Go with sleek lines for a modern living room.
Modern living room styles encompass many different schools of design, from clean and sleek lines to progressive futuristic furniture. When it comes to the living room, keep your design unified by choosing a particular school of modern design and using it as your basic road map. Stick to simplicity, utility and boldness for a modern living room, but don't be afraid to add your own spin to personalize your space.
Modern
Get bold with modern color choices.
Stark surfaces and clean lines define modern design. For modern style furniture, turn to streamlined upholstered sofas, leather lounge chairs and molded plastic or shaped plywood accent chairs. Steel lamps provide lighting while pop art paintings and prints brighten up the walls. Bold colors and color combinations characterize this style, so try accenting your living room with boldly-colored throw pillows, curtains or faux-fur rugs with simple styles and patterns. Geometric patterns lend themselves to modern living rooms; employ these patterns on curtains or even wallpaper. If you have control of your space, select a large open, airy space with large -- even floor-to-ceiling -- windows.
Ecodesign
Get eclectic and lend the environment a hand with ecodesign.
Ecodesign is a modern design style with an emphasis on sustainability, meaning that the furniture and other products are made with regard to limiting emissions, reducing waste and conserving natural resources. Ecodesign does not equate to all-natural, as plastics are often employed for their recyclable quality. When choosing furniture for an ecodesign living room, select durable items that will last for decades. Bamboo and rattan materials and natural textures work well for this style as do simple choices, such as repurposed oak and teak or other reclaimed wood. Choose furniture and decor that uses a minimum of necessary materials, and go with recyclable materials, such as nonlacquered wood and steel. For textiles, ecodesign often includes durable natural fibers, sustainably harvested wool and soy-based fabrics. Accent your space with live plants and get creative by repurposing nonfurniture items; try using an old trunk as a coffee table or a repurposed quilt as a throw.
Futurism
Organic shapes lend themselves to futurist living rooms.
Futurism is a progression of modernist design, making for an even more daring choice of living room style. Lightness, practicality and forward-thinking designs characterize futurism. For the living room, go with dynamic, multi-purpose furniture, such as couches with built-in tables and lighting fixtures or ottomans that double as benches. Multi-use modular furniture lends itself to the futurist style. Choose simple geometric shapes in your living room design, like simple blocks for coffee and end tables and cylindrical lamps or lights. Organically-shaped seating -- such as hanging or sphere-shaped chairs -- and utilitarian shelves help complete this style. As futurism penetrates all areas of art and design, accent your living room space with paintings and images from the futurist movement, such as abstract paintings or works of cubism.
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