Creative Living Room Wall Decor Ideas to Transform Your Space

You’ve chosen the flooring and wall paint for your living room. You’ve picked out the sofa and other furniture pieces. You’ve even decided which electronics are a must. Now there’s just one thing left to do: figure out what living room wall decor ideas work best with the blank wall that’s staring back at you.

Your living room design isn’t complete after picking out the basic elements and furniture. It is the decor that is the finishing touches that complete the room. What you choose to put on the wall should be an expression of you, your family, your home’s style, and your chosen design theme.

Get inspired by these living room wall decor ideas and pick out the perfect pieces for your walls.

1. Modern Living Room Wall Decor Ideas

Modern wall decor turns the wall into the decor. This reduces the number of items that are hung on the wall and helps to keep in line with the clean aesthetic that is modern design. You can turn your wall into decor by creating a custom wood paneling design. Perhaps you use wood trim to create geometric shapes.

Another option is to cover the wall with a minimal wallpaper, such as one that mimics marble, stone, or wood. This adds texture and visual interest to the room without adding clutter or items. You can then hang a large decorative mirror in the middle of the wall space. Now you have a way of increasing the light and visual space of the room.

For the ultimate in modern design, look for ways to incorporate light or other technology into the wall. You can have a slightly raised panel with LED lights underneath. They’ll emit a soft glow emanating from the wall to create a comfortable lighting theme and add depth to the room. Or hide speakers in the wall for the ultimate surround sound experience.

modern living room with fireplace gray sofa and gold floor lamp

modern warehouse living room with tan leather sofas and chairs

modern elegant living room with fireplace

2. Embracing Rustic Charm

If you want rustic decor, try some DIY wall art ideas. You can make handwoven baskets to hang on the wall. Or arrange flowers in a hand-thrown clay vase. Mount floating shelves made from reclaimed wood. Another idea is hanging salvaged or reclaimed window frames.

Keep in mind that not everything needs to look old and beat up to work as decor in a rustic living room. You can have vintage candlesticks arranged on your fireplace or intricately carved wooden sculptures set on a shelf or mounted on the wall.

If you appreciate traditional art forms, why not hang a painting or photograph of the local countryside? Maybe these are wide open fields, majestic mountains, or even the seaside. These can be well-done pieces of art that reflect the type of farmhouse or rustic lifestyle you’re trying to emulate.

rustic style living room with wall art and hanging plants — bestdesignerofall/Instagram

rustic living room with stone fireplace and gray sofas — lifebyleanna/Instagram

simple rustic living room with l-shape gray sofa — blessed_and_farmhouse_obsessed/Instagram

rustic living room with wood beam ceiling and chandeliers

rustic living room with stone fireplace and candle chandeliers

rustic living room with stone fireplace and steps

rustic living room with stone fireplace and exposed wood beam ceiling

rustic living room with brown leather sofa

masculine living room with tan leather sofa

3. Ideas for Decorating Large Spaces

If you have high ceilings, then embrace them. You’re lucky enough to have plenty of wall space to spread out and get creative. In most cases, you’ll also have plenty of floor space to stand back and admire the entire wall.

Follow the advice of most large wall decor ideas by decorating up the wall. Unlike walls with lower ceilings, don’t focus on hanging pieces at eye level. You’ll want to hang larger pieces that go almost all of the way up the wall.

One way to do this is by choosing a vertically oriented or portrait piece. These are designed to be taller and will work with the height of the room. If you can’t find anything tall enough, consider hanging multiple pieces. Just be sure they work together to create a cohesive look.

These pieces don’t need to match exactly, but there should be some sort of theme or connection to all of them.

large luxury living room with glass chandelier

high ceiling living room with large wall mirror

rustic cabin style living room with stone fireplace

large cabin style living room with wood accents

luxury living room with fireplace and gray sofa

large high ceiling luxury living room with views

guitar wall art high ceiling living room

4. Elevating Elegance

Elegant living rooms often feature expensive high-end art. But not all of us have the budget for a piece of artwork that costs thousands of dollars.

You can create the same feeling of elegance by taking a more affordable piece of art and putting it in an expensive frame. The frame may cost you a couple of hundred dollars, but that’s still better than the several thousand that expensive art will cost.

Another way you can give the feeling of elegance is by turning your light fixtures into artwork. Instead of boring and plain wall sconces, you can have metal sculptures with illumination peeking out from behind.

Get rid of the boring ceiling light and replace it with a stunning and ornate chandelier that gracefully hangs over your coffee table. You could complete the look with a small sculpture on the coffee table. Try mixing more expensive smaller pieces with affordable larger pieces to have the right amount of decor while still looking elegant.

small elegant living room with wall mirrors and gray sofa — emmersonhome/Instagram

dark elegant living room with chandelier

elegant living room with white decor and glass chandelier

minimalist elegant living room with white sofa and gold accents

masculine living room with mounted deer head and glass chandelier

masculine blue den with motorbike hanging from the ceiling

masculine living space with brown sofas and bar area

5. Captivating Canvas Decor

The canvas is the original material for artwork. Throughout time, painters created one-of-a-kind masterpieces on this fabric. By choosing a piece of art on canvas, you’re giving your walls artistic authenticity.

Scale your canvas to the wall. The larger your wall, the larger the artwork should be. Choose a piece that’s too small, and it will look like it’s randomly floating on the wall. Choose a piece that’s too big, and it will feel cramped.

It helps to choose an orientation that matches the wall. So a lower ceiling and a long wall will work well with a landscape portrait. A narrow space with a tall ceiling will work better with a portrait-oriented piece.

