A lot of people today actually enjoy the freedom of creating a living room design for their spaces and inspiration can easily be sourced from magazines, books, and most especially the internet. Websites like Pinterest have huge repositories of diverse interior design samples. You don’t need to have a degree in interior design to come up with them; you can just copy the already existing ones and mix and match them until you get one that you like.
Upgrading to a more modern condo design is a great way to spice up your living space. It’ll give your unit a fresher, more contemporary look, and will definitely impress anyone you bring there. However, if you live in a modestly sized condo unit, you might be curious about the ways you can achieve a modern condo interior design despite your small limited space.
If this is your concern, this article has got you covered. To discover how you can incorporate modern condo living room designs into your DMCI Homes property and make your living room feel spacious and comfortable, ready your pen and paper and start reading the tips in this article.
What Makes a Living Room Modern?
Before immediately jumping into modern living room design options, it is best to know the basic elements of a modern living room.
Modern condo interior design follows the principle “less is more.” So it is important that when planning your living room design, creating a fuss-free space is ideal without making your living room look bare. Here are some elements to remember to give your living room a modern look:
- A modern living room follows an open-plan layout
Having an open-plan layout for a small living room gives you a blank space to work with. This freedom gives you the ability to use the negative space to make your condominium look more spacious.
Since your dining and living spaces are not separated by a wall, it is recommended that you select a similar color scheme for both spaces so that they will look unified.
- A modern living room has natural light
Natural light and fresh air are also elements of a modern living room design. It is nice to constantly open your curtains and blinds, especially in the morning so that natural light can penetrate through your windows. You can also open your windows partly to allow air to circulate within your unit.
Photo courtesy of Vecislavas Popa via Pexels - A modern living room has a neutral color palette
If you are working on a small living room, a neutral color palette in shades of white, muted gray, beige, and other earthly tones are recommended because they reflect maximum light, making your living room appear more spacious than it is.
If you want a pop of color in your room, you may have an accent wall. You can also choose furnishings and pieces of furniture that are colorful but complement each other to have a balanced look.
- A modern living room has sleek furniture pieces
If you want a modern look, choose living room furniture pieces that are sleek and minimal. You can also choose materials with different textures to break the monotony of your living room.
- A modern living room mostly uses raw and natural materials
Adding a touch of nature in your living room decor makes your space modern, warm, and inviting. Natural materials such as wood and stone are recommended. Using these materials in your living room is also sustainable.
Furniture pieces made out of wood show a harmonious union of tradition and modernity. The ornamental carvings, graceful curves, and intricate details are what made wooden furniture timeless. For Filipinos, the local bamboo and rattan are fast becoming popular choices for furniture and décor ideas.
- A modern living room has metallic finishes
Placing metallic finish accents in your living room design will make your living room look modern, high-end, and sophisticated. You may choose to incorporate metallic finishes in your door knobs, cabinet handles, mirror frames, pendant lights, steel tables, and photo frames.
Photo courtesy of Max Vakhtbovych via Pexels
Modern Design Condo Ideas to Consider
To make your living room more interesting, here are some modern condo living room design themes to try:
1. Less Is More
A lot of the more modern designs are minimalistic. The fewer things you have in your condo, the better.
With this in mind, try to avoid condo decors that serve no purpose. Avoid having too much furniture, stick to only the ones that are necessary.
Minimalistic design is ideal for people who are busy because it’s efficient. You have everything you need in your condo to make living there enjoyable. Everything has a purpose, nothing is distracting or unnecessary. Going minimal is also a great way to make your condo look bigger than it actually is because of the space that it can create. Minimalism is of course a general concept or design idea and you’re free to add your own twist to really make it your own.
2. Go Futuristic
Another way to modernize your condo is by making it more futuristic. A lot of the younger unit owners will like this design because it’s representative of the fast-paced, technology-heavy lifestyle that they live.
There are a lot of superb interior design ideas for your condo space, but a futuristic design is the one with the most unconventional geometric shapes. You’ll be incorporating a lot of curves into the actual design of the space as well as the selection of condo decor.
Futuristic-styled units also favor the color white so you should keep this in mind when picking your furniture and the color of your walls. Bright white light is another characteristic of this style.
3. Try a Zen Inspired space
If you want your home to become your refuge and anchor in your fast-paced life, then maybe a zen-inspired design is for you.
A zen-inspired design doesn’t necessarily have to incorporate traditional bamboo or wood, piled-up rocks, or running water to try and recreate a Japanese-style meditation area, although that’s the most obvious way to go about it.
What’s important is that you’re able to create a space that’s instantly relaxing, one that allows you to achieve inner peace. You can tweak the design any way you like and even add other design influences so long as the end goal of creating a relaxed space is achieved.
This normally involves the use of earthy and neutral colors, soft flooring, lots of natural light, and maybe some greens (plants) here and there. Try to avoid clutter or excess decor (go minimalistic) as that might disrupt the serenity of the room.
4. Let the light In
A condo design that is focused on maximizing the natural light of your unit is another option that you might be interested in. This is great for units that naturally have a lot of windows or are located in a section of the building that receives the lightest like the top or along the corners.
A design centered around daylight is welcoming, open, warm, and very eco friendly. You’ll save a bit of cash as well since you’ll be conserving electricity during the day. This design is great for environmentally conscious individuals because it’s a subtle way of incorporating their advocacy into their homes.
If you’re renovating or adding more windows, remember to orient them properly. Don’t just concentrate the light on one side as that will create shadows and will darken certain sections of the room. Make sure that natural light is also able to enter from another side. This will even out the lighting and make it more balanced. Use bright colors and finishes in your interior as well. These will help bounce the light around the room.
