The light-filled living room is a joy to spend time with as a family and with friends. Add a strong connection to the outdoors, a place you may never want to leave. These 40 light-filled living room designs show how to design bright and airy spaces to be homey and welcoming. This collection also provides inspiration on how best to arrange fences and yards to make the most of natural light and landscaping. With the backdrop of natural greenery, it is helpful to see the effects of the panorama on the interior palette and how silhouettes can be cheered or lost against the lush landscape.
A U-shaped patio wraps the inherently light-filled living room on three complete sides. Black window frames powerfully divide the green panorama, exposing it to vertical vistas.
Floor-to-ceiling windows completely blur the boundaries between the living room and the garden. Here, a stark black fireplace slopes down from the roofline to create a stunning silhouette against the lush green backdrop, and a slim, metal-framed console unit gently emphasizes the starry view.
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- Designer: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
- Photographer: Mike Schwartz
In this example of minimalist living from the famous Farnsworth home, the furniture is placed sporadically to allow the green landscape to dominate the landscape.
The living room is surrounded by glass walls with charming views. These walls can be opened with bi-fold or sliding glass doors to create a cool breeze in hot weather.
With Mother Nature clicking the window, it’s only polite to invite her inside. Include a mature indoor plant within the living room to create a tangible connection to the garden.
Use natural materials to complement the tree-lined jigsaw. Think natural wood furniture, strong walled stone, or jute rugs.
Place a round coffee table in the heart of your living room so all the other elements are spinning in orbit. The eye will move outward from the focal piece, layer by layer, first falling on the surrounding furniture and finally settling on the view.
The influx of natural sunlight will create attractive lighting on deep ceiling beams and ribbed ceiling treatments.
Extend the windows all the way to the top of the double-height living room to take advantage of every possible drop of incoming light. Whether you close them or not, sheer curtains will lightly frame the view and create visual drama.
Bliss from edge to edge. This semi-frameless design of the window effectively breaks up the side of the building to achieve a continuous panorama.
Seamless roofs. This wood-clad ceiling treatment extends to the outside of patio doors to achieve a single, streamlined aesthetic.
Even driveway courtyards make an amazing change in the feeling of openness and connection with nature.
Design your own waterfront. If you don’t live next to a lake or the coast, you can still have a waterfront home with the addition of a pool that extends right next to the living room window.
Make sure the furniture doesn’t obstruct the view by choosing low sofas or placing ottomans where the glass meets the floor.
Wood cladding flooring for a windowed living room. A one-of-a-kind floor lamp that casts a stunning silhouette against the soft wood background.
Echo the march of trees outside with vertically grooved or fluted wall treatments, such as this striking fireplace design.
Encase a tree in a cubic yard to create a gorgeous room divider.
Fully retractable doors make a literal connection with the great outdoors.
In this large indoor wabi sabi, light only falls on the living room’s main pieces to create a checkered aesthetic. The beautiful imperfections of the lounge furniture make a perfect companion to the wild forest behind.
Allow your living room to seamlessly flow into your outdoor living spaces by blurring the boundaries.
Let nature inspire your living room furniture color palette, like this elegant moss green and earthy brown arrangement.
A pebbled bed forms the center of a unique, natural-themed living room, while tree beds are scattered among modern lounge furniture.
Elegant arches softly embrace shots of the divine landscape. See more inspiration for arches in interiors.
When garden views wrap just two or three sides of the living room, install an interior patio to complement the natural aesthetic.
Lightweight living room furniture doesn’t distract from outside views, a patio, or a colorful piece of art on the wall.
Keeping the living room furniture neutral, there’s plenty of wiggle room for a more eye-catching living room rug.
A submerged living room or conversation pit allows garden plant beds to be enjoyed at eye level.
Traditional armchairs make a fun juxtaposition against a wild backdrop.
The wooden media wall warmly connects two opposite views of the outdoor environment.
The blossoming banana plant is the perfect companion for a high ceiling living room decorated with nature.
Accessorize with nature-inspired furniture pieces, like this beautiful wood framed ottoman and rustic bench design chair.
Combine the art of nature with the art of man by hanging artworks in a courtyard landscape.
The heavenly exterior is right at home with an ethereal white interior.
The pergola-style ceiling creates an indoor and outdoor feel.
It’s hard to see where the indoor planting ends and the outdoors begins in this luxurious, light-filled living room.
The exterior of the living area will extend when the double doors are pulled back.
A partial room divider divides the living space into different pockets of functionality without completely separating the view.
Hang a rocking chair in the breeze.
The mezzanine level amplifies the feeling of openness and airiness.
Enter botanical patterns to honor the outdoors.
Suggestions for reading: Interior Skylights: 37 Beautiful Examples to Tempt You to Get One for Yourself
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