If your wall is especially large and you don’t want to settle on a single piece, consider hanging multiple pieces. You can create your own gallery wall. Try to hang the canvases with balance both horizontally and vertically. You can have them offset so that they look randomly arranged. Also, consider lining them up in perfect rows and columns.

luxury living room with woman canvas artwork

modern apartment living room with wood table and gray sofa

half moon gray sofas in modern living space

minimalist living room with black leather sofa and wall art

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6. Exploring Contemporary Inspiration

If you like abstract art, you’ll like the way contemporary wall decor looks. You’ll find paintings and prints with a random splash of color. Or perhaps it’s a watercolor design that resembles marble.

Contemporary wall decoration is a smart choice when you’re looking for large wall art. It has a design, but it isn’t overly detailed or overwhelming. This makes it appealing on a large scale.

Other contemporary wall art ideas are a large mirror, metal sculpture, or animal head made of resin. A mirror is a perfect idea for a living room that’s small or lacking in light. It will reflect the light and trick the eye into thinking the room is larger than it really is. Plus, brighter spaces always feel bigger.

Your metal sculpture could be on its own or around your mirror. Look for one that is rose gold, gold, nickel, or silver for a contemporary feel.

contemporary living room with simple decor — saintsofas/Instagram

7. The Art of Wall Painting

What if you can turn the entire wall into the decor? There are large-scale art pieces, and then there are wall paintings. These large-scale pieces are oversized and will extend from the floor to the ceiling. However, they won’t reach all of the way to the left and right of the wall.

If you’re going to use this decor style, then plan for this wall to be your accent wall. Keep the other decor in the room minimal or toned down. You don’t want anything competing with your statement piece.

Finding the right-sized piece may be an expensive challenge. If it’s one that you’re not up for, then there’s an alternative. You can use washi tape to create the frame of your art piece. Then, paint your own artwork within the frame you created on the wall. Now you have the perfect custom piece of art that’s exactly your style.

large luxury living room with tile flooring

wall painting in lower floor living room with fireplace

8. Unleashing Creativity

The decor on your wall should be a reflection of you. Not everyone is going to want a painting or a metal wall sculpture hanging on their wall. Sometimes, you have to get creative with the decor you choose to put up.

If you’re a music enthusiast, hang framed guitars on the wall. Or have a handwoven wall hanging that has a unique pattern or depicts a scene. An avid hunter may choose to hang their most prized trophies on the wall. Someone into history may frame artifacts from their collection and have them on display.

Think about your hobbies and interests. Then find something that relates to your passion that could also serve as decor. As you can see, it doesn’t have to be a picture or painting. In fact, it can be some of your own pieces or collectible items.

country style living room — brightyellowdoor/Instagram

masculine living room with bob dylan wall art

large rustic living room with dual sofas

creative cabin style living room with gray sofas

dark attic living space with black leather sofa

modern warehouse style living room with concrete flooring

dark masculine living room glass coffee table

large elegant living room with bookshelves and tan sofa

dark living room with abstract bookshelf

minimalist living room with fireplace and tan bench sofas

brick wall living room with wall shelves and sofa

9. Incorporating Wooden Elements

If you aren’t sure what to hang on your wall, turn the wall into the decor. The simplest and easiest way of doing this is by making the wall a wood wall. Wood is beautiful, adds natural texture, and brings a sense of warmth to the room. You can also use this wood wall as the accent wall in your living room.

You don’t have to have a farmhouse, cabin, or rustic theme for a wood wall to work in your living room. You just need to match the type and style of the wood to the aesthetic you’re going for. A modern, contemporary, or elegant living room will look beautiful with dark wood in large planks or panels. They should be bigger than the standard shiplap that you see everywhere today.

If you aren’t ready to cover your wall in wood, then consider a cheaper and easier alternative. You can buy wood wallpaper that will look like the real thing. You can even purchase textured wallpaper that will have the grain and feel of real wood.

You can have a floating shelf mounted on your wood wall, and it will blend right in. The wall shelf should be the same type of wood on the wall for this streamlined look to work.

wood cabin living room with stone fireplace

modern living room with wood accent wall

10. Minimalistic Yet Impactful

Not every work of art needs to be a large statement piece. Sometimes, the beauty of the decor is its simplicity. If you already have white walls, hang a frameless print that features a white background and central design. The edge of the art and the wall blend together for a seamless and simple look.

Another option is to hang a simple geometric sculpture. Look for one with thin metal pieces to create a streamlined and clean look. If you have a collection of pieces, you can create a mini gallery on your wall with small frames of photos, prints, or pressed flowers. Keep the number of frames to a minimum to create a centralized position on the wall with plenty of space around it.

simple elegant white living room — tatertotsandjello/Instagram

arch roof living room with stone fireplace

masculine living room with white sofa and call of duty artwork

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FAQs

How can I make my living room look luxurious?

Start by reducing the clutter in the room and then upgrade key accents around the room. This could be a high-end lamp or throw pillow made of high-end materials. Mount your curtains higher above the window. Mix textures to create a room that appeals to the senses.

Are formal living rooms out of style?

Modern homes rarely have a formal living room that’s separate from the casual family room. These days, people use the space for more functional purposes. They see it as a waste of space to have a formal living room that rarely gets used.

What do you do if you don’t use a formal living room?

Several living room decorating ideas can help you turn your formal living room into a functional and usable space. You could turn it into a library, study, or office by lining the walls with bookshelves. Or you could have a creative space for expressing artistic interests.