10

Bohemian Influences

It’s a misnomer that bohemian spaces are messy and freewheeling, as this exquisitely styled living room proves. Decorated by Hannah Leonard of Loom + Kiln (a seller of stunning vintage rugs), this take on the boho look has refined flourishes. These include black metal chairs with clean-lined profiles, a striking monochromatic chandelier and a subtly patterned fireplace surround. Anchored by the colourful Persian rug, she’s a boho beauty.

A bright white living room with a large window with plants along the low window sill, a white sofa flanked by more plants, and wall-mounted floating shelves housing even more potted plants.

Lauren Kolyn

7 / 10

Plenty of Plants

Similar to that aforementioned plant wall, everything green and leafy or succulent-ish is trending in living rooms. Unlike the plant wall (a major commitment, tbh), your living room decor won’t be a massive fail if one of your tiny potted plants don’t thrive. Put them everywhere, from a high perch to a squat urn by the fireplace.

Black marble fireplace with white mantle; frames and decor arranged atop the mantle.

Getty Images

8 / 10

Empty Fireplaces Filled With Candles

A clump of candles is the way to go to fill that void in your non-working fireplace. At nighttime, the display has a certain ambiance that rivals a real flame. Vary the heights and keep to a monochromatic palette for a harmonious look — or don’t and go rogue with ravishing colours. Your home is about you, after all.

A low rattan chaise lounge with beige upholstery and green cushions; three large, framed artworks hang above the chaise.

9 / 10

Big Art

We won’t judge: Shop at a big-box joint, blow up your own amateur pics of your cute muddy dog splashing in a puddle or snag the real deal through an expensive gallery. But whatever you do. Don’t leave every single wall bare. Big, impactful artwork adds personality in a living room. Copy the look seen here, where different-scaled pieces have a wow factor.

A living room with white walls, a white marble fireplace with a white frame and mantle, a large piece of art in a gilded gold frame above the mantle, a bookshelf built into the niche by the fireplace laden with books, and a large piece of black and white artwork in a black frame hanging on the wall by the living room's doorway.

Lauren Miller

10 / 10

Statement Lighting

This glorious Parisian-styled living room is très bon. From the contemporary artwork in the old-world gilded frame (contrast makes perfect) to the bookshelves, we love it all. Above, a gold faceted chandelier is especially striking. The black-lacquered lamp is a grounding element. Lamps are seriously having a moment. To really stay with the times: choose one with a pleated shade. Pleats are trendy!