9 Modern Ideas for a Living Room in Natural Tones

⏳ Reading time: approx. 3 minutes

A living room in warm natural tones exudes a calm and cosy flair, where feeling good, relaxing, and enjoying truly come with ease. From the wall colour to the nuance of upholstered, table, and storage furniture, every tone must be carefully selected to achieve a harmonious overall look.

Furthermore, you should also prioritise the “green” concept when it comes to materials and decor. This creates a space of harmony, a place that brings residential comfort and wild nature into balance. Our nine ideas will help you create your modern living room in natural tones.

1. Decorate your living room with many plants

The easiest way to bring a piece of nature into the living room is to use real plants as decor. By integrating green beauties, you create vibrant accents amidst an environment of more or less “quiet”, restrained natural tones, which are visually appealing and often improve air quality.

On a lowboard, on the coffee table, on the floor: place one or more small plants that you like everywhere. Different types and sizes provide variety; nevertheless, the individual plants should match each other and primarily be green. Too many colourful blossoms create restlessness.

Tip: A large plant wall immediately becomes the central eye-catcher in the room.

2. Avoid harsh contrasts

There are so many different natural tones that one should definitely make a small but fine selection. Otherwise, the living room can quickly appear overloaded. A few gentle contrasts are allowed and even desired, but it's better to avoid harsh opposites so as not to disturb the calm ambience. Ideally, you should choose a few nuances from one or two colour families that are often found together in nature.

A good idea, for example, is to use several shades of grey to differentiate the furniture and home accessories from each other, yet still ensure harmony. For instance, the Livitalia Box Design Lowboard in glossy dark grey under a light grey stone wall, together with an anthracite-coloured leather sofa and a black marbled table on a light grey rug, accented by green details here and there, creates a balanced whole.

3. Combine Grey and Green

Since we've just mentioned the combination of grey and green, we want to give it a bit more attention. Because hardly any colour mix is more modern and trendy than this one. It starts with both grey and green being among the trend colours. In addition, both complement each other brilliantly.

While grey has largely shed its dreary association and is instead linked with minimalism and elegance, green primarily radiates freshness and optimism. All four qualities are welcome in a modern living room in natural tones. This makes grey and green a popular duo.

For example, the dark grey Box Design Lowboard by Livitalia can be used as a TV unit under a flat-screen television attached to a spectacular green jungle wall. A sofa with grey upholstery and several decorative cushions in shades of grey and green on a grey rug stylishly complete the decor.

4. Harmoniously Mix Earth Tones

Of course, you don't necessarily have to limit yourself to two specific colours from which you pick various nuances. Alternatively, you also have the option, for example, to mix different tones from the broad spectrum of earth colours.

With the Prostoria Leather Sofa Cloud in elegant cognac in front of a partly green-covered grey wall with an authentic stone look, the fascinating impression is created that the living room is in the middle of nature.

Furthermore, if a lot of natural daylight enters the room through a large window front, this wonderful illusion is further enhanced. The most important thing for an inviting interior in earth colours, however, is to combine them in a multifaceted yet harmonious way.

5. Integrate Light Wood Tones

A living room in natural tones without wooden elements? Unthinkable! Furniture made of wood and in wood colours contributes to a warm atmosphere. This is especially true for light wood nuances.

For example, the simply aesthetic Livitalia Box Design Lowboard, with its handleless fronts, can be combined in any light wood colour with coffee tables in the same tone.

It is also advantageous that wood can be flexibly combined in terms of colour. It harmonises practically with all other tones found in nature, be it beige, grey, or puristic white.  

6. Focus on Natural Materials

If the living room is to appear natural all around, designing it in natural colours alone is not enough. Truly authentic natural flair only arises when the materials are also aligned with this.

Specifically, this means: The majority of furnishing items – i.e., furniture and home accessories – should be made from natural materials. A parquet floor already provides a good base.

In addition, a cotton rug, linen- or leather-covered upholstered furniture, and an atmospheric wall cladding in a stone look with green plant growth can be added, for example.

Table and storage furniture made of wood, possibly in combination with stone details, are ideal. If natural tones otherwise dominate the living room, alternatively lacquered surfaces, such as on the black Livitalia Box Design Lowboard, set stylish accents.

7. Design a TV Wall with Moss and Wood

Aside from a living area with various comfortable upholstered furniture, the TV wall is the heart of the living room for many people. Enjoying a good film, an exciting series, or an inspiring documentary together with loved ones often simply offers the best relaxation. It is all the more important to give greater consideration to this area of the room when furnishing.

Among the most interesting and attractive ideas for a living room in natural tones is the installation of a moss wall, into which the television can be integrated. Below it, for example, the high-quality Livitalia TV Wall Shelf in oak veneer and the Novamobili Wall Shelf Ellie, which impresses with its flat design, create space for further decor as well as media players and receivers.

Tip: A moss wall not only looks magical but also convinces functionally. It is sound-absorbing and requires no maintenance, meaning it doesn't need to be watered or fertilised. Nevertheless, it retains its enchanting appearance for years.

8. Integrate a Marbled Coffee Table

Hardly any material embodies nature and elegance as impressively as marble. The crystalline carbon rock fascinates with its unique appearance – as does the Marelli Coffee Table Thor, which consists of a compact marble block.

In the Marquina Black Marble finish, the Italian designer living room table perfectly complements a grey upholstered sofa and a beige rug. A plant wall in the background creates the perfect stage.

9. Experiment with Different Textures

As we began this article, we would like to conclude it: with an idea for a living room in natural tones that appears thoroughly vibrant. You achieve this by daring to combine different textures.

If you value a distinctly elegant, perhaps even luxurious ambience, marbled elements are always a good choice. These could be furniture fronts or a suitably tiled floor.

For this, wooden storage furniture as well as wooden and plant-covered wall claddings are recommended, for example. This material mix alone creates varied textures that are visually and haptically fascinating.

While the plant and wood wall feels soft and rough, the marble surfaces and lacquered furnishing elements like the Livitalia Box Design Lowboard are characterised by their smooth suppleness.

Conclusion

Those who opt for natural tones in the living room create a warm and calm atmosphere. To create an ambience in the room that is both relaxing and exciting, it is advisable to both foster the security of harmony and demonstrate courage to experiment – always, of course, while maintaining a certain style and order.

In terms of colour, it makes sense to concentrate on one to two groups; however, this can also be, for example, the diverse family of earth tones, from which one selects two or three nuances that gently contrast. Add furnishing items made of natural materials, a moss wall, and marbled elements – and a nature-inspired living room that embodies comfort and aesthetics is complete.

Mira Celini

Interior Designer at Livarea

As an interior designer at Livarea – since 2012 one of Germany's leading online shops for designer furniture – I help customers create their dream homes. My tips come straight from practice: honest, inspiring, and always with an eye for the extraordinary.

→ View all Trendblog articles