When designing with daylight in mind you will have to strategize. You’ll obviously be using a lot of clear glass for your windows and you might be interested in adding skylights as well if it’s possible for your unit.
But keep in mind that in our country, it can get really hot sometimes. So you’ll want to employ your desired shading technique for those times when letting in light isn’t a good idea. Curtains and blinds come to mind. The technology employed in glass creation has also greatly improved, and some of the modern ones can reduce UV and heat. So when you shop around, make sure you inquire about these.
5. Contemporary Rustic
You might think this design is a little retro and not appropriate for a post about “modern” designs, but the rustic design can actually be incorporated into contemporary ones.
Rustic designs often employ a lot of wood, and wood is a timeless home design piece. It will look good with anything.
Whether you have a minimal design or a luxurious, extravagant one, good wood will always have a place in it. You can also use brick and stone on your walls if you want to take it further.
If you’re going for contemporary rustic, the easiest way to do it is to keep your current design and incorporate wooden elements into it. A large wooden table in the middle of the kitchen or living room might be nice. Wooden benches, desks, and shelves can also be added. If you can find ones that are a little rough (you don’t always have to go for smooth and varnished) but still look good, even better.
6. The Industrial Look
Another design that just screams modern is the industrial look. It’s a condo design that makes good use of metals and seemingly unfinished construction, to give your unit that industrial factory look.
Some ideas you might want to copy are exposed metal hand beams, industrial-styled lights and fans, exposed ceilings, and exposed piping. Metals don’t always have to be the focus in order to create an industrial look, they’re just the most obvious. Wood and brick can also be used creatively to give a room that the warehouse feels.
As long as you’re able to recreate that factory or warehouse or industrial feel, you’re on the right track.
7. Modern Glam
A glam or glamorous design is one which centers around the living and dining area. It’s one built to entertain.
So think sparkly pendant lights, white and gold colors (heavy or accented), marble, and luxurious sofas and tables. Basically think bling but the classy old hollywood kind, not the modern hip-hop version.
8. Monochromatic Design
Monochromatic designs mostly refers to white and its darker shades, so basically gray. It can also use black, but in softer tones.
Some people think this style is a little bland and plain because of the obvious lack of bright color, but that’s a matter of preference. A lot of people like this design because it looks clean, efficient, and the grays are relaxing.
Basic Rules to Make Your Modern Living Room Look Spacious
It is easy to go overboard when you are designing your living room. Without you realizing immediately, you may have filled your small space with numerous items that make it look modern and yet crowded. To make sure that your living room design is still spacious, here are some tips you can follow:
1. Choose the right furniture
Furniture pieces often take up too much space in your home so it is ideal to invest in minimalist furniture pieces that are always on trend to maintain the modern vibe of your living room.
It is best to choose furniture pieces that are smaller, foldable, and multipurpose. You can choose sofas and ottomans with hidden compartments where you can place your living room stuff to make your room less cluttered.
2. Use multi-purpose decor
Even if you’re aiming for a modern minimalist living room, it does not mean that you should not have decorations in your room. You may purchase minimal decors that have multipurpose functions. For example, you can choose a ladder-style shelf that you can use as decor and stylish storage for your living room stuff.
Your condo may look very modern with its finishing and materials. If there’s nothing much you can do with the ceiling and the floor, just focus on breathing your traditional décor ideas to life and aim for a timeless condo design. For artwork and photos that you hang on walls, choose tasteful signature pieces and display them in an unassuming way, mostly with white mats and simple frames. Mounting oil paintings and black-and-white photos on your walls is a savvy way to design a living room that wants to be archetypal and conventional.
3. Maximize your storage
To make your small living room look spacious, make sure that it is not cluttered. It is best to have a space for everything such as toys, books, magazines, and other items that may clutter your living space. To address this, it is also best to invest in quality shelves on the wall, baskets, and other organizers where you can store these items away and have easy access to them if you need them.
4. Create zones
If you have an open floor plan, it is best to create different zones in your living room dedicated to various activities. To do this, you may hang a bead divider from your ceiling, install a curtain or opt for dividers that double as art. You can also lay down rugs to establish a distinct zone for a specific activity in your cozy living room.
5. Go for light colors
When choosing colors for your living room design, it is recommended that you choose a palette that is relaxed and soft. When you have a wooden floor, go easy on your walls. When your carpet is in a darker shade, pick lighter colors for your wall décor. Your main color palettes must be subtle, like ivory, beige, and tan. Do not paint two adjacent walls in contrasting colors. Give your space a natural flow by repeating colors and using one tone for your wall paint with varying textures. This is not only soothing but also makes the space look bigger.
Conclusion
Don’t be afraid to design your own living room. Doing so allows you to create a space in your home that truly reflects your personality, something of which your visitors can learn about once they visit your home. Redesigning your living room also allows you to enjoy the comforts of your home and feel the ultimate relaxation.
There is an infinite number of possible designs available for you. You don’t necessarily have to stick to one, you can mix and match. So tap into your creative side and start designing.
If you want to embrace a modern living room design for your space, here are some things to remember:
- Choose furniture pieces and decorations that have multi-purpose functions such as storage to avoid cluttering your space with too much stuff that are not functional.
- Select decors, furniture, and fixtures that have geometric shapes and metallic finishes if you want your living room to look sleek and modern.
- Opt for light color walls and decors to make your small living room look more spacious and allow natural light to enter your condo.
Check out other design ideas from DMCI Communities to find out other ways you can redesign your beautiful condo home.