Living rooms ideas UK 2021: how to decorate a living room - artwork, photo frames, lamps, candles and cushions

If you’ve just moved in to a house, or you want to revamp your current living space, there are a lots of things to consider
These are all the essential things you need when decorating a living roomThese are all the essential things you need when decorating a living room
These are all the essential things you need when decorating a living room

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First, you’ll want to decide on any chosen colour scheme and define your decorative tastes.

It can be hard to visualise how lots of different items are going to come together to create one harmonised look.

While you may be able to make swift decisions for the bigger items, such as your sofa, it’s those additional extras that often bring a room together - as well as being very necessary for the practical every day use of the room.

(If you haven’t yet chosen your sofa, check out our best sofa guide)

Here’s our guide to everything you need to decorate your living room to make it functional, cosy and inviting; from rugs to vases and photo frames to candles.

If you are still yet to choose the bigger pieces of furniture for your living room, take a look at our best sideboard guide and best TV unit guide.

For even more inspiration for decorating the rest of your home, have a look at these 22 essential homeware items from Oliver Bonas and our rundown of everything you need to decorate your child’s bedroom.

It’s always important to know what time it is, but with this oversized piece you can make a clock much more than just a practical product, you can make it the focal point of the room too.

The clock, other than being modern and elegant, is sturdy as it’s crafted from iron.

It’s minimalist in design, but that means that it can be a statement without overwhelming your room. It looks classy and chic.

Battery operated and available in silver or black.

A living room should be the place where you go to put your feet up and relax at the end of the day - and so it should feel inviting and calming.

Artwork helps to give the room a focus, and can also provide a great talking point for your guests.

This piece, created in beautiful soft pastel colours, evokes feelings of calm and serenity. You can almost feel the sun on your face and imagine you are walking through the bluebells when you look at it.

Four sizes available. Prices start at £35.99.

The gorgeous arched floor lamp in chrome is perfect for the living room.

The unique shape means it lends itself to being placed in an alcove or corner, but it can also help define separate areas of the room if you want to define your space more. This is particularly helpful if you have a smaller living room.

It could even be placed at the edge of the sofa to provide a perfect reading light.

With a curved stem leading to a shade that seems to hang in mid-air. The lamp, which has a dimmer switch, comes with a white shade, but you could also change this to match your colour scheme if desired.

Enhance your home decor with the stylish trellis rug. Showcasing a chic white geometric design on a soothing grey background, this rug will instantly make your space feel contemporary.

Rugs are particularly important in rooms with no carpet as they add warmth, but they can be added to any room for bonus design points and texture.

They also define a space within the room too - so they can be useful if you have a strange shaped living area.

Available in five sizes, with prices starting at £39.99. Now on sale too.

This lovely floral arrangement will create a welcoming atmosphere in the living room.

The tulips are made to look deceptively real, so your guest will never guess they don’t require any maintenance and unkeep from you.

The bonus to having these artificial flowers is that if you are bought some real flowers you also have a vase ready to go as the artificial flowers can be removed if you wish.

Available in seven colours; red (pictured), dark pink, pink, violet, orange, yellow and white.

Was £53.99, now £49.99.

Bring the nature in with this bright floral peacock cushion, which will add a splash of colour to your furnishings.

The bright pinks of the flowers really stand out again the gold background and the blue and green peacock looks as elegant.

The cushion is finished off the piping and the reverse is a wonderful vibrant teal.

The variety of colour in this cushion means that it will compliment a variety of colour schemes too.

Create an ambient atmosphere with these candle holders, which will look beautiful upon a mantelpiece or on a shelf.

The delicate feathered plumes are cut by hand; the warm brass tones only add to the magical feel.

Style with a church candle or T light, although they are also a great decorative item in their own right.

One of the best ways to quickly make a living room feel homely is to add your own personal photos and trinkets.

This unusual frame, available in antique black, can do it all. You can put anything between the three glass sides, so you can use it as a traditional photo frame.

As the photo demonstrates, however, you can also house plants in the middle of the item, or candles and other much loved decorative items.

As it’s a three way photo frame as well, you can easily refresh the main photo on display simply by turning the frame around.

A unique piece which is sure to get lots of compliments from your guests.

A flickering fragrant candle says home sweet home.

With the scent of Coral Peony you’ll enjoy a lush rich floral fragrance beautifully blended with an aromatic tang of citrus.

Your living room will always smell as though you’ve always got beautiful fresh flowers in there - even when you don’t.

A bouquet of floral radiance captured in a distinctive glass jar, this will make sure the room is always inviting - and right now this candle is being sold at the lowest ever price for Argos so get yours before it’s gone.

Show your living room some love - literally - with this sweet heart shaped mirror.

Mirrors are not only practical and useful when it comes to having one last check of your hair before you leave the house, but they also add light and can make a space feel open and bigger than what it actually is, thanks to the light reflecting off it.

This one has a lovely, crisp white finish so it looks clean and classy and will easily compliment any other decor choices.

Was £11.25, now £10.05.

Show off your favourite novels with these beautiful shell shaped organic bookends.

Crafted with 100% white marble and elegantly carved this striking pair bring a fresh, natural feel to your bookcase, sideboard or mantle.

Fed up with books falling over? With a weight of 2160g, these pure marble bookends aren’t going anywhere. They are also a great ornament in their own right.

Illuminate the mood with the this touch table lamp in pink and copper.

Blending shiny metallics with matte finishes this sophisticated touch table lamp has a fresh and fashionable vibe that’ll never go off trend.

With three settings, you can adjust the brightness from low to medium to high with just a tap of the hand so as well as being stylish it’s also super convenient.

A reinvention of simple nesting tables, this piece is sure to grab attention.

The beautiful variety of ombre pastel colours compliment each other wonderfully - and will also be sure to match well with your chosen living room colour scheme.

With rounded edges and smooth surfaces, this is a modern take on a living room essential that goes back decades.

Ideal for your pared-back rooms, these tables add instant contemporary appeal.

You’ll hear the waves lapping gently against the sand when you put this tranquil piece of art on the wall.

This is perfect not only for people who enjoy surfing themselves, but also love to escape to the beach when they can - even if that’s often just in their mind.

David & David Studio is the brainchild of Laurence and Philippe David. From their collection, this photographic print shows surfers catching waves in Lanzarote. Shot by Thao Courtial.

A pouffe is great because it has so many functions. Put your feet up, take a seat, or use as a perch for your magazines. This pouffe’s a real multi-tasker – especially with that storage space inside.

This could be used to store blankets, or the various remote controls and wires for all your tech and gadgets - the possibilities are endless and it’s all neatly hidden away in a gorgeous piece of furniture.

The velvet material of this piece and classic deep buttoning design gives it effortless opulence that will never go out of style.

Available in plush pink velvet, anthracite grey velvet and vintage gold velvet.

Prices start at £159.