• Set the tone for your home with brilliant living room decor.couch and fire image by Charles Jacques from Fotolia.com
  
  The days of the formal living room, cordoned off from the rest of the house, have passed. Most people use their living rooms more than any other room in the home, be it for casual evenings with family or formal parties. Make the most of your living room by decorating it with pieces that marry form and function. Personalize the space by hanging a favorite painting on a focal point wall or arranging a collection on a floating shelf or cabinet top.
  
  

Modern Living Rooms

• For many people, modern living room decor means monochromatic or minimalist. While these two more contemporary styles remain popular, you can also go for a mid-century modern, bohemian modern or vintage modern aesthetic. For most modern and contemporary interiors, keep the palette neutral, but not necessarily boring. A new neutral such as stone gray, soft poppy seed black, pale yellow or barely blue creates a forward-thinking backdrop. Wooden or metal furniture frames tend toward light tones, angular shapes and low profiles. For a bohemian modern look, integrate funky flea market finds into the mix and add a splash of periwinkle or mango orange.
  
  

Classic Living Rooms

• If you prefer a more traditional style, decorate living rooms with larger pieces of sturdy construction. An armoire in dark wood with elegant metal handles may hide the television set or other media. Elaborately embroidered upholstery on armchairs and couches has rococo style. Rather than matching pieces exactly, go for coordinated patterns or matching background colors. Large drapery might prove too oppressive for a dark or small living room, but you can still dress windows beautifully with sheer window panels and a valance.
  
  

Rustic Living Rooms

• Opt for the distressed and timeworn over the new and mass-produced with a rustic living room. Architectural features such as exposed ceiling beams, large picture windows, terra cotta tile floors, stucco walls, wooden wall posts and arches provide a dramatic backdrop. Colors tend toward natural hues such as cream, stone gray, brick red, terra cotta, cobalt blue, bottle green and faded earth tones. Rustic furnishings may include a pie safe with a wire screen over the door or a round wooden coffee table painted antique white.
  
  

International Living Rooms

• Go global with an international living room. The Asian fusion look features simple lines, low profiles and plenty of open space. A futon-style couch and a tatami mat radiate pared-down chic. For a more elaborate look, consider the Indian or Moroccan palace styles, with ornately carved wooden furniture, hand-painted trims, brass trays and hammered tin lanterns. A Mexican hacienda living room features solid wooden furnishings with niches, oxidized metal hardware and painted tile insets.