20 Living Room Seating Options & Ideas

Bring even more variety to your living room arrangement by adding creative, impromptu seating like poufs, ottomans and pillows to the mix.

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September 02, 2020

By: Maria Conti

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Twice as Nice

Add twice the comfy seating and twice the style to your living room with a pair of matching sofas. Designer Erica Bryen outfits this airy sitting room with a pair of bright white sofas facing each other, poised for fireside conversation.

From: Erica Bryen Design

Chic Chaise

Put that underutilized corner of your living room to use with a plush chaise longue paired with a stylish floor lamp. The luxurious longue is fit for one (or two!) and creates a prime spot for you to unwind with wine and a page turner at the end of each day. Follow designer Marcus Mohon’s lead and pair your chaise with a handy accent table and a lush, potted plant.

From: Marcus Mohon Interiors

Sleek Sectional

The designers at North Folk Design Co. marry style and function with this expansive and elegant sectional sofa. Use a roomy sectional or modular sofa in your living room to enjoy entertaining and ample lounging for the entire family. Working with a small space? Swap your collection of pint-sized furnishings for a single apartment-sized sectional sofa and circular coffee table. Consolidating your seating to a single sofa will decrease the visual clutter in your tight quarters and create an illusion of a larger space.

From: North Fork Design Co.

Refined Roll Armchairs

Classic roll armchairs are always a safe bet for bringing both comfort and sophistication to your sitting room. Interior designer Connie Vernich nestles a pair of upholstered armchairs by the fire, adding a touch of symmetry and softness to the otherwise moody formal living room design.

From: Vernich Interiors

Statement Seating

Rule number one when furnishing your living room? Keep things interesting. Go rogue with a punchy hue or make a statement with seating in an unexpected silhouette. A fun, aqua-leather armchair and a whimsical, wicker egg swing chair create inviting spaces for adults and kiddos alike in this modern living room.

See More Photos: 20 Reasons Why You Need a Wicker Pod Chair

From: The Ranch Mine

Bookcase Bench

Don’t even think about adding a custom, built-in bookcase in your living room if it doesn't include a charming reading bench like this one. This soothing sitting room, by Laurie DiGiacomo, features a comfy, cushioned bench that provides seating for three or four additional guests — without taking up an inch of valuable floorspace.

From: Laurie DiGiacomo

Wing It

The specific seating style you select sets the tone for the level of sophistication in a room. A whimsical egg chair spells free-spirited fun, while this upholstered wingback duo creates a distinctive, mature feeling in this living room by Connie Vernich. Add chairs with similar, wingback silhouettes for a family room with formal flair.

From: Vernich Interiors

Tufted for Two

Small but sweet, this tufted loveseat creates a cozy vignette in this living space. Love seats work in spaces of all different sizes and provide a dedicated spot to snuggle up with someone special (i.e. your dog). Style yours with a few throw pillows, a floor lamp and a fringe-trimmed blanket.

From: Jenn Feldman Designs

Double Duty

We love the multipurpose use of the ottomans in this living room. They play three roles: chic, fabric-covered tables, a place to rest your feet or extra seating for guests. When company arrives, clear off the serving tray and turn it into seating for two.

From: Bria Hammel Interiors

Savvy Garden Stools

When designing your living room, pull in an eclectic mix of seating options to add flair and flavor. Here, designer James Farber incorporates a pair of white ceramic garden stools, twin slope arm loveseats and an upholstered sofa opposite the fireplace, which creates a perfect conversational gathering space. The small garden stools can be easily repositioned to create an arrangement for any situation.

From: James Farmer

Refined Recliner

You need a recliner in your life. Not the puffy recliner that your dad wore into the ground of your childhood home, but a stylish iteration. Use the iconic Eames chair and ottoman as your muse and invest in a similarly chic reclining chair to bring unmatched comfort and style to your space.

From: Kerra Michele Huerta

Fireside Seating

Make the most of the empty space flanking your fireplace with custom, built-in benches. This fiery design by Design 4 Corners features a pair of matching wood benches that offer additional seating and provide beautiful, open-air firewood storage.

From: Design 4 Corners

Frame the View

Follow Three Salt Design’s lead and frame your view by positioning a striking, upholstered settee in front of your living room window. The velvet, navy blue settee featured here is flanked by cascading curtains and accentuates the height and grandeur of the window in the background.

From: THREE SALT DESIGN Co.

Defined Design

Square stools join forces with a plush, upholstered armchair and round accent table to create a defined sitting area within this expansive living room. If you’re outfitting a large, open floorplan space similar to this room, use different seating styles to invite intimacy and comfort into an otherwise cavernous space.

From: Kerrie Kelly

Down-to-Earth Seating

You can never have enough seating, especially in a small space environment. Floor cushions are a great, inexpensive solution. You can stack them, place them anywhere and move them around with ease. Invite over as many people as you like even if your square footage is limited.

From: Sarah Barnard

Tucked + Tidy

Let's face it: in a family home, you just don't have room to spare, so seating should be as functional as it is stylish. In this striking living room, designers at Southern Studio tucked a set of chic, velvet ottomans under a console table to keep them close by if needed. When not in use, they serve as stylish accessories in a soothing color palette.

From: Southern Studio

Dreamy Divan

This modern, backless daybed is ideal for an open and inviting living room design. It's visually unobtrusive, but provides just as much seating as a small sofa. Its backless form allows it to function as a bed or a piece of traditional living room furniture.

From: Zoe Feldman Design

Window Seat

Maximize your available seating with a custom, built-in window seat. Designer Anna Braund lines this transitional living room’s windows with a bench seat that offers the same amount of lounge space as the traditional sofa.

Moroccan Poufs

Handmade by artisans in Morocco, leather poufs are the perfect accent to any stylish living space. Plus, they come in every color imaginable. Each leather piece is dyed in a variety of hues and stitched together to create the perfect plush pouf. To finish off this boho-eclectic living room, designer Michelle Gage threw in two ivory ottomans, perfect for extra company.

From: Michelle Gage

The Hot Seat

Crank up the heat with some chic fireside seating. Add a pair of x-base stools or recreate this custom bench by designer Melanie Millner. The upholstered bench wraps all the way around this fireplace, providing cozy fireside seating for multiple guests. Its slim silhouette keeps it from physically or visually crowding the room.

From: Melanie Millner

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Photo By: Photographer: Dustin Peck, Builder: Mary Ludemann of New Old Custom Homes, Design Team: Vicky Serany (Founder + Principal), Elizabeth O’Neal (Senior Designer), Paige Adams (Junior Designer)

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