Your living room is the center of the action, where you unwind, entertain guests, and gather with friends and family. It needs to be functional, comfortable, and, most importantly, cozy and welcoming. If you’re wondering what to do with a formal living room and how to bring it to life, we’re here for you. This blog is filled with formal living room ideas to help you find inspiration that reflects your style preferences and sense of comfort at the same time. Plus, with the holidays just around the corner, your living room will turn into an activity hub for all the parties and celebrations. To help you celebrate the holidays in style, we’ve rounded up some fashionably festive living room ideas to keep your space merry and bright.

 

Choose a Color Palette 

A good place to start off decorating your formal living room would be to choose a color palette that appeals to your aesthetic. The right color palette can turn any room into a striking space, but it’s also a highly subjective choice. If a modern formal living room is what’s on your mind, we’d suggest you stick to a neutral color palette. We love neutral hues because they give you the perfect base on which you can layer colors, textures, and materials to fashion an elegant living room that looks sleek and contemporary. Mix soft, inviting décor with pieces like angular light fixtures, a sleek sofa, and sharp coffee tables to make your space feel formal.

Area rugs, accent pieces, and accessories help create the right amount of visual impact and bring more interest to a neutral-themed living room. Area rugs and accessories are also smart decor choices that you can use to repurpose a formal living room and bring a fresh update to the space. BELLEZE has several living room area rugs to brighten up your decor. They’re available in soothing neutrals but feature exquisite patterns that draw focus and help weave in more texture. Plus, they’re cozier and offer a snug spot to rest up your feet.

As the air turns frosty and the holidays roll on, a neutral-toned formal living room gives you ample options to add pops of holiday decor. To keep things simple and minimalist, opt for a strategically placed holiday garland anywhere in the room. The green garland adds a sprinkling of holiday magic to the decor without feeling over-the-top. If you like things more grand and sparkly, choose a white-themed Christmas tree to blend with the understated color tone of the space. The twinkling lights and the white accessories will make the formal living room look more airy and spacious while adding the right dose of festive cheer.

A neutral color palette offers a stunning backdrop for nature-inspired holiday decor. Add natural elements to your tree like pinecones and snow dust for an organic style that blends so well with neutral hues for a sophisticated space to charm your guests this holiday season.

 

Mix and Match Colors and Textures

To create more variety in your formal living room, experiment with textures. What’s the best way to do this? Add mixed materials to the decor and you’ll have several textures that add up to a stylish design. When you have crisp white walls and neutral staples, like a sofa and coffee table, choose one statement item that brings in a surge of colorful energy. It can be anything from a vibrant piece of art on the walls to a bold accent chair. Lounge chairs and armchairs are a fabulous way to introduce pattern and texture to the decor. They not only provide added seating, which is always a plus for formal sitting rooms but also give you creative liberty to incorporate intriguing design elements. BELLEZE has a large selection of accent and lounge chairs available in myriad styles, fabrics, and colors to match your preference. 

How to notch your living room decor to reflect luxury and sophistication? We’d say add a stunning accent chair that brings in color, texture, and pattern - all at once! BELLEZE has the perfect pick to help you achieve this - our Kinsley Accent Chair. This stunning piece is upholstered with luxe velvet fabric with a ribbed design and gold chrome steel legs. It’s the perfect choice to pair with a leather sofa or sectional, since it brings so much variation to the overall layout while keeping the look very modern, glam, and ultra-stylish. If you want to keep the palette clean and neutral, we have these accent chairs in subtle shades. You can never go wrong with a bold accent of color, especially with jewel-toned shades such as green and navy blue. An epitome of luxe modern design, our Kinsley Accent Chair is a great way to jazz up a formal living room, especially if you’re looking to create more variety with texture and fabrics. The Kameron Accent Chair from BELLEZE is a great choice for those who love ribbed details and velvet upholstery. It features X-shaped legs and has a compact footprint - ideal if you’re looking to achieve the perfect balance between a large-sized formal sofa or sectional with cute accent pieces for that spark of pattern and visual beauty.

When it comes to ideas for formal living rooms, we love quirky accent pieces that add a touch of surprise to the decor. It’s a great way to add a layer of drama to a formal living room. Our Gothic and Renaissance-inspired high back tufted accent chair is a recommended choice that’ll help you recreate this look. We love the high back silhouette of this piece that stands out and makes a powerful statement. When you’re looking to create a formal living room, that’s stylish yet unique, you need outstanding items such as this chair. The button-tufted detailing, plush velvet upholstery, and the carved solid wood legs pull together a gorgeous accessory that’s filled with so much eye-catching beauty. Place it in the corner of your living room and surround it with fresh greenery to create an exclusive nook that’ll draw attention to the wonderful styling of this piece and generate an interesting little area within your formal living room that’s bold and captivating. If tufted chairs appeal to your style, don’t forget to check out our Hyde Tufted Velvet Accent Chair and Valencia Accent Chair.

For a more relaxed style, we’d recommend you check out our Maximus Accent Chair. It has a streamlined design with a wood frame and fabric upholstered backrest and cushions. A nice way to blend in more materials into the decor, we love how the wood frame adds a touch of organic beauty to the space, especially when paired with leather upholstered sofa or sectional.

Who says formal living rooms should only be about conventional styles? Let’s get a bit playful and fun! Talk about our Avalon Lounge Chair that features a modern silhouette incorporating a wooden frame with faux leather upholstery. It’s small-sized and charming, the perfect way to bring a touch of warmth and playfulness to the space while keeping the look modern, minimalist, and stylish.

Add Striking Pieces

When designing formal sitting rooms, you need to think about the various elements that’ll make up the space. While a large sectional or sofa is the focal point of the decor, a modern living room must incorporate stylish accent pieces that add more character to the layout. One of our favorite ways to do this is to add metallic hints. Metallic tones are a trending decor theme and they help lighten up the space with the understated notes of glamor. To help you tie in a glam vibe to your living room decor, check out our Round Coffee Table Side Accent Table. It’s a masterpiece of luxurious design with a cross metal frame finished in a gold-tone and topped with a circular-shaped faux marble tabletop. The mix of the glam gold frame with the pristine white tabletop makes for a show-stopping piece that’ll transform your living room decor. It’s the perfect side table to pair with a beige, white, gray, or black sofa. A textured rug underneath and stylish artwork on the walls - and you have the perfect setting for an elegant formal living room that gives off tranquil vibes and scores on the latest interior design trends. We love this gorgeous coffee table because during the holiday season it serves as the perfect space to display your favorite Christmas, fall, or winter-themed ornaments. Pine cones, a bird’s nest, alongside a reclaimed wood candle holder are perfect accessories to display on this coffee table if you’re looking to create a natural and organic themed holiday decor. For a festive touch, use miniature Christmas trees or a Christmas bow. Remember, to arrange all the items artfully for a gorgeous-looking holiday coffee table.

 

Incorporate Versatile Pieces

A formal living room requires varied elements to give it that upscale look but still ensure that it feels warm and inviting. If you’re looking to introduce a luxe spin to your living room decor, consider our Aurora Chaise Lounge and Wilmington Chaise Lounge. Both these styles feature plush upholstery with an arched seat and curved back design. Kick back, put your feet, and relax with your favorite book or simply catch a good nap on these chaise lounges. These pieces are a great way to enhance the function and aesthetic of the decor.

When you include stylish accent pieces in unique ways, your living room decor feels special and guests will be wowed by your sense of design. One way to achieve this is to place our Brooke 62" Tufted Ottoman Bench strategically in the living room. The beautiful design will lend something extra to your living room and it’s also a fabulous way to add more seating space. The turned legs crafted in wood and the button tufted upholstered top bring so much variety in terms of texture and design, complementing all other furniture yet standing out on its own.

Our Ravenna Ottoman is yet another stunning pick. It’s a circular-shaped button tufted and upholstered ottoman that works as a cute coffee table or a charming footstool. The curved legs, wood frame, and tufted detailing make it a fashionable addition to the decor. Whether you use it as an accent piece, a coffee table, or an ottoman to add some seating space, this piece is designed to work in a variety of ways and bring classic elegance and comfort to your living room decor.

 

Create a Beautiful Nook

One of the hallmarks of a formal living room is that it needs to feel a bit dressy yet cohesive and well put together. Setting up a little corner within the space adds that extra element that you’d expect in a formal living room. You only need accent furniture and a stunning piece of artwork to make the nook pop. 

Our Bradley Winged Tufted Storage Bench is the perfect piece for this setting. The unique silhouette with curved armrests and wood-finished legs looks classic and is perfect for a formal living room. Plush upholstery lines the seat, concealed beneath which is a clever storage spot for magazines and accessories. A great way to curate an unexpected decor statement that will enhance the look of your living room. This cozy nook can also serve as a sweet spot to display or hang up your favorite holiday decorations. Perfect for smaller spaces, BELLEZE has a charming lounge chair and ottoman set that’s great for setting up a snug corner within your living room. 

Our formal living room ideas and suggestions can surely help you revamp your space for a contemporary vibe. Once your living room decor is complete, throw in your favorite holiday accessories to ring in the festivities! This season to be merry and joyful! Remember to check out BELLEZE for elegant furniture pieces that will turn your formal living room into a spectacular space that feels homey and welcoming.