Living room in modern style: original ideas, photos, tips, videos

A well-designed living room in the Art Nouveau style will become not only the main "attraction" of any apartment or house, but also a real challenge for those who have recently discovered a designer's talent and are in a hurry to put it into practice. There are a lot of nuances that need to be taken into account so that the resulting interior meets all the canons of style! That is why nowadays Art Nouveau does not enjoy its former popularity and is gradually giving way to the Scandinavian style, minimalism and other directions. Perhaps, today, modern is the choice of those few who are not looking for easy ways.

In general, modern is often confused with modern style. The reason for this confusion is in the name: the English word "modern" is translated into Russian as "modern", "new". In this regard, many believe that "modern style" is an additional name for the modern style in Russian terminology, which, of course, is not true. Moreover, having in front of you a photo of the interior of the living room in the Art Nouveau style and making a visual comparison with the most typical examples of modern style, it is easy to make sure that the first in many aspects is almost the opposite of the second. 

If difficulties do not scare you, and all you have to do is gain confidence in your abilities, then remember that the latter comes with competence. In this article, you can not only read about all the features of the direction you are interested in, but also find an example of the interior design of a living room in the Art Nouveau style that suits you - photos of the best projects implemented in different countries of the world will help you navigate as well as possible.

Distinctive features of the Art Nouveau style

Art Nouveau, also known as Art Nouveau, is a style characterized by the widespread use of smooth transitions and whimsical poetic motifs in the interior.

Art Nouveau room interior should be inspired by natural images, to enhance the expressiveness of which various natural materials can be used (for example, natural wood).

Modern is considered one of the sophisticated styles of interior design.

The Art Nouveau style is characterized by the following features:

Lack of straight and parallel lines. Instead, flexible wavy lines prevail in the interior, which are found not only in floral ornaments, but also in the bends of furniture.

The trend towards decorativeness. It manifests itself in pretentious patterns, stained glass windows, frescoes and openwork wrought iron elements of furniture and decor.

The theme of unity with nature. It is reflected in the bizarre ornaments found everywhere, and most often these are climbing plants.

Nostalgic aspect. Perhaps no other place has such a spirit of nostalgia as in a living room decorated in the Art Nouveau style: photographs capturing important moments of life, memorabilia - the most typical decor items for Art Nouveau.

Materials used in the Art Nouveau style

Since the main principle of the Art Nouveau style is the use of natural motives, natural materials should prevail in the interior decoration.

These are mainly wood, glass, metal and textiles; less widely used stone, crystal, ceramics and gypsum.

Wood. Natural wood can be present in the design of a living room not only as a flooring material, but also in elements of furniture. So, in the interior, the decoration of which is mainly made in light colors, you can create a wonderful contrast, say, with the help of a pair of armchairs made of dark wood.

Glass. As a rule, elements made of this material are accentuating, and therefore they should be contrasting with respect to the colors prevailing in the interior. Door panels or zoning partitions can be made of colored glass, and stained glass can be used along with plain glass.

Metal. In the interior, tending to modernity, metal elements perform a purely decorative function. Such elements can be, for example, openwork wrought iron railings (if there is a staircase in the living room) or a flower stand. There should be a minimum of smooth metal surfaces - this is the prerogative of lofts. Like dark wood, blackened metal in interiors can be used to create contrast.

Textile. Regarding the use of fabrics in Art Nouveau, there are no strict restrictions: there can be very few or a lot of them (to the point that even the walls in the room will be upholstered with fabric, not to mention upholstered furniture, decorative pillows and curtains). The use of fabrics with floral patterns is encouraged.

Decorating the guest room in the Art Nouveau style

Considering the decoration of any room, not necessarily a living room, it should be said that Art Nouveau is not so easy to create, since it is a rather contradictory style: in some aspects you can give free rein to your imagination, but in others the restrictions will be quite strict.

Therefore, to avoid possible mistakes, take note of a few general rules:

Walls. Wall decoration can be almost any. They can be painted in pastel colors, pasted over with wallpaper (with fabric texture or for painting), upholstered with fabric with floral patterns, sheathed with wooden panels. Walls can be painted as a final touch.

Window. It is recommended to prefer natural wood window frames to the aluminum profile - they will better fit into the organic aesthetics of the Art Nouveau interior. An unusual solution is to use stained-glass windows instead of standard glass. However, this is permissible only if the living room windows face the sunny side, otherwise there will not be enough light in the room.

