10 Stylish Living Room Wall Decor Ideas to Transform Your Space
Your living room walls are blank canvases waiting to tell your story.
It doesn't matter if you're working with a cosy apartment or a spacious home. Exploring creative living room wall decor ideas can totally transform a room's atmosphere. Wall decor has the magical ability to make a room feel warmer.
Why does wall decor matter in your living room?
Your living space is the heart of your home.
It's the space where you unwind after a long day. It's the space where you entertain friends and family, and create memories. Yet, people often overlook how powerful wall décor can be in cultivating an atmosphere.
The right wall decor, a well-arranged gallery wall or a display of wall sculptures is an easy way to make a room feel intentional and complete. By contrast, furniture and accessories alone in a room with bare walls can feel flat and unfinished.
Wall decor is more than filler. It's the finishing touch that turns a collection of furniture into a living room!
10 creative living room wall decor ideas
From timeless classics to modern statements, here are 10 inspiring wall décor ideas that can breathe new life into your living room!
1. Add a decorative canvas as a focal point
Canvas wall art is one of the easiest ways to elegantly elevate your living room.
These pieces offer endless possibilities, from modern abstract art to landscapes and cityscapes. Canvas art can serve as a way to highlight people, places or views that are special to you, or just artwork you think looks beautiful or "cool".
A large canvas above a piece of furniture can be a fantastic way to give a room a focal point. Alternatively, you can group together smaller canvases to create a photo gallery. The beauty of canvas art is in its ability to add texture to walls, as well as bring them into the third dimension. Canvas prints truly are the best wall decor ideas to add colour, texture and a personal touch without overwhelming your living space.
Choose pieces that resonate with your style, and you'll create a sense of permanence and curation which you just can't get with posters.
2. Put up some floating shelves/picture ledges
Floating shelves are for both form and function, immediately adding a third dimension to your walls.
You can use these to decorate your room with books, plants, candle holders, and—most personal of all—family photos. Combine decorative items of different heights to create a more interesting look. The great thing about wall shelves? How easy it is to rotate your decorations as your collection grows, or even just with passing seasons.
They're also a great way to display the cards you get every Christmas that you can't bring yourself to throw away.
Pro tip: if you're displaying a lot of photos, get frames in a variety of different shapes. My honest view? Even with the prettiest photo frame, 10 matching frames in a row feels devoid of personality. Get a bunch of different styles, or if you're keen on a particular style, get it in a range of different sizes.
3. Hang a statement mirror
A large, decorative mirror is a fantastic way to make a small living room feel larger and brighter.
You could go with an ornate vintage frame or a modern geometric design. Mirrors reflect natural light throughout a living space, creating the illusion of depth.
Pro tip: position your mirror to reflect your favourite view or architectural feature. Or, just make the best use of the natural light that your sitting room gets!
4. Incorporate some wall-mounted light fixtures like sconces
Decorative wall sconces give both illumination and artistic appeal.
They're also great for highlighting other pieces of artwork when you position them well. Install them flanking another piece of artwork or symmetrically on either side of a mirror/window frame for a really dazzling effect.
Sconces are available in vintage brass to a more contemporary matte black finish. They can complement any interior decor style.
Pro tip: As well as looking stylish, wall-mounted lighting frees up valuable surface space for other decorations!
5. Show off a collection of musical instruments
Maybe this is the ultimate statement in creativity.
If you play the guitar, violin or even a ukulele, you might know they can be a bit of a pain to keep around. Mounting them on the wall is not only a tasteful way to decorate. It also helps free up valuable floor space, making small rooms feel less cluttered.
And if you ever needed further proof that your decor tells people a story about you? Having instruments on display immediately tells people about your relationship with music.
This works for most string instruments (well, at least ones that are smaller than a cello). It can even work with woodwind and brass instruments if you mount them correctly.
Pro tip: I've had my instruments wall-mounted for several years now. And in a very "Atomic Habits" style, I've noticed it becomes a lot easier to just pluck one off the wall and put 5 minutes of practice in every so often. Wall-mounting your instruments in this way isn't just tasteful, it can also be a great way to keep up the hobby!
6. Make a statement with video game consoles
Continuing the trend of "practicality meets interior decor", most consoles can be wall-mounted to help save space.
Whilst most consoles aren't made with living room design in mind, they still tell a story about what you do in your spare time. Especially if you are an avid gamer, maybe you want to make a bold statement about the things you get up to.
With both game consoles and musical instruments, there's no better conversation starter.
7. Calm a room down with textile wall hangings
Soft wall hangings like textile art or macramé bring character and warmth to your space.
Once again, this is a way to put your hobby on display if this is the kind of thing you do. Even if you aren't making them by hand, they're a brilliant way to add texture and introduce patterns and movement without relying on paint or prints.
Try neutral fibres for a minimalist look, or go bold with colourful weaves which contrast your furniture. Having a few of these on your walls can also soften sounds in larger living rooms, making any space feel cosier.
8. Wall-mounted planters
Bring a touch of the outdoors onto your wall space with planters that create a living, breathing focal point.
Plants instantly soften a space, adding colour, texture and "life" to any wall. You could have a single, big statement plant. Alternatively, group smaller plants like succulents into a vertical garden.
What if your living room doesn't get a lot of natural light? Not to worry. There are plenty of low-light plants (like snake plants or philodendrons) which flourish indoors. You might even just go with fake plants to set the energy without needing to worry about upkeep.
Pro tip: These work best if your design scheme already has natural elements or colours. Think wood beams, woven baskets or even framed botanical prints to contribute to a naturalistic, organic theme in your space.
9. Try an oversized, ornate clock
Here's a great way to make a bold statement on a big wall.
If your living room space permits, a grandfather clock serves both as a functional piece and sculptural art. And if it loudly announces the time every quarter of an hour? It's one of the best ways to cultivate an ambience.
Whether you prefer vintage Roman numerals or an industrial gear design, a large clock commands attention. This is a great choice in a room with lots of open space where the clock can be viewed from many angles. It also pairs well with a coffee table of a similar design.
10. Install a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf
Why not transform an entire wall into a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf?
Especially in a large living room (with low ceilings), here's one for readers and collectors. Once again, there's a huge practicality benefit here if you need more space to keep books, or even your collection of shot glasses.
If you're a normal pragmatist? Arrange your books by alphabetical order of the author. If this is all about the decor? Throw out the normal rulebook; arrange the books by their size and/or colour.
Of course, filling the shelf with the right books is a different challenge. But if you don't already have a huge collection, I'm sure you can build it up over time!
Closing thoughts
The beauty of wall decor how it can tell your story whilst enhancing atmosphere and functionality.
The best living room decor is a design style which you and your family members enjoy looking at. The decorating ideas here will help you curate such a feel, but they're only suggestions—not rules. Even if they were, my advice would be to break every one in the book.
Mix and match a bunch of these approaches to create a layered, curated and dynamic space.
Take your time. Experiment with arrangements.
Over time, your walls will tell a story very unique to you!
