The Southwest and the sea meet in this contemporary Hermosa Beach, California, living room by Eden LA. Sunset tones accent a neutral sun-bleached-and-black color scheme, and woven stools, leather chairs and fringed textiles provide tons of texture (as well as diverse seating options). One can just barely make out the Pacific past the palms, while a black stallion on the wall nods to the Southwestern theme.
Another coastal living room — this one by Jill Romine Interior Design in East Hampton, New York — is drenched in sunlight filtered through gauzy white drapes. A natural-colored rattan chair in the foreground, a woven bar cart and basket in the background and a large braided seagrass coffee table in between warm up the mostly black-and-white palette.
Tim Barber Architects and Tricia Portelli of Scribe Studio breathed new life into this 1930s Los Angeles Spanish bungalow, complementing existing architectural details with contemporary design elements. The cozy and elegant space encapsulates the successful combination of the two. Dark ceiling beams, iron-framed windows and doors and a plaster fireplace with a tile hearth and intricate ironwork screen pair beautifully with rounded contemporary furnishings and sumptuous textiles in earthy shades of olive, terra cotta and brown.
In a remodeled and expanded terraced Victorian in London, Souq Design updated this living room’s style with a bold, deep rust-colored English roll-arm sofa set against a background of light neutral finishes and furnishings. The contrast between the design styles is high too. On one wall, a Victorian-style arched mirror hangs over a fireplace fitted with what looks like an old-fashioned cast-iron insert. Meanwhile, a modern, almost futuristic-looking pendant light hangs from the ceiling, and a rustic basket sits on the floor.
This Newport Beach, California, living room designed by Alicia Torosian has a serene and inviting look and feel thanks to its curved lines, plump pillows and soft, coastal palette of creamy white, chambray blue and warm wood. Built-in painted cabinets (Edgecomb Gray by Benjamin Moore) and tongue-in-groove paneling surround the TV, and two sofas and two custom chairs are set up for family time in front of the tube.
This living room by BSA Construction illustrates an emerging trend toward dark and moody interiors — and also illustrates the impact of embracing color and drama in interior design. The room, part of a gut renovation of an 1860 townhouse in Boston’s South End, has period-appropriate bones and trim — some original and some reconstructed. The decor is more eclectic, encompassing a collection of fine artwork, antiques, 1970s-style furniture (including a modular Mah Jong sofa by Roche Bobois) and a chandelier dripping with crystals.
Back in sunny Southern California, inside a beach cottage remodeled and expanded by T7 Architecture, Design 4 Corners leaned into contemporary coastal style. The color scheme in this living room (and throughout the home) takes its cues from the setting with soft gray-blue, sandy beige, a mix of light and medium wood tones and warm white paint. A chaise sofa invites lounging in front of the fire. Meanwhile, the wood beam-and-plank ceiling, wooden interior shutters, a fireplace with a carved wood surround and custom cabinetry with cushion-topped, grate-fronted benches give the space a lot of built-in interest.
This Hillsborough, California, living room’s dramatic, symmetrical look stems in part from its vaulted ceiling and floor-to-ceiling windows, which flank a fireplace that’s mostly hidden in this photo by greenery. But Lauren Evans Interiors doubled down by furnishing it with matching sets of curvilinear sofas and chairs plus tables aligned between them, all positioned so the two sides of the room almost perfectly mirror each other. The arrangement is conducive to conversation and draws the eye to the fireplace and the vibrant contemporary painting above it.
The rounded turn and swirl of this staircase is mesmerizing yet restrained — much like other gracefully curved details in the organic modern-style Austin, Texas, home by design-build firm Cedar & Oak. The living room continues the predominantly white, wood and black color palette used throughout the interior as well as on the exterior of the modern English Tudor-style home. But here, channel-tufted stools add a rich, deep crimson dose of color. The rest of the furnishings (including a linen-colored slipcovered sofa that’s just out of view) have similar soft, contemporary lines, save for a sideboard with an old-world feel.
Imparfait Design Studio gave this sun-filled living room in the Chicago suburbs a coastal look with sandy tones, splashes of blue and a woven coffee table and chair. The room’s casual vibe and purpose are underscored by the large-screen TV above the fireplace. But more formal elements, including the ornate stone fireplace surround, elegant molding and dark-stained floor, balance the beach-style decor with architectural refinement.