Floor. As a rule, parquet acts as a floor covering (and, in contrast to, say, minimalism in modernism, the use of decorative parquet is quite welcome); also the floor of the room can be laid with slabs of light marble.

Ceiling. In the interior, gravitating towards the Art Nouveau style, the focal point is traditionally a chandelier with a rich decor, so the ceiling, which serves as a background for it, should not attract much attention. Accordingly, its decoration should be minimal - usually the ceiling is simply plastered or painted.

The color palette of the interior in the Art Nouveau style

In Art Nouveau, "flashy" color schemes are unacceptable. Instead, it is recommended to use soft muted shades of warm natural colors: white, sand, mustard, light brown, olive, golden.

If the interior, designed in one of the above-mentioned neutral colors, seems boring, it will not be superfluous to add a little expression to it with the help of bright color accents in shades of red or green.An accent in the interior can be either a bright accessory (for example, a vase or a figurine), or a living plant or even a painting.

Advice. When choosing fabric for curtains, make sure that its color will be in harmony with the color of the walls.

Living room interior design in modern style

The Art Nouveau interior is largely characterized by asymmetry. Furniture is placed not parallel to the walls, but at an angle. Groups of interior items can form unusual combinations.

Functional zones are randomly formed, bringing expression to the interior.

The main thing to pay attention to when choosing furniture is visual lightness and grace of forms. First of all, furniture should not be bulky, give the impression of a monolith, its design should not have strict straight lines. And whether it will be wooden or on a forged metal frame is already a matter of taste.

Ideally, both door and window openings should be elongated and crowned with pointed arches. If it is not possible to change the shape of the window opening, curtains will help create the illusion of an arch, which must be draped in a special way.

Even if the hall is small, at least three light sources should be provided in it, one of which will be the main one, and the other two will be auxiliary. An exquisitely decorated ceiling chandelier can be complemented by a corner floor lamp on a wrought base and a table lamp.

Advice. A small room can visually become more spacious due to reflected light.

Decor in the interior of the living room in modern style

There are never too many accessories in Art Nouveau that perform a purely decorative function.

It can be all kinds of vases, saucers, stained glass compositions, figurines, decorations made of semi-precious stones, paintings, collages from photos - it is simply impossible to imagine a living room in the Art Nouveau style without such cute little things.

Textile accessories can be represented by decorative pillows, curtains and curtains made of dense fabrics with a rich pattern. An important condition: the color of the ornament should not be in contrast to the color of the fabric base, otherwise it will stand out too much.

A long-naped carpet of light green or beige shades is capable of "refreshing" the interior of the living room and at the same time giving it spatial depth. Combined with muted floor and wall tones, these accessories create an unobtrusive, truly modern aesthetic.

If you want to bring a little individuality to the interior of the hall, instead of wallpaper with a ready-made pattern, it is better to purchase monophonic ones, which you can then independently decorate with an ornament on a floral theme. Do not forget that symbolism is one of the main features of the Art Nouveau style.

Even such an extremely functional accessory as a clock - wall, table or floor - can act as an element of decor. At the same time, it does not matter at all whether they show the correct time and whether they walk at all - the main thing is that in every detail of the accessory the influence of the chosen style can be traced.

Modern style living room with fireplace

Fireplaces have an amazing property to fit perfectly into the design of the hall, regardless of the style of its interior. Their growing popularity is also due to the fact that today it is not at all necessary to have your own home in order to feel the warmth of a cozy crackling hearth - with the advent of artificial fireplaces on sale, it has become much easier to afford such a luxury.

Of course, by its design, the fireplace should be in harmony with the aesthetics of the style to which the decoration of the room gravitates. A fireplace made of natural stone will perfectly fit into the interior of the living room in the Art Nouveau style. The color of the material can be almost any, but always natural - it is extremely undesirable to paint the stone. However, contrary to popular belief, natural stone can offer a fairly wide palette of colors - from light gray to dark brown.

Various decorative accessories made of natural materials will be a good addition to the interior of the living room with a fireplace: a forged fireplace grate, an openwork woodpile, shelves made of dark wood or blackened metal. Complement the picture with a pair of elegant armchairs made of natural